How savvy are you about health costs?

Healthcare costs � doctors' and hospitals' costs, and medicine costs � are rising ahead of inflation. So, medical scheme costs are also rising ahead of inflation. Who can afford to be sick anymore? More important, who wants to be sick?

For most of us, great health is a matter of spending a little where it counts, concentrating a little, and developing health-friendly habits.

How savvy are you about making your medical rands go as far as possible? Take this quick quiz to find out.

1. Is your BMI 30 or higher? (work it out: your weight in kilograms divided by your height in metres squared, or Google a BMI calculator to do the sums for you).
Because: For most people, a healthy BMI is between 19.5 and 25. From 25.1 to 30, you're considered overweight. Above that, and you're considered medically obese. In the "overweight" range, your risk of disease increases, but in the "obese" range, it increases incrementally which means your healthcare costs do too... 		Yes No
     
2. Do you have a medical fund, or a dedicated savings fund to cover medical expenses?
Because: None of us plans to get sick, nor do we plan the little and large accidents that send us to the emergency ward with sporting injuries or worse. No plan at all - or a plan that's too limited for your needs - means tens of thousands of rands worth of financial stress if things go wrong on the health front. 		Yes No
     
3. Do you buy generic versions of prescribed and / or over-the-counter drugs?
Because: If you knew that everyday standby Paracetamol (brand name Panado) costs less than a third in its generic form than in its branded form, that should tell you everything you want to know about the cost-effectiveness of generics. (If you're anxious about how effective they are, here's a link to find out more: http://www.health24.com/medical/MedsYou/777-786-788,51335.asp) 		Yes No
     
4. Do you eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, some of them raw, and some of them unskinned?
Because: Raw, unpeeled vegetables are the richest source of dietary fibre. A diet rich in fibre helps control cholesterol (which is linked to heart disease) and is essential to prevent digestive problems. Bingo, two of the main problem health areas sorted. 		Yes No
     
5. Do you smoke?
Because: Smokers have a much higher risk of many conditions (not just cancer: also circulatory problems, and men are at risk of erectile dysfunction). So you'll have more medical expenses; and medical schemes have to charge smokers more for the same coverage. 		Yes No
     
6. Have you sat down with a financial adviser and reassessed your medical scheme (or lack of it) in the last five years?
Because: As your circumstances change, so must your financial instruments. Paying premiums on a scheme that doesn't suit your circumstances is as good as throwing money away. 		Yes No
     
7. Do you go for regular screenings (six-monthly dental check-ups, annual medicals, Pap smears and dermatological screens, eye tests and prostate checks where appropriate)?
Because: Well, as the man says, prevention is better than cure, and a stitch in time saves nine. Finding something before it's been there long enough to become entrenched and cause real problems is the key to long-term health. The cost of screenings is a fraction of the cost of treatment for something sinister. 		Yes No
     
8. Do you drink two litres of liquid or more a day (including tea and coffee)?
Because: Turning to liquids, especially water, is a healthy sign: it says that you're reading your body's thirst signals, and not repressing them with food or smoking. A dehydrated body is prone to infections, is low in energy, delivers poorer quality thinking, delivers flat performance when you exercise, and a whole host of other problems that add up to a less healthy (and therefore more expensive) you. 		Yes No
     
9. Do you tend to succumb to each winter's flu bugs, and the change-of-season colds?
Because: That's a sign you have poor immunity against disease. In addition to all the over-the-counter flu-fighters you buy each winter, you're also likely to succumb to many more bugs, pushing up the claims you make against your medical scheme, and costing you a whole lot in the long term. 		Yes No
     
10. Do you start each summer with a new tube of good sunblock?
Because: Using cheap sunblock, or recycling last season's sunblock, leaves you exposed to the many conditions associated with sun damage, including one of the deadliest cancers: skin cancer, a condition which we're seeing more and more of as the protective ozone layer diminishes. 		Yes No
     
11. Did you get a good night's sleep last night (and most nights)?
Because: Lack of sleep is linked to the blues, a lowered immune system, and more. Getting enough each night is one of the pillars of health, and one of the things that means you're less likely to need to call on your doctor.		 Yes No