Healthcare in Uncertain Times
Even in times of financial or political uncertainty, it’s important to have a plan to maintain your health. In fact, I would argue that these are the times when watching your health is most important.
And I think saying that we are currently in uncertain times is a bit of an understatement right now. I’ve been watching my retirement account whip around like one of those noodle guys that wave their arms in front of the gas station. The political climate is, shall we say, fraught. And all of us worry about the stability of our jobs, with AI and tariffs posing threats none of us could have anticipated even five years ago.
So what should we do about healthcare in times like this?
Well first of all, let’s not forget the advice given to us by airline flight attendants every time we fly: Make sure to put on your own oxygen mask before someone else’s. It does no good if you pass out while trying to wrangle a mask onto the kid next to you. They can wait a moment; make sure you’re functioning first.
Practically speaking, what this means is that you need to handle your wellbeing before you can tackle the big problems facing the world. Not only your physical health, either. Your mental health is just as important, or maybe more so. When things are hard in the world, you must take care of yourself — so you can then spend energy taking care of others (which I know each of you is doing).
Now let’s think about financial security for a moment.
Most of us get our healthcare paid for by our employers. Every time we change jobs, there’s a new plan. Different plans have different providers, and different levels of benefits that can quickly change prices. It’s important to have stability with your healthcare team when these things happen.
One advantage to having a practice like ours is that if you change jobs, your healthcare is not affected. We exist outside the normal employer-sponsored insurance realm. So if your employer makes cuts and you’re affected, or if you voluntarily decide to seek new employment, there is no interruption to your care with Nexus. This continuity of care is a tremendous benefit of direct primary care practices like ours.
If you do have a period of time without insurance coverage, COBRA coverage is an option. And something you can use retroactively. But if you have urgent care type needs, those are often things that we can address here to save you money without having to pay COBRA coverage. Read more about urgent care services in “Please bother me! That’s what I’m here for.”
Please remember that in tough times, I’m here to help you. Whether you need to talk about anxiety, or get a critical medicine quickly refilled, or simply pay close attention to your cholesterol levels, for my patients I’m a simple phone call (or text message!) away.
Learn more about Nexus here, or if you are looking to become a patient, you can contact us here to begin.
See you soon!
