Recommended "Free" Medical Procedures

[TromboneAl]

By combining MOHS surgery and a colonoscopy, DW should reach her $5,000 deductible for 2008. Thus, anything else she has done is free.

Can anyone think of an expensive preventative or recommended procedure to undergo this year to take advantage of this?

[freebird5825]

well, here's my "turn 50" shopping list fresh from the doc...including the usual tests...

colonoscopy
bone density scan
chest xray
annual mammo
blood/urine analysis for cholesterol/diabetes/arthritis/etc
blood pressure/heart checks

i can' think of any others right now..but you can get a full list by going to www.webmd.com and search using the keyword "screening".

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Assuming no unusual concerns or risks, I'd nix the chest x-ray and "arthritis" blood test, and confine the bone density to every 5 years if previously normal. Get updated on immunizations (tetanus/diphtheria/acellular pertussis, zoster if over age 60).

To qualify as a good screening test it has to be sensitive and specific, cost-effective; the disease in question has to be common enough, best treated early rather than waiting for symptoms, and the available treatments have to be safe and effective enough. It's surprising how short the list is when you consider all this.

[freebird5825]

thanks for the feedback. most of my "shopping list" screens are age 50 baselines for me, i.e. no problems. the rest are recurring annuals.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

not that i'm into elective medical procedures, but any plastic surgery that can be justified as medically necessary like eyelids?

[Bestwifeever]

My friend who has use it or lose it medical benefits has had orthodontia and laser eye surgery (on the corneas, not the eyelids ) and prescription sunglasses from it....

[W2R]

Does she have any allergies? I probably don't, but I have heard that getting allergy screenings with those pin prick tests is really expensive. On the other hand, my information is probably decades old and I don't actually know if those are even done any more.

Someone at my work had chronic sinus trouble and just had sinus surgery done. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, and she says it improved her quality of life immensely.

[oma]

Cardiac stress test? Pneumovax - pneumonia shot (if over 60 yo or high risks such as asthmatic, asplenic, diabetic)? Definitely biannual mammography.

[mews]

Full skin cancer screening?

ta,
mews

[CuppaJoe]

I don't have dental insurance but my dentist has a list of teeth to watch; I may get more crowns next year because they may be deductible considering 2009 will be my first full year of retirement and I may be able to get medical expenses up to a very high percentage of taxable income. I may also put off purchasing new glasses for the same reason.