The Top 10 Ways to Lower Your Health Care Costs

If your medical expenses are increasing, you’ll want to know how to lower them and keep them low. Here are 10 easy ways to reduce your health care costs.
1. Maintain a health lifestyle — it sounds basic, but it really works. If you take advantage of available wellness programs, maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, stop smoking, and have regular checkups, you can greatly reduce your medical expenses.
2. Take advantage of free health screenings —if your health insurance doesn't provide adequate health screenings, or if you don't have any health insurance coverage at all, look into free health screenings. Local clinics and hospitals often provide a variety of screenings, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and mammograms.
3. Compare your health insurance options — you’ll need to get your own coverage if you don’t have employer-sponsored health insurance. Shop around. Because premiums vary widely, you'll probably save money if you get quotes from several companies. Evaluate each plan's coverage and features, taking into account exclusions, limitations, and the freedom to choose health-care providers. Also find out how much you'll end up paying out of pocket in the form of co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles, because even relatively small amounts of money can really add up if you make frequent visits to your doctor.
4. Reduce the costs of your prescription drugs — if you take prescription drugs regularly, you know they can eat up a large portion of your budget. To save money, order your prescriptions though the mail by using a traditional or online pharmacy. If you belong to a prescription drug plan through your health insurance plan, you may be able to get a three-month supply of your prescription drug through the mail for the same price you would pay for a one-month supply at your neighborhood pharmacy. You can also ask your pharmacist or doctor to recommend a less-expensive generic drug whenever possible.
5. Always check your medical bills for errors — taking a few minutes to go over the charges can save you money in the long run. Check to make sure that the bill accurately reflects the procedures you have undergone and takes into account any applicable insurance coverage you may have. Some errors, such as wrong computer codes, are common, and you may be billed for health care you never received. Contact the appropriate billing office if you think you've found a mistake. If you've received an explanation of benefits from your insurance company that you believe is wrong, ask the company to review your claim.
6. Keep track of your medical expenses — at tax time, you may be able to deduct certain medical expenses if you itemize, and your total medical expenses exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. Allowable medical expenses include everything from health-care services to medical aids such as eyeglasses and hearing aids. Keep track of these expenses during the year.
7. Consider joining your spouse's health plan — review both your coverage and your spouse's coverage to see if it makes sense for either of you to join the other's plan. Keep in mind that most plans allow you to add a spouse to your plan within a certain time period after you get married. Otherwise, you may have to wait for the plans' annual open enrollment period.
8. Negotiate a discount with your healthcare provider —you can sometimes negotiate to lower your medical bills. While it may not always work, it doesn't hurt to ask your doctor, hospital, or pharmacy if they're willing to come down in price. Before you begin to negotiate, do a little research to find out what other healthcare providers in your area are charging. You can also ask your healthcare provider if they'll lower their price if you pay in cash up front.
9. Contribute to a flexible spending account — check to see if your employer offers a flexible spending plan that will allow you to put pretax dollars in an account. If so, consider participating. You will be reimbursed for your out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as prescription drugs, dental care, and co-payments. Because flexible spending contributions are taken out of your pay before federal and state taxes are calculated, you get to use pretax dollars to pay your medical bills.
10. Understand your health insurance benefits — your health insurance may cover more than you think. Many insurance companies now provide services that are designed to help you stay safe and healthy. For example, you may receive discounts on vitamins, alternative medicines, health club memberships, or bike helmets. You may also be surprised at the range of coverage your health plan offers. For instance, it may cover dental care for young children, chiropractic care, and acupuncture. Read your plan membership materials to find out what products and services are available through your health plan before you pay for them on your own.
Staying healthy is the best way to reduce your health care costs. Getting a quality health insurance policy and understanding its benefits will also go a long way to keeping your medical bills as low as possible.

Health Insurance: The 101 Explained

We all understand the importance of health insurance; however, as the types of health insurance continue to increase it is becoming more and more difficult to select the type of coverage that is best for you and your family. To help you find out which type of policy might benefit you the most, let’s take a look at the most common types of policies.
There is usually a lot of hype regarding HMOs so let’s look at that one first. A HMO is a health maintenance organization plan that works with a specified group of doctors and hospitals within the network. A primary healthcare physician is selected and you must obtain referrals for care that cannot be provided by that physician. The benefits of this type of plan are lower office visit costs and prescription drug co-pays. In addition, there will typically be either no or limited deductible costs for hospital stays. Depending on your coverage, there may also be no pre-existing condition cause limitations. It is also important to understand that your choice of doctors and hospitals will be limited with a HMO and you won’t be able to have out of network services covered.
A PPO or Preferred Provider Organization works similar to a HMO; however, the major difference is that you are not required to select a primary care physician. In addition to the benefit of being free to choose your own physician without worrying about a referral you also gain the benefit of limited or no deductible costs for hospital stays as well as a possible larger selection of physicians that might be available with a HMO. Out of network services may also be covered; however, for a higher charge than in network services.
A POS, or Point of Service, is also similar to a HMO in that you select a primary care physician. The difference is that you are free to choose out of network treatment if you’re willing to pay a higher out of pocket cost. Another option is what is known as a traditional coverage policy. This type of policy will have a higher monthly premium as well as deductibles. In addition, you will generally be required to pay for services out of your own pocket up front and then submit claim reimbursement forms.
You may also wish to consider various types of disability plans, which cover a percentage of your income in the event that you experience an illness or accident that prevents you from working for a period of time. A short term disability plan will provide benefits from the first day of an accident or the eighth day of an illness up to 26 weeks. Generally, this type of plan will cover 66% of your weekly income.
Long term disability will begin after short term coverage has expired and will provide coverage for a variable term, depending on the policy you select. Some policies are limited to providing coverage up to two years while others will cover you up to the age of 65.

Alternative Low Cost Health Insurance - Staying On Top Of It

Some things in life are taken for granted and the privilege of having health insurance may be one of them. Employers have to give their employees some kind of benefit program in their overall compensation package. The employee expects it and enjoys the security of having good health insurance. Everything changes when the employee leaves the employer. Insurance decisions have to be made. No one can escape from this process. The employee soon finds the cost to continue the insurance to be much more than expected and they start scrambling for alternatives. Are there alternatives? What can be done to reduce the cost?
There has been a major shift in thinking by the insurance buying public over alternatives to lowering the cost of health insurance. Low deductibles are a thing of the past. It has taken some time to change the thinking about having low deductibles. Low deductibles mean less out of pocket expense. It works the opposite in today’s market for health insurance. The premiums paid for lower deductibles are so high that it no longer makes sense to have them. The higher deductibles reduce the premium dramatically. There are deductibles as large as $5000 in some health insurance plans.
Two Alternatives
1. Take the highest deductible that you can afford. This is called self-insuring. You are insuring yourself for the deductible amount in exchange for a lower premium.
2. Start a Health Savings Account. This is a savings account that is used for medical expenses only. This is a fantastic way of putting money aside for the out of pocket deductible amount and any additional medical expense. The best part about it is that the health savings account is tax deductible. See your tax advisor or accountant on how to set up this plan.
Insurance is a great place to start to lower your monthly bills. We hope that this will help you analyze your next quote. Please refer to our recommended source for insurance quotes of all types.