Make Better Health Your New Year's Resolution
6 Minutes
Team Curative
Dec 12, 2023
Is better health a part of your New Year’s resolution? If so, you wouldn’t be alone. People make bold New Year’s resolutions each year, often ones related to health and wellness. Here is how you can make affordable health insurance a part of your support system.
The most successful resolutions have the strongest support systems. Those support systems include exercise partners, family members, friends and an affordable health insurance plan that encourages preventive care.
In 2022, 23% of Americans surveyed set a resolution to generally live healthier, joined by another 34% who set a more health-action-related resolution like exercising more. In a more recent study by Forbes Health, the most significant percentage of GenZ respondents reported setting a mental-health-related New Year’s resolution.
You are not alone in wanting to be a healthier you this year, but how do you turn a resolution into a lifestyle? Setting a resolution is easy, but sticking to it is the tricky part.
A Resolution of Wellness
Most often, we associate better health with diet, weight, and exercise. But because our minds, bodies, and even communities are so closely connected, improving one aspect of your health requires improving every aspect of your health. If you plan to prioritize your health next year, the key is to balance each aspect of your health, including:
Social Support
Mental Health
Stress Management
Preventive Health
That can sound like a lot, but don’t worry, it’s not as exhausting as it sounds. If each aspect of your health impacts the others, then an improvement in one area can turn into an improvement in all areas.
Improving your health is easy once you get the ball rolling — and well worth the initial effort. Researchers have found strong ties between physical health and higher life satisfaction. Those benefits are enough to help motivate many people for a lifetime.
1. Support
Successful New Year’s resolutions are often associated with willpower, but that’s only true in the short term. Strong support systems are the key for most who sustain a New Year’s resolution beyond six months.
A strong support system is the difference between a safety thread and a safety net. The broader your support system, the stronger it will be. Consider the following:
Share your goals with family and friends so they can be mindful and supportive.
Join a tailored group focused on the same goal, like a workout class..
See if your health insurance provider has preventive care services or wellness programs. If not, consider having a conversation with your job’s HR team to discuss the need for affordable health insurance that offers wellness benefits.
2. Mental Health
Your mental health affects how you show up at work, at home, and even at the gym. Poor mental health can affect your relationships, work performance, personal life, and physical health.
It’s important to catch common mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression before they become larger concerns.
But taking proactive steps to maintain good mental health doesn’t have to be complicated. Many affordable health insurance plans cover mental health services like virtual and in-person talk therapy.
3. Stress Management
When our bodies are stressed, we produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol was very helpful for helping our bodies react to and run from charging lions and tigers, but it’s not so useful for running from meeting to meeting.
In fact, sustained cortisol production leads to long-term health complications like inflammation, high blood pressure, digestive problems, headaches, and even heart disease.
Stress management helps you maintain balance in your mind and body. At the same time, engaging in proactive mental and physical exercise makes stress easier to manage.
It doesn’t help that more than 60% of U.S. adults report health insurance as a leading cause of stress. More than half of people with employer-provided health insurance don’t know what costs will be covered by their plan or considered out of pocket.
Finding a health insurance provider that prioritizes cost transparency and preventive care can contribute to your health goals in more ways than one.
4. Preventive Healthcare
Starting your health journey on the right foot requires regular contact with a good healthcare team. Your team may include a primary care provider, a mental health provider, and any specialist physicians your health and ability levels need.
Good health insurance plans provide resources for preventive medical care like annual physicals, check-ups, preventive screenings, and vaccinations.
Annual physicals and regular checkups allow your primary care provider to check your vital signs and ensure your body is healthy. These visits help your doctor benchmark your health and offer an opportunity to catch something before it becomes a problem.
Similarly, preventive screenings, like cholesterol tests, mammograms, and colonoscopies, are performed as you reach age milestones where diabetes and certain types of cancer become concerns.
Screenings and physicals also give your healthcare team an opportunity to make medicine, diet, and activity recommendations to support your health goals.
Vaccines prevent you from contracting common illnesses like annual Flu and COVID-19 strains that negatively impact your health in the short term and can lead to more severe complications.
Contact your health insurance provider to see what types of preventative services and wellness programs they offer.
If your insurance plan doesn’t offer $0 out-of-pocket preventive care services*, consider finding an affordable health insurance plan that does.
Plan for a Health Year Ahead
As you look to the future, remember that your health journey shouldn’t be another source of stress. With proper support, practices, and structures in place, you can be better equipped to take on the challenge of improving your overall health.
Successful New Year resolutions are tied to long-term change, so be sure to build health habits into your daily routine. Start by sharing your goals with your friends, family, and healthcare team. Look for physicians, counselors, and coaches who can help you take actionable steps toward your goals.
And lastly — don’t forget about your health insurance plan. Good, affordable health insurance plans should (and often do) support preventive care and overall well-being. Contact your insurance provider to determine if they offer services or programs you may benefit from. If you don’t have access to preventive care, consider finding an affordable health insurance plan to support all aspects of your health.
Curative’s Affordable Health Insurance
Curative increases transparency and reduces stress so members will love using their health benefits. Our plans deliver better health through affordability, engagement, and simplicity.
No copays. No deductibles. No...really.
Curative is changing the way we view health insurance.
