Introducing the inaugural guest post on HealthShare Guide by Kasey Pacheco, a registered nurse and founder of Preservers of Life. This organization is dedicated to increasing healthcare literacy and accessibility. Kasey encourages fellow nurses to practice self-care and emphasizes the importance of good health habits for preventing disease. She also runs a Youtube channel dedicated to this effort.
My story
As a registered nurse, I’ve seen so many complicated, expensive, and preventable procedures. Sadly, our current model of healthcare-as-business pairs badly with prevention. One night while working on a surgical floor inundated with patient admissions and struggling with a shortage of nurses, my solution to my supervisor seemed simple—if we don’t have the staff or the capacity, maybe we should stop admitting patients. With one look, I knew that was not going to happen.
It dawned on me then that the entire healthcare system works by profiting from increased illness. There is major money to be made from the intervention and medication needed to care for a person. While it seems like preventive care would save healthcare companies money, my years working as a subcontractor for insurance companies showed that it really didn’t. The subsidies they received, plus contracts and negotiations, created a system where each entity benefited from the illness of their clients.
Our problem
Please note, this article is not written to expose the system as corrupt or even malign the morals or ethics of the current system. My aim is to raise awareness of a very sobering fact: instead of empowering us to be responsible for our health and healthcare, traditional health insurance has somehow made it so what is needed for a healthy life starts and stops with that insurance covers.
Insurance was designed to avoid catastrophic financial loss. But now it decides who gets medicine, who stays a couple of extra days in rehab, who stays home to deliver their baby, and who receives home-based healthcare. This is not the best system for wellness.
On my journey to promote preventive and proactive care, I discovered health sharing. In my professional opinion, the HealthShare concept aligns with holistic healing. So, what does that mean exactly?
First steps forward
The first step we can take in our healing is awareness. Many people treat their bodies like they treat their cars. When we have auto insurance and an accident happens, what do we think? Our primary concern is just what it costs for it to look and drive normally again because “it’s covered.” Rarely do we think about how the costs might be preventable. I have seen this “it’s covered” mentality slip into our society toward the care of our mortal bodies. On the brink of injury or disease, we calculate what, if anything, is covered by insurance.
I wonder what would happen if my patients had assurance instead of insurance. What if they were proactive and accountable for their health? What if, instead of wondering what insurance covers, they thought instead about the habits and actions that brought them to this moment? Better still, what if they anticipated problems before they happened? What if they made decisions that prevented health consequences from happening in the first place?
The solution
“Assurance instead of Insurance” means that patients have education about their health. They’re empowered to reflect about their behaviors and lifestyle. They also have care providers who keep them updated about their health and any modifications they can make to increase their health and wellness. Direct Primary Care works well for this, and even better when combined with health sharing. In the unfortunate case of injury or serious disease, a DPC and HealthShare patient would belong to a community where those costs would be shared. This system allows patients to be fully involved and informed consumers of healthcare. It also makes financial sense. While DPC/health sharing memberships usually cost less than health insurance when combined, the bigger reality is that good health habits save us from paying high monetary, physical, and emotional costs later on. The savings, both up-front and on the injury/disease side, would be significant.
This alternative model, while new and (I’m sure) not without drawbacks, supports proactive and preventive health behaviors. It also holds individuals accountable for their habits and behaviors since healthier lifestyles yield greater cost savings. This is why I choose to join the providers who use and promote this alternative to health insurance. I encourage positive wellness and self-care behaviors because it reduces strain on the current healthcare system and its overworked and exhausted workers. Finally, nurses are “preservers of life!” Helping patients live their healthiest lives is part of the calling.
