Personal Health Responsibilty

I hope that you had a great holiday season!  This coming week we will be giving away a free Fitbit to help you achieve your 2016 health goals. Every new and existing patient that has a scheduled visit this week from Monday, January 11-15 will be entered into a drawing to win a free Fitbit. I’m sure you are increasingly aware of how extremely important it is to take care of your health. Which leads me to ask this:

“Who’s Responsible For My Health?”

There was a major study conducted not long ago by a large group of doctors. They were on a mission to find out what the most devastating problems with today’s health care system were. This study was eventually titled, “Death by Medicine”, and published as a book. It revealed a lot of truth about our health care system and became the April 23, 2006 Time magazine cover story.

One of the most profound results of this study was that they found the reason our health care system is suffering so bad, was that the patient had given total control of their health to doctors and health insurance companies. They found that many times the doctor was dictating the patients care towards what the insurance companies would pay for, and away from what insurance companies would not pay for. Basically, people were no longer taking responsibility for their own health. Instead they were depending on the doctors and their insurance companies to make decisions for them.

Imagine two people, one with insurance, and the other without any. They both present to the doctor’s office. Do you think they both get the same care? All too often, the answer is “No”. Do you want insurance to decide your health and the health of your family? Or do you want to take your health into your own hands and begin a course of chiropractic care that can restore you and your family’s health forever? In our office we will help you, and educate you, on what is going on in your own body, but we encourage you to take responsibility for your own health, and start making decisions that will change your life forever. No one else will ever care more about your health than you do.

This is a quote taken directly from the medicare guidelines, a guideline that every insurance company follows:

“A treatment plan that seeks to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong and enhance the quality of life; or a therapy that is performed to maintain or prevent deterioration of a chronic condition is deemed not medically necessary…”

This is a pretty glaring statement how relying on an insurance company is not in the best interest for your overall health. Insurance companies are not in the business to prevent disease. So even if you would consider yourself to have great health insurance this does not indicate that they will cover most of the things to keep us healthy (i.e. organic gmo-free foods, gym memberships, etc).

So essentially, having good health insurance doesn’t ensure good health.  Insurance is there as a safety net and can be useful in certain situations, but should never be the decider of what is healthy for you and your family. Would you expect your car insurance to pay for your tires or oil change? Would you let your car go without those things if the insurance would not pay for it? Those questions sound kind of silly, but we do this with our bodies every day.

If you want your body to run like a well tuned engine, you will have to invest some time, money, and energy into it. Take responsibility of your own health and the health of your family today. Fight for it. It is the most valuable possession you have. Remember, an investment into your health will always bring you the biggest return on your money, and will guide you towards the happy, healthy life you were meant to live!

Best Regards,

Dr. Jason Crist