25 Ways to Save Money On Health Care
By
Pinyo, on April 24, 2008
I came home from work last night and my wife handed me the May issue of Parents magazine. She pointed out an articled called “25 Ways to Save Money on Health Care” by Teri Cettina. She thought I might like it, and she was right!
I am going to share the 25 ways here, but if you want the full detail you’ll have to check out the magazine. I’ll keep this brief, but there are a few that I will elaborate on.
Here are the 25 ways to save money on health care (paraphrased and commented in some places):
- Shop for the best health plan.
- Consider a high deductible (HD) plan — I think HD works well for some people, especially in combination with a health savings account (HSA). However, I don’t think it’s a good fit for parents-to-be, new parents, and people who need a lot of medical attention.
- Take advantage of perks offered by your health plan.
- Bring a list of covered prescription medications (“formulary”) to the doctor.
- Be willing to ask your doctor about the cost and seek less expensive alternatives.
- Stay up-to-date with routine and well-child checkups.
- Stay in-network.
- Slice your pills into two halves — Teri said that it might be possible to slice high-dose prescription pills to save money. Be sure to clear this with your doctor.
- Look for special services — this is the same thing with #3?
- Wear helmet and protective gears.
- Opt for less expensive generic drugs.
- Ask your doctor for drug samples.
- Take advantage of tax-sheltered flexible spending account (FSA).
- Split the cost between two plan years — I don’t think this works well for most situations, unless you are trying to take advantage of FSA.
- Watch your hygiene. Wash your hands often.
- If you don’t have insurance, look into discount plans.
- Don’t spend unnecessarily on supplements.
- Shop around for prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses.
- Have a backup plan in case you lose your primary insurance — i.e., should you purchase the COBRA coverage or go for a personal health insurance plan.
- Visit your dentist twice a year and take care of your teeth.
- Join the farm bureau — I’ve never heard about farm bureau before, but Teri said that you could gain access to many benefits by simply joining one of these bureaus.
- Read bills carefully — You should always compare your bills to the explanation of benefits (EOB) before paying your bills. Personally, I ran into many billing errors during the past two years.
- Go to dental school for discounted treatment — Although my friend who is a dentist said this is a bad idea, except for very basic procedures. Personally, my dental plan is so good I wouldn’t even consider this as a good option.
- Steer clear of the emergency room — I used to work in an emergency room, and I can assure you that you will get a faster, better, and cheaper service from your primary care doctor.
- If your insurance denies your claim, appeal the decision and contact your state insurance commission if needed.
In summary, I think Teri’s article is excellent and you should check out the full article if possible. However, she did forget the most important way to save money on health care — EXERCISE!
Here are a few more health-related money saving ideas:
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About the Author
Pinyo is the owner of
Moolanomy Personal Finance and an entrepreneur with over 20 years of business experience. He has a strong appreciation for business management, investing, and wealth building. He has written for many online publications, including American Express and U.S. News.
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You forgot #26 – move to Canada.
Since we “pre-pay” our medical system through our taxes, this is only a good strategy for someone who needs a lot of medical care.
Mike
Or if you don’t like Canada you can move to the UK where we have a free National Health System!! Although the rain, tiny streets and the sight of grown men wearing socks with sandals might put you off.
I am from the UK too and as much as people complain about the National Health System it is better than having to pay!
Its not totally free in the UK. National Insurance contributions from all workers are partially used to fund the NHS.
You can however visit a doctor or hospital and not have to worry about paying.
@Mike — I don’t know about Canada…might be a bit cold. I have thought about Australia though.
@Make Friends — I don’t know about living, but I’d like to visit there once, but not while the dollar is down like this.
@Rachel — At this point, it obvious that Americans can’t manage health care insurance on our own — too many people without insurance. I know a lot of people would complain about a national system due to increased taxation (may be I might even be one of them). But something definitely has to be done about our situation.
@No More Spending — How does the UK handle abuses — i.e., people that uses the system all the time because it’s there — resulting in greater burden?
@Jerry — Thanks. I used to have an employee who always go to the ER for all his medical needs. I told him he should make doctor appointment, and not wait the whole day at the ER.
@Jim — Thanks for mentioning the mail-order prescription. My plan is also encouraging to use them for regular prescription to cut down costs.
@JLP — I believe it’s a regional association.
“We understand how hard you work for your money. That’s why as a member of New York Farm Bureau you can enjoy substantial discounts on a variety of products, including eyewear, automobiles, theme parks, travel, accommodations, and much more.”
And according to Terri, you don’t have to be a farmer to become a member.
Thanks for pointing this out. We get the magazine but I hadn’t looked at it yet, I’m always looking for ways to cut health expenses. Thanks!
Silly Gringo!!!! Get FREE medical care!!!!!
Go to any decent barrio and for $50 to $200 get a complete package of phony ID that can be used at any hospital emergency room.
Present ID when needing care, up to and including organ transplants costing millions of dollars. Free!!!!! Do a Google, there are PLENTY of news stories telling of illegals doing this.
With your phony ID the hospitals are unable to track you down to get money out of you.
The costs are passed on to citizen patients via higher cash payments (for the uninsured), through higher health insurance payments and from governmental hand-outs…. in other words, your tax dollars.
Viva La Raza!!!!! Make the muy estupido Gringo pay!!!! And pay we do… many BILLIONS of dollars yearly.
The idea about avoiding the Emergency Department is a great one (unless it IS an emergency, of course, in which case GO!), and it leads to savings. The vast number of people who go there for non-emergency treatments is one of the things which drives up the cost of health care in this country. The thing is, most ED’s will treat people without insurance, which is an increasing number of people… not many primary care offices will treat the uninsured.
