Oftentimes the terms Health Care and Medical Care are used interchangeably. The truth is, the two couldn't be more different. Read on!!
I wish I would have started counting from the beginning the number of times visitors to our facility have asked, "Does Medicare cover this?" and "Do you accept Silver Sneakers?" My reply to some of them has been "Medicare will pay for blood glucose meters to monitor diabetes, shoes and inserts for the diabetic foot, and insulin pumps and neuropathy treatments, but they do not pay to help you be accountable for your own health".
Medical Care refers to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease, illness, and injury, and involves the use of medications, procedures, and other interventions to diagnose and treat health problems. Medical Care is often a passive experience, that seeks to bring about quick results. We buy insurance (not health insurance, but medical insurance) to pay for this care, and to protect against many catastrophic occurrences; some preventable and some not. When we look at the definition above, we notice that, if a person is not experiencing symptoms, they do not need medical care. Medical Care has not historically attempted a proactive approach to health.
(Note the above image is inaccurately portrayed as Health Care and Not Medical Care)
The United States spends more on medical care than any other country, with annual health expenditures over four trillion dollars in 2020, and personal health care expenditure equaling $10,202 U.S. dollars per resident. (Statista Research Department, Aug 30, 2022). However, we as a nation rank quite low compared to the rest of the developed world in overall health. Let's look into this more!
Health Care- refers to the overall approach to maintaining and improving health. Health Care takes active participation. Specific conditions and illnesses are looked at with respect to what needs to be done at the "roots" to eliminate the not only the symptoms of the current condition, but more importantly the problem that might be the cause of other (seemingly unrelated) symptoms as well.
So..... is this just semantics when people refer to Medical Care as Health Care or is there something important that goes along with that? I believe the answer to this question is that it is very important which words we use. As stated above, Medical Care, is passive, is covered by insurance, and often does not seek to fix the actual problem. Health Care holds a person accountable for the cost of care as well as the "cost" of positive change over time. Many people living in the United States have been brought to a point where they choose Medical Care (basically free) over Heath Care (associated with cost) and this is a huge problem!
"I can't afford it" is often the statement that comes when addressing challenges from a Health Care perspective. It is true that "Pressing Reset" on health issues can cost hundreds of dollars, and it often takes much longer than people want to wait to see tangible results. Unfortunately, we often decide to take no action, which makes us lean more and more on Medical Care and the downward spiral continues.
I know it may not seem like it, but paying the upfront cost of Health Care will save thousands per individual compared to the future costs of your Medical Care.
I share this information with you in a matter-of-fact manner because Fit-Rx is all about your Health Care. Period.