By Geof Wheelwright, Cheapism
Taking care of your heart
isn't just the right thing to do for your health, it's also the right
thing to do for your wallet since living with untreated heart problems
can cost a lot of money. "Americans suffer 1.5 million heart attacks and
strokes each year -- a burden that contributes to most of the more than
$320 billion in annual healthcare costs and lost productivity caused by
cardiovascular disease," says Barbara Bowman,
director of the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.
Find out some of the ways untreated or unmanaged heart disease can hurt
you financially as well as physically.
[post_ads]The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
reported that in 2009, 22.3 million people -- or 9.7 percent of adults
age 18 and older -- had some healthcare expenditures related to heart
disease. The report found that direct medical spending on heart disease
totaled $95.5 billion -- the majority of which ($52.9 billion) was for
in-patient care. It also concluded that average total expenditures per
adult for the treatment of heart disease (among those with expenditures
for the condition) were $4,279 in 2009, while expenditures per adult for
in-patient care averaged $2,371, office-based care averaged $537, and
outpatient care averaged $411.
Heart disease also means
spending money on prescription medicine. The Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality report also found that among adults with heart
disease expenses, 74.8 percent reported prescription drug expenses
related to that condition for a total of about $8.5 billion. The
research found that average annual prescription drug expenditures on
heart disease per adult were $381.
People living with untreated
heart disease can suffer from any number of symptoms that can keep them
off work, and that also costs money. According to a 2011 study,
the average hourly wage plus benefits for civilian workers in the
United States was $29.18 per hour.
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So for each 8-hour day of work missed
beyond the days allotted for sick leave and paid time off, that was
$233.44 per day. Even if an employee misses only five days a week per
year (over and above allotted sick days or paid time off), it could cost
more them more than $1,100 annually in lost wages.
Even if with insurance, it will
cost heart patients an average of $49 to visit a doctor -- and
substantially more if they aren't insured, according to research from
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The research was based on a 10-state telephone survey in which callers
posed as patients to find out whether they could get a new-patient
appointment with a primary care doctor. The average price of a new
uninsured patient appointment was quoted as $160, with some variation
among states (a low of $128 in Pennsylvania and a high of $188 in
Oregon).
The cost of health insurance
for those suffering with chronic heart conditions and other diseases is
currently protected by the provisions of the Affordable Care Act,
which says that insurance companies may not deny coverage to
individuals with pre-existing medical conditions or charge higher
premiums because of their health status. If the law is repealed or
changed, however, costs for those with heart disease could change.
[post_ads]It should come as no surprise that heart patients will pay more for life insurance. Darien, Illinois-based Life Quotes cites a list of factors
that could lead to costlier life insurance policies for people with
heart health issues. They include: a history of more than one heart
attack, ongoing episodes of angina or chest pain, new electrocardiogram
changes, uncontrolled hypertension, or other cardiovascular or renal
disease.
Those who suffer from heart
problems can find it difficult to do many of the things around their
house that would otherwise be simple -- and end up hiring other people
to do them instead. According to home-services website Angie's List,
the average cost for Angie's List members to have someone with general
"handyman skills" come to their home is $83 per hour. Even having
someone come out only couple of times a month to do small jobs, the bill
could easily top $300 per month.
There are some jobs where a
major heart attack could either end your career or at least put it on
hold for an extended period. For commercial airline pilots, the Federal Aviation Administration
says that pilots who have suffered angina pectoris, had a cardiac valve
replacement, had coronary heart disease (that has been treated or, if
untreated, that has been symptomatic or clinically significant), had a
heart replacement, a myocardial infarction or a permanent cardiac
pacemaker would have disqualifying medical conditions.
If heart-health issues aren't treated or controlled, they are likely to get worse. According to the American College of Cardiology,
every year about 785,000 Americans have a first coronary attack. Even
more sobering is that fact that more than half that number -- another
470,000 -- who have already had at least one coronary attack will have
another attack. Needless to say, they also face the additional costs.
Enrolling in a cardiac
rehabilitation program following a heart attack can be an important
factor in helping to prevent (or reduce) future heart problems. The American College of Cardiology
also reports that this is a significantly under-utilized form of
recommended treatment.
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But a number of these programs are not always
fully covered by insurance. The Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease cost $9,895 in 2009, of which only $5,650 was covered by Medicare.
In 2016, the American College
of Cardiology affirmed the idea that increasing your levels of exercise
will increase the health of your heart -- and that Americans need to do
more of it. But if someone wants or needs help with that exercise from a
personal trainer, WebMD reports
that the average hourly price is $50 (with wide variations from $15 to
$100 per hour, depending on the qualifications of the trainer).
