What Types of Preventive and Wellness Services are Covered by California's Health Care System?

Preventive and routine care is essential for staying healthy and avoiding diseases. Under health reform, many health plans must cover certain preventive services at no cost to you. This means that you don't pay any copays, coinsurance, or deductibles for these services when a network provider offers them. Checkups, screenings, and vaccines are all included in preventive care. Unfortunately, factors such as using the emergency room in the previous year, spending at least one night in the hospital the previous year, and delaying or not filling a prescription during the past year can all negatively affect the use of preventive care services.

To better understand this issue, a study was conducted to analyze adult men aged 18 to 65 in California and determine the effect that the expansion of Medicaid had on the use of preventive care services. The results showed that having diabetes or high blood pressure was associated with a greater likelihood of receiving preventive care. Race or ethnicity did not influence the likelihood that the respondent would have received preventive care services. Additionally, a little more than 3% of respondents who reported receiving preventive care services also reported that they had a care plan for heart disease. Men's use of preventive care services may be limited due to a lack of health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) eliminated patient participation in the costs of a set of preventive health services.

In addition, there is financial assistance to help cover the costs of health insurance for those who qualify. The main hypothesis was supported in the sense that having publicly funded health insurance through Medicaid (Medi-Cal) was positively and significantly associated with last year's preventive care visit for men who are not yet old enough to receive Medicare compared to not having insurance. Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan is an independent licensee of the Blue Shield Association that offers off-the-exchange health insurance plans that cover the same essential health benefits as exchange plans. This plan complies with applicable state and federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, descent, religion, sex, marital status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.