What Is the Purpose of the Individual Health Assessment?
An individual health assessment is intended to help a person improve his health, stay healthy and discover health risks he may not be aware of, according to Humana and Aetna. Health assessments are common with health insurance providers and the results do not always impact the policyholder’s benefits or coverage.
Individual health assessments are also intended to inform an individual of health problems that require immediate attention, notes Aetna. A person can use the results of his health assessment to create a strategy to lower his risk of cancer, heart disease or a number of other health complications with the help of his doctor or another health care professional. Not all health assessments require the participant to be a policyholder of a specific insurance provider.
An individual completes a health assessment by answering questions about his health history and health habits, states Aetna. The answers remain confidential, and the assessment might include suggestions as to what the individual can do to improve his health.
Specific questions on a health assessment usually refer to smoking, risk of diabetes, exercise, alcohol, stress and nutrition, explains the University of Iowa. The assessment may also gauge how ready a person is to make a change in his health to better tailor recommendations for improving his health.