Jerry
Re: #8 – I believe this is referring to the fact that some prescription plans (UnitedHealthcare offers this) will give you a discount off the already low mail-order prices for your prescriptions if you have your doctor double the pill size and proscribe for you to take a half a pill.
What is a farm bureau and how is it related to health care? Is it something local to where you live? Is it a Federal thing?
@ Pinyo
They don’t handle it. You can really go as much as you like. Prescription charges are £6.85 ($13.70). To get hospital treatment you need to be referred by a GP, apart from in emergencies.
In general the NHS does a great job, especially on weekend nights when it seems you can go out, get extremely drunk, fight someone, end up damaged and in the ER, abuse the nurses etc and still get free treatment and fixed up!
Or we move from a capitalistic society to a socialist one and let the government pay for it out of our taxes!
You are right on about steering clear of the ER. I wanted to add that if you do need to go to the ER, don’t go by ambulance unless it is a true emergency. Many people think that they are free, or always covered by insurance, but that is not the case. It is actually up to the insurance company to decide if your case is a TRUE emergency and whether or not it will be covered by your policy. A typical ambulance ride is $800 or more!! Silly to pay that much for a sprained ankle!
#26 Lose weight
#27 Move to Japan (or Canada, or the UK, or one of the other wealthy, industrialized nations which all have universal health care.)
You can’t “abuse” a universal healthcare system. You don’t wind up paying more because your neighbor is old and takes lots of pills, you wind up paying very little at all, no paperwork is involved, and you can go to any hospital in the country. It’s great.
Medical care is definitely a big issue and that too if we are staying alone, there is no headache painful than that.
Some other ideas:
- Consider going to a nurse practitioner. In my case, I pay less and get to spend more time in the office than with a traditional M.D. And, my NP offers alternatives to traditional medicines. She’s part of my network, too.
- Stay healthy: Don’t smoke, exercise, eat right and in moderation, etc.
- I have two young children, 2 1/2 and 5 1/2. It seemed like I spent every month between January and May last year in the pediatrician’s office with one or the other of them so this cold/flu season, I was manic about giving them yogurt and gummy vitamins as a precautionary measure. I also tried to implement the diet recommendations of Super Baby Food when possible. And, I’m glad to report, this year I spent far less time in the pediatrician’s office although I did end up there earlier this month–but that’s just one incident rather than five like last cold/flu season (excluding well-child/annual checkups).
@Ben – No problem and thank you for stopping by.
@No More Spending – “you can go out, get extremely drunk, fight someone, end up damaged and in the ER, abuse the nurses etc…”
That sounds so British.
@Just Me – You’re right. Most people do not do that. My family’s friends were in a car accident once and they paid more for the ambulance ride than the treatment — and the hospital was only 3 blocks away!
@Nirav – Honestly, the Canadian and the UK systems do not sound all that bad to me.
@Pearl – Thank you for adding those.
@Frugal Mom – Nice adds. I haven’t consider NP before, but I suspect that they can treat 99% of what I need.
Thanks for sharing that list. We’ve opted for a high deductible plan because we have great office visit and prescription drug copays. We’ve been on this plan for several years and it’s really worked for us.
I would also add that there are prescription drug coupons all over the place these days. I just tore another one out of the paper this morning for $25 for a transferred prescription. I try to keep these on hand in case the need arises.
not me obviously Pinyo
Health care sure is expensive. I love it when your company gives a good plan. I say, don’t be lazy and take good care of your health to avoid any complications! Prevention before cure
@Julie — I’m glad you mentioned the coupon because I have been using one to get $5 off per prescription for my wife’s prenatal vitamin as well (she already gave birth but she’s taking it because she is still breast feeding).
@NMS — Dang…
@Bunny — “Prevention before cure” is the key…I have to exercise more and eat better.
Great article and very timely given the economy. If you are fit and healthy, why pay for everyone else who does not take care of themselves and is in constant need of medication and doctor visits?
A great option to consider is taking out catastrophic health insurance plan which covers you for major expenses, such as those in a car accident, and then paying in cash for preventive health treatments you may need on an ongoing basis. You can buy a personal or family catastrophic health insurance plan with a high deductible and saves thousands of dollars on year – its the cheapest health insurance out there by far. If you are paying in cash for treatments, there is a great web site called http://www.smarthealthbuyer.com/ which allows you to price compare thousands of treatments and choose the best practitioner for your needs. You can often save 30% just by shopping around. For example you can pay in cash to see a naturopathic doctor for a 90 minute health consultation. Average price is just over $130. When was the last time you spent 90 minutes with your doctor?
Think of this like a no claims bonus for car insurance. If you take care of yourself, why should you pay the same as a 25 year old driver who likes to party, and drink and drive.
I had gone to a dental school. Excellent care. The only problem is TIME! Remember, it is a school. And one student will work on you for each procedure from start to finish. Many students look on and doctors, too, before anything is done: pulled, shot, drilled, etc. And when the school has a break, vacations – no work is done. but for the savings, it can be worth it.
Do you know if there’s any way to get supplements covered for children with ASD who are on a GFCF diet and have levels that need to be “normalized” with supplements?
@Jen – I am sorry, but I don’t know the answer. Where we live (Northern Virginia) the county does provide some support to children with developmental delay in term of early education and therapy. However, I am not aware of support for supplements and special diet.
I have used Flexible Spending accounts for years. Using pretax dollars is a great way to reduce medical costs.