Preventive Care

 The Affordable Care Act (ACA) defines a specific list of preventive care services that are covered at no cost to you when you use an in-network provider. All Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative health plans include coverage for these no-cost-share preventive care benefits and the services are billed appropriately. We encourage members to use these services to help maintain optimal health.

 

Understand Your Coverage to Maximize Your Benefits.

Deciding which services to receive is between you and your doctor. Our job is to help you understand your benefits.

 

Understanding the difference between “no-cost-share preventive care” (required under the ACA) and other services considered preventive by you or your doctor is important. Copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles apply to covered services that are not on the ACA-defined list. Cost sharing also applies to services when the purpose is diagnostic care.

 

    • Preventive care applies when you don’t have any history, symptoms, or other health concerns for which the testing or screening is being done.
    • Diagnostic care applies when you do have a history, symptoms, or risk factors of a health concern. Tests and screenings become “diagnostic” under these circumstances because the doctor is trying to diagnose or monitor a health condition. Co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles apply to covered diagnostic services.

Preventive Care versus Diagnostic Care 

No-Cost-Share Preventive Care
ACA Required Coverage

Preventive care applies when you are symptom free and have no reason to believe you might be unhealthy.

 

    • Often part of a routine physical or checkup.
    • Limited to specific services, screening tests, and medications.
    • Must be received from in-network providers.

 

See lists below

$0 Out-of-Pocket Cost when received from an in-network provider and billed appropriately

Diagnostic Care

Diagnostic care applies when you have symptoms or risk factors that your doctor uses to diagnose a condition.

 

    • May be recommended as part of a routine physical or checkup.
    • Can include any test, even follow up mammograms or colonoscopies.

 

 

Out-of-Pocket Costs Apply copayments (copay), coinsurance, and deductible

Click here to download a full printable list (PDF) of what may be no-cost-share preventive health services.

*Preventive health services are covered at 100% only when they are received from an in-network provider and billed appropriately.