Medicare is an insurance program available to all Americans who have worked for at least ten years and have reached the age of 65. The service covers a wide range of medical needs, ranging from emergency services to preventive health services, costing a total of $597.2 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office.
In recent years, there has been a greater push towards making people on Medicare more aware of the types of preventative services their insurance provides. This is in part because preventive care reduces the likelihood of contracting certain ailments, and increases the likelihood of discovering others while they are still easily treatable. It also has the added benefit of managing health care expenses, in the long run, both those faced by individuals and those paid by Medicare.
In the first three posts in this series, we’ve discussed Medicare’s coverage of preventive screenings (part 1), and the most apropos services for men (part 2) and women (part 3). In this fourth we will examine preventive screenings specifically beneficial for African Americans and LGBTQIA populations.
African Americans
While there is much debate as to whether it is a matter of genetics or environment, African Americans are statistically much more likely to be diagnosed with a number of illnesses, even if they have never engaged in high-risk behaviors: African American men, for instance, are 50% more likely to get lung cancer than white men, even with lower tobacco exposure.
It is important for African Americans to be particularly diligent in keeping up with their preventative care, especially in areas they experience higher risks such as Diabetes, Kidney Disease, Chronic Lung Problems, Higher Blood pressure, Prostate Cancer.
LGBTQIA
While many outside of the LGBTQIA might associate these populations with an increased chance of HIV, there are other ailments that disproportionately affect those communities. The list includes physical maladies such as diabetes and anal cancer, and also a much higher rate of mental illnesses such as depression, especially among the older populations.
Preventive care is also more complicated for trans people, who need to seek preventive care for their birth gender, despite how they identify.
For LGBTQIA individuals it is important to balance your physical preventive care with the psychological as well.
While there is a great deal of information in circulation to inform people about preventive care, it is important to understand the ways in which you personally are at risk, and the way your age, gender, race, or orientation might interact with that.
This concludes our four-part series on preventative care. If you have more questions about Medicare insurance or would like to explore the Medicare supplement plans available to you, contact Bankers Fidelity today.
