MURRAY, Utah (ABC4 Utah) - Your health insurance plan is an investment in your health and well-being, providing you with the financial support needed for both unexpected and expected medical care and prescription coverage.

A common misconception when it comes to health plans, however, is that it’s only for medical emergencies or when you’re feeling unwell.

“Your health insurance plan should be used throughout the year, even if you are healthy, if not you may be missing out on a lot of benefits," said Carlos Higueros, individual products sales associate at Select Health. “When you use your benefits to stay healthy, you avoid the many stresses, including financial, that come with health emergencies and illnesses.”

It is six months into the year, and Select Health has three recommended healthcare and health insurance steps you should take if you have not already.

1. Schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider and focus on preventive care services.

Even if you are in good health, it’s still important to routinely see your healthcare provider.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preventative care could save over 100,000 lives in the United States each year.

Most healthy adults don’t need to see their provider every year. However, doctor visits are dependent on your current health status, and your provider can recommend how often you should be scheduling appointments.

Make sure you don’t disregard the benefits of seeing your provider routinely.

Similarly, staying on top of preventive care services is an important factor when focusing on your health. Most health plans cover preventive care services, so you don’t have to worry about costs like copays and out-of-pocket expenses.

Both adults and children have a set of recommended care services. To learn more about the specific care services for you, ask your healthcare provider or health insurer for a breakdown of these services.

Typical healthcare services include cholesterol tests and some cancer screenings for adults, well-baby or well-child visits, autism, depression, and developmental screenings for children.

Preventive care services for both adults and children cover the costs of immunizations for a variety of diseases like influenza, chickenpox, and measles.

2. Use prescription drug coverage – including accessing savings available through the health plan.

Prescription medications can quickly become very costly and a strain on your budget.

If you haven’t checked in with your insurer or reviewed your benefits structure, you may be missing out on prescription drug coverage discounts that are part of your health plan, helping you save money each time you request a refill.

Most health plans employ pharmacy benefits specialists whose goal is to help members find low-cost medications, such as generics for otherwise high-priced drugs.

Select Health collaborates with Rx Savings Solutions to help members save money on prescriptions through an innovative pharmacy savings tool and can also suggest lower-cost medications that may work just as effectively as those you’re currently taking.

Additionally, Select Health and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs have created an innovative relationship – Select Health members will now have access to more than 1,000 prescription products at potentially lower prices than traditional pharmacy locations.

This collaboration encompasses medications for many common conditions, including high blood pressure, certain cancers, dementia, asthma, diabetes, and more.

Select Health members can review their formulary, a list of covered medications on their health plan, and potentially identify less-expensive alternatives if they log into the Select Health Member Login.

“Many of us have specific prescription drug needs that can get expensive out of pocket,” said Higueros. “That’s why it’s important to understand the costs and benefits available through your health plan because there could be discounts available to reduce the costs on your medications.”

3. Maximize any wellness benefits and rewards that are part of the health plan.

Many health plans have added benefits and extras that individuals either don’t know about or forget to use. Taking advantage of items such as wellness benefits wrapped into your health plan can make a huge difference for individuals and families.

“A lot of people are surprised to learn that you can be rewarded by your health plan for physical activities like taking 7,000+ steps per day, dancing, swimming, going to the gym or anything that gets you moving,” said Higueros. “These are things that you may already be doing as part of a daily, weekly or monthly routine, but now you can get rewarded for it.”

Review your health plan to see what wellness benefits are available to you. Select Health members can learn more about what wellness rewards their plan offers via online resources.

Don’t let unique benefits go unused because they not only help you start living a healthier lifestyle, but you can save money.

Your health insurance is there for you to cover medical care, services, and prescriptions, and help you live a healthy lifestyle for years to come. Start by taking these three steps to utilize your health plan wisely for the remainder of the year.

If you have questions about coverage options or extras that add value to a health plan for individual and families, reach out to Select Health online at selecthealth.org or call 1-855-442-0220.

Sponsored by Intermountain Health.