Men and Health Insurance

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Health issues that uniquely affect men include; elevated risk of coronary heart disease, erectile dysfunction, male pattern baldness, prostate cancer and earlier mortality. Preventative treatment can significantly reduce your risk of some of the most deadly conditions in men, such as prostate cancer and heart disease.

Not only can regular health screenings protect your welfare by identifying preventable risk factors; seeing a doctor regularly reduces your likelihood of ending up in the emergency room with a critical advanced-stage condition, where treatment is extremely costly and has less likelihood of success.

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Select from the following to learn more about men’s health issues and medical insurance:

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Men’s Health Issues

Men should be aware of their elevated risk for certain serious health conditions, and should educate themselves about early preventative measures that can significantly reduce this risk. Below is a list of health conditions commonly diagnosed in men, and a discussion of their relation to health insurance policies:

  • Prostate Cancer — yes, unfortunately — requires the dreaded prostate exam – but enduring the brief discomfort is the only sure way to avoid one of the most widespread and lethal cancers in America, second only to skin cancer. In fact, 1 in 6 males will battle with prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime. Unfortunately, many men remain unaware of prostate cancer’s prevalence and staggering death toll. The Prostate Cancer Foundation estimates that 218,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease in 2007, and that 27,000 will die as a result. This means that one new case will be diagnosed every 2.5 minutes, and that one person will die from the condition every 19 minutes. But there is good news: when detected in its early stages, prostate cancer has a cure rate of 90%.
  • Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) refers to the accumulation of plaque in the coronary arteries that vastly increases the risk of heart attack unless treated, and men are especially likely to be diagnosed with CHD. The Center for Disease Control reports that between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in males, and that 340,933 men died in 2002 as a result of heart disease. While heart disease is a serious killer of women too, men are at greater risk and tend to have cardiac complications earlier in life than women. Men typically have higher levels of blood cholesterol and blood pressure, and should consistently monitor both. Keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol levels down is a sure way to lower your risk of having a potentially deadly heart attack.
  • Testicular Cancer, unlike most other forms of cancer, is more likely to develop early in life. Men between 20 and 39 have the highest risk of testicular cancer, and the National Cancer Institute reports that it is the most common form of cancer in young males between 15 and 34. Although testicular cancer accounts for only 1% of cancer diagnoses in the US, men should be vigilant about examining their testicles for any abnormal lumps. 95% of cases are curable when caught early, so it is important for all men — especially those younger than 40 — to have regular doctors visits to detect testicular abnormalities.

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  • Hair Loss affects both men and women, but appears more noticeably in men. This is because women’s’ hair typically thins as they age, whereas men lose their hair in visible patches. There are medications that are available for inherited hair loss, but they must be taken regularly to be effective and they work best if treatment begins early on in the hair-loss stage. Unfortunately, most health insurance plans don’t cover cosmetic procedures, so treating hair loss is most often an out-of-pocket expense.
  • Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is an uncomfortable topic to approach with with your doctor, but you should know that ED is not uncommon in men and is usually treatable. There are a number of medications that are available for men with erectile dysfunction, and many of them are covered in health insurance plans. Penile implants are also an option for extreme situations, but the procedure can be quite expensive. Men who believe that their erectile dysfunction may be due to psychological causes may want to consider therapy. Many policies offer mental health insurance coverage as part of their plan options. Check your policy to see if you have mental health coverage.
  • Diabetes, like coronary heart disease, affects both men and women. But male diabetics are significantly more likely to develop serious complications from diabetes, such as retinopathy (a vision disorder that ultimately can cause blindness), peripheral vascular disease (damage to the blood vessels that increases mens’ risk of heart disease two- to three-fold), and circulation problems. Due to these problems with blood circulation, men with diabetes are up to 2.7 times more likely to require amputation than female diabetics. At the same time, male diabetics also have to be concerned about erectile dysfunction, because the damage that diabetes does to your vascular system can affect blood flow to the penis.

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Other Health Conditions Common in Men

While these health conditions are especially prevalent in men, this list does not include other potentially deadly conditions like brain tumors, skin cancer, colon cancer, and other forms of cancer that affect men and women equally. All of these conditions can quickly become terminal diseases unless diagnosed and treated early. That’s why it is especially important to have a regular physician to monitor early warning signs that could predispose you to serious health problems.

How Can Men Reduce Health Risks?

When it comes to reducing your risk of the health problems outlined above, there are three factors to keep in mind. These include investing in a comprehensive health insurance policy, not allowing your medical coverage to lapse and staying well informed about the health plans in your area that are available to you.

Comprehensive Health Insurance Policies

Having a comprehensive health insurance policy that includes preventative care is an important part of preventing terminal disease. Studies report that uninsured adults are 4 times more likely to avoid regular well-visits than uninsured adults, and consequently have a much higher risk of ending up in the emergency room with serious — and potentially untreatable — health complications.

Avoid Any Breaks in Medical Insurance

Uninsured men should be aware that many of these conditions, once diagnosed, usually disqualify them signing up for non-group insurance coverage. Because insurance carriers are unlikely to insure people with preexisting conditions, it is vital that you research your insurance options to avoid having a break in coverage that would exclude you from any benefits in the event of a serious diagnosis.

Research Insurance Plans in Your Area

If you are among the nearly 50 million adults without an insurance plan to detect these symptoms, you should speak with an agent who is knowledgeable about the different plans available to you in your area. Be sure to ask about preventative care options for conditions like prostate cancer, diabetes, and heart disease to ensure regular access to a doctor who can detect early symptoms while the disease is still treatable.