As its name implies, preventive healthcare insurance is a plan that specifically covers medical care that’s meant to prevent the development of diseases.
While some insurance plans already covers the same services, at varying extents, the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 ensured all plans now cover preventive medical services as well at zero cost. This includes everything from medical exams to check ups.
But that’s only skimming through the full extent of the coverage of preventive healthcare insurance. Read on to know the specific services and benefits that adults, women and children beneficiaries can enjoy from having it.
Benefits For Adults
All adult beneficiaries over the age of 18 years old can benefit from a long list of free screenings, immunizations, medication and even counseling services. It’s worth noting though that the free medication list is quite short as it only covers the drug aspirin as a preventive medication against cardiovascular disease in both women and men.
Fortunately, the immunization section is much better as it includes free doses of protection from serious illnesses like influenza (the flu), human papillomavirus (HPV), and hepatitis A & B. Meanwhile, adults who struggle with various substance abuse issues can benefit from getting counseling for alcohol misuse, proper diet, and smoking interventions.
Benefits For Women
The insurance’s benefits for women beneficiaries can be divided into services available for all women and services only for pregnant women.
For the former, they can get free screenings for cancers associated with women like breast cancer and cervical cancer and other illnesses like osteoporosis for older ladies over the age of 60. What more, women who may be struggling with domestic abuse have access to free counseling and screening services, too.
Meanwhile, pregnant women can get folic acid supplements and even screening for gestational diabetes and anemia. In relation to this, they also have the benefit of access to various Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives and sterilization procedures.
Benefits For Children
While preventive healthcare insurance offers plenty of perks for adults and women, it seems like children benefit the most from it judging from the long list of free medical services they can get. For starters, anyone under the age of 18 years old can get access to immunizations from disease like hepatitis A & B, tetanus, whooping cough, and diptheria to name a few.
Adolescents also have access to a variety of screenings and assessments concerning health and behavioral issues like obesity, depression, tuberculosis, and alcohol and drug use.
It’s worth noting though that not all services one can get thru preventive healthcare insurance coverage is listed above. For a full list, one can visit the Affordable Care Act’s official website.