If you have any concerns about your heart-health and Obamacare, there’s no need to worry. The good news is that under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans will offer you access to free tests for conditions that lead to heart disease. You’ll also likely have free preventive services to help you focus on making your everyday habits heart-healthy, too.
Free Heart Disease Tests
With most health insurance plans, you can receive free tests for these conditions without having to pay a copay, coinsurance, or even a deductible — but the tests are used to help find conditions early, before you have symptoms.
1. High blood pressure. You have to have your blood pressure checked to know if it’s high. You can’t always feel high blood pressure.
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2. High cholesterol. With a small sample of your blood, your doctor can check your good cholesterol called HDL and your bad cholesterol, called LDL.
3. Obesity. Being overweight increases your chance for having high blood pressure and diabetes — and both of those raise your risk for heart disease. After your doctor checks your weight, he or she can direct you to free preventive services.
Free Preventive Care Services for Your Heart
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Having your blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight checked routinely is the first part of preventive heart care. You can also use free services from your health plan to improve habits that affect your chances of getting heart disease.
Talk with your doctor about whether you need a daily aspirin. Taking a low-dose aspirin each day can help prevent a second heart attack and cut your risk of stroke.
Nutrition counseling. What you eat affects your risk of heart disease. Free counseling can help you choose heart-healthy foods more often.
Obesity counseling. If your weight is raising your risk of heart disease, counseling may help you lose and manage weight and lower your risk. If you are overweight or obese, even losing 10 pounds can lower your chance of developing heart disease.Your doctor can tell you about different ways to lose weight, such as a weight loss plan with personalized counseling. A plan could involve setting weight loss goals, improving your diet, and increasing physical activity.
Tobacco use. Your doctor can help you develop a plan for quitting, or guide you to someone who can. A solid quit-plan can include strategies to handle cravings, medication, getting support from family and friends, and exercise.
Who Can Get Free Preventive Care?
All health insurance companies must cover these services as part of their essential health benefits. The exception is the so-called grandfathered plans, which are health plans that existed before March 2010 and that have made minimal changes to their benefits.
Check your health plan’s summary of benefits to see if you can get free preventive-care services. If you’re not sure, call your insurance company or ask your employer’s human resources department if you’re enrolled in the heath plan through work.
Is It Worth It to Get These Services?
Heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type in the United States is coronary artery disease, which is also called coronary heart disease. This condition happens when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become hardened and narrowed due to the buildup of plaque. It can cause a heart attack, severe chest pain, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat.
In the U.S., coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than 400,000 Americans die from the disease each year.
Taking the step to be checked and striving to make lifestyle changes can help keep you from getting heart disease.
