If you are healthy or if you have creme de la creme health care, you might not be aware that the US is currently neck deep in a health care crisis. Seven years ago when I started working in the world of finance and insurance, I also got my very first corporate health care package. That package included dental insurance, full medical, outpatient psychotherapy, cheap or free medications, just about anything you could possible imagine and then some, all for a $15 co-pay, period, unto infinity. It gave me great peace of mind even though I only used it a few times. I got my eyes checked. Went to the dentist. Got routine well-person medical care.

The following year, that HMO went bust and the corporation went with a traditional 80/20 plan with a $100 deductible instead. The year after that, the deductible was up to $300 per person and there were a number of exclusions and conditions, plus the price went up, a lot. I dropped the dental and eye care. The next year after that the deductible went up to $500, the cost was higher again, and many doctors were excluded. I quit going to the doctor for routine care.

The plan I have now has a $5000 deductible, and pays 80/20 after that, but they are notorious for denying claims outright. The young man who sits in the cubicle ahead of me at work wants to quit, but last summer he broke his ankle. He’d also injured his knee in the spring, so the insurance company denied his second claim for the ankle on the basis that he already had one leg injury so two were ’suspicious’. He says as soon as he pays off his ’suspicious’ hurt leg he is out of there.

The last time I was forced to go the doctor’s office (for a twisted knee) I waited six hours for five rushed minutes with a physician who seemed frantic, distracted, and impatient, and just wanted to get right to the prescription pad and get me out of there. If I was an addict, which I’m not, I could have a five pound bag of vicodin from that provider alone, since that is pretty much their cure all for anything that walks in the door.

Across the nation, health insurance is costing employees lots more and getting them lots less. Many employers are dropping health care benefits altogether. The kind of financial panic people once felt when uninsured is now shared by insured Americans as well. You don’t have to have a terminal illness to be wiped out financially, even with insurance. A $30,000 hospital bill (which covers a short inpatient visit of two days or so if that) can leave an insured patient with $8,000 in bills payable upon receipt. Most of us don’t have $8,000 lying around for such an event.

So what can you do to get that sense of security everyone needs to live their daily life without fear? Here are a couple of ideas:

Keep a Health Savings Account.

Not all plans allow this, but if you can get one, go for it. Typically they have higher deductibles than other plans, but health savings accounts are tax-free, and if you have one that can be rolled over from year to year you can keep the money if you don’t spend it. My own HSA is mine to keep even if I leave my current employer, and after 62 I can take withdrawals for anything, even non-health-related issues. To my mind, anywhere you can park money, earn interest on it, and not pay taxes is a good thing.

Eat Right and Exercise.

This is old, old advice but it has never been more important than now, when care is expensive, hard to get, and often just plain bad. Most adults benefit from 45 minutes a day of moderate exercise. I walk my dog, but you can do anything you like: bike, roller skate, run, garden, anything. Just get moving. East lots of fresh veggies, at least 5 a day, the brighter the colors the better. Stay away from processed foods especially starchy sweets that are high in transfats and high fructose corn syrup, two food additives that have no nutritional value, lots of calories, and have been directly linked to diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

Learn Yoga or Tai Chi.

Both of these practices teach you to breath deeply and properly while becoming very aware of your body and how it needs to move. Westerners tend to drive themselves to the point of illness. If we exercise, we are punitive about it: No pain, no gain. Consider a tradition that teaches you to develop and maintain optimal health in a non-competitive, non-stressful way. Practice every morning for at least 20 minutes and end with 5 minutes of quiet meditation. Meditation alone has been shown to lower blood pressure and stress.

De-stress Your Life.

Life is stressful and then you die, right? Well, it can be, but only if you consent to be a part of that kind of thinking. If your job is making you sick with stress and worry, get a different job. If you are freaking out over your debt, get some help and get yourself out of debt. If you are in a terrible relationship, ditch that person pronto. So much of illness is caused by unhealthy situations we are reluctant to change for fear things will be even worse. Grow a spine and get the poison out of your life before it makes you sick.

Write Your Congresspersons.

I know there is a lot of cynicism in the US right now, but that’s no excuse for sitting on your hands when you know how to express yourself. Let your representatives know that we need universal health care and we need it now, and that you are sick to death of being on a par with Zimbabwe when it comes to infant mortality and quality of care. We are one of the most powerful developed nations in the world but we have the worst health care system of all those nations, and what’s more, it’s also the most expensive.

When a Crisis Happens, Just Get What You Need, Worry Later.

Stuff happens. People fall and break bones. Cars get into accidents. People become ill with diseases they did not ask for. If this happens to you in spite of all your care and caution, do not put off taking care of yourself because you think you can’t afford it. It’s only money. Citigroup just lost how many gazillion over, what? Mortgages? But you are going to endanger your life and well-being over lack of a few grand? Get real. Take care of yourself first, work the mess out later.

These are just a few suggestions. Perhaps you have some more. If so, post them! We love to hear from you.

Oh, and stay well. As Mr. Spock says, “Live long and prosper!”