There are many benefits to actively taking steps to look after yourself now, rather than sometime in the future. Making sure you’re physically, mentally and emotionally healthy is not only important for your personal wellness in the near term, but can also help prevent future health issues.
We’ve collated five ways you can take control of your health and wellness, today. Many of these don’t take much extra time from your week but can make a significant difference when emergencies arise.
1. Plan ahead
If you’ve been planning to take out private health insurance or upgrade your cover, remember you often have to serve a waiting period before you can start claiming benefits. Insurers each have different rules regarding waiting periods for different services – be sure to clarify the specifics of your policy with your insurer if you are unclear as to its limitations.
For example, if you’re planning on growing your family soon and don’t have private health insurance, many insurers apply a 12 month waiting period to hospital benefits for pregnancy services. This means if your baby arrives earlier than anticipated and you have not served the 12 month waiting period, you may not be covered.
If you’re looking to be treated as a public patient under Medicare, waiting times, especially for elective surgery may also end up longer than expected. Average wait times from 2016-2017 for elective surgeries was around 38 days.
Taking some time at the start of the year to review your current and expected health needs can make all the difference further down the track.
But what if you don’t expect any health issues and just want to be prepared in case of an emergency? Read on…
2. Start saving for a rainy day
The next prudent step, after considering your likely health needs for the year and beyond, is to make sure you can afford any planned procedures and insurance policy upgrades. Or, even better, to plan to have a little extra put away in case of emergencies.
You may incur additional costs, despite having private health insurance, in the following scenarios:
- Some policies require an excess or copayment for certain procedures. This is usually in exchange for lower overall premiums.
- Many policies may also only cover extras up to a certain amount, e.g. “$800 maximum for all dental treatment”. If the procedure costs you more than that limit, you will have to pay out of pocket for the difference.
- Your policy does not cover the procedure you’re hoping to get, e.g. if you’re looking to get breast augmentation surgery, that is not medically necessary.
Putting aside some money regularly ensures you’re prepared in case of unexpected shortfalls. It may also give you the option to seek treatment outside the public system for a medical procedure, so you can improve your quality of life sooner rather than later.
At Medipay, our payment plans may also help you afford that medical, dental or cosmetic procedure you’d like to prioritise. Our fortnightly or monthly repayments are repayable over 48 months, with no penalties for early repayment.* Check your eligibility today.
3. Be kind to your mind
Looking after our mental wellbeing is just as important as looking after our physical wellbeing. What constitutes “looking after” varies per person. For some, taking time to unwind after work can make all the difference, for others it’s getting enough sleep or making a conscious effort to stay active socially.
Body image can also play a big part in influencing our self-esteem and confidence. For example, hair transplantation surgery may help give more confidence to someone who was feeling self-conscious about their hair loss.
Regardless of what works for you, it’s important to remember that mental health is a continuum and what each person needs to feel good and function well is unique to the individual and may change over time.
4. Get active
Find your 30! Whether it’s getting off one stop early on the way to work or playing with the kids when you get home, doing 30 minutes of exercise daily helps both your physical and mental health.
Maybe you’re not at a point where you can sustain 30 minutes of high intensity workouts – that is perfectly fine. Even a 10 minute walk to a cafe and back can help to stretch your legs, get your blood pumping and refresh your mind.
Best of all, it costs nothing to get a little more active today!
5. Think about what you eat
Finally, we all know we have to eat better but sometimes we run out of time in the day to make a healthy meal. Planning your meals in advance, focusing on the Five Food Groups and not being too hard on yourself are ways you can both save money and improve your diet. Meal kit deliveries are also becoming more common – why not try one of them out?
The stresses of everyday life – juggling work, family and friends, your own emotions and your household – add up for everyone. Be kind to yourself and take some time to look after your own health and wellbeing, today.
Disclaimer: This article contains general comments and recommendations only. This article has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before taking any action you should consider the appropriateness of the comments made in the article, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If this article relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular credit product you should obtain and consider the relevant disclosure documents before applying for the product.
* All applications are subject to MediPay’s credit assessment criteria. Terms, conditions, fees and charges apply.
