beniebuzz blog

When is the last time you had an eye exam? I just read a report from Essilor, the world’s leading provider of eyeglass lenses, that said 99 million adults get an annual eye exam. There are approximately 200 million adult Americans, so HALF of you aren’t taking good care of the “windows to your soul.” What?

Whether you’re in the 20/20 half or the blurry half, here are 7 reasons you should schedule your appointment today!

1) Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard about the Target breach and now this new Heartbleed. Even if you are living under a rock, they’ve likely affected you in some way. It seems like there’s a big story popping up every week in the news about breaches, hackers, identity theft, etc.

Have you been to an ER lately? The cost and wait time are about as painful as the reason you’re there! According to a 2009 study, patients spent an average of four hours and seven minutes in an ER. I can only imagine where it’s gone from 2009 to 2014! And, you’re not supposed to LOSE an arm and a leg in an ER, but that’s about what it costs. According to one recent study, the average cost is $1,477.  

Who doesn’t love the thrill of saving money? Getting deals is like a professional sport to many Americans and Groupon has proven that we love discounts on just about anything: massages, carpet cleaning, guitar lessons, hot air balloon rides, vacations, etc., etc. 

But, what about healthcare? Gone are the days when our insurance plans cover every need in our family – even with good insurance coverage, some things just slip through the cracks. However, most Americans don’t think about getting discounts on health care stuff. 

Five years ago, Debbie felt like something wasn’t right. It took 18 months (and many painful tests) before she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). 

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Debbie cites many benefits of her disease – short lines at Disneyland, better parking spaces and it justifies her house cleaning service. But, she reveals another side of her disease when she says, “You have to choose to give up or get up. Don't be sad - be pissed and keep going! Being pissed lets me keep fighting back.”

“Oops, sorry.” That was the billing rep for the surgeon’s response when she realized they had used the wrong code for my son’s surgery. Their “oops” was a mistake for which I was being billed $2,000! 

Did you know it’s estimated that 40% to 80% of medical bills contain errors? In 2010, Kaiser Health News estimated that nearly $68 billion is lost to fraud and billing mistakes each year.

If you were to die tomorrow, who would care for your kids? Your pets? Who would inherit your grandmother’s wedding ring?  

Recent surveys show that 50% of Americans with kids don’t have a will. What? And what are their excuses? 1) too stressed about today to think about tomorrow, 2) concerned about the expense, 3) too complicated, and 4) general procrastination (I’m gonna’ get to that someday). 

Have you combed through your health insurance plan to find the 2 deductible amounts? Yeah, me neither (I, for one, have other more exciting things to do…like clean toilets). But trust me, they’re both there!

As a refresher, the deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance starts to help pay your medical bills. Most insurance plans have an “In-Network” deductible and an “Out-of-Network” deductible. The “Out-of-Network” deductible can be double the amount of the “In-Network” deductible. For instance…

$2,500 “In-Network” deductible