4 ms·
Not to defend anything about the American model (I personally hate it and think it's broken) but the annual checkup is a very cheap way of dealing with a possib
by decebalus1 4y ago
Not to defend anything about the American model (I personally hate it and think it's broken) but the annual checkup is a very cheap way of dealing with a possibly expensive condition.
The checkup is non-intrusive and for presumably healthy people consists of a physical, basic blood tests (glucose and some metabolic indicators + infection markers) and a blood pressure check. As an example, it's way cheaper to find out you have pre-diabetes this way, than to go to the doctor with symptoms when you have full on diabetes. This is mainly the reason why insurances pay for these in full, as they're part of 'preventive care'.
> How much more would it cost our health-care system, if everyone took advantage of
Annual checkups are definitely not the reason healthcare costs are sky-high in the US.
- kwhitefoot 4y ago> the annual checkup is a very cheap way of dealing with a possibly expensive condition. Is it? Or is it something that just seems obvious?
- alexanderdmitri 4y agoBoth if the checkups help catch issues early or avoid them [0][1]. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2019/18_0625.htm https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2019/18_0625.htm [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-35073966 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-35073966
- kwhitefoot 4y agoNeither of those links provide any numbers or good reasons to think that Cuba and the US can be easily compared. So while I agree that the idea is attractive and plausible, it remains merely an idea. And it is an old one too, I remember reading somewhere that in ancient China doctors were paid while you were well but you stopped paying if you fell ill so it was in the doctor's interest to prevent you falling ill. I have no idea if the story is true but it does suggest that the idea is not new.