How to Make Health Care More Affordable

With health care costs currently soaring above yearly inflation, ways to make health care costs more affordable are needed more than ever. Much of the increase to health care costs for an employee are due to their employees passing a greater and greater percentage of the cost of coverage on to their employees. There are some ways to make health care more affordable and this article will help to get you started.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. If your company offers a health care spending account (HCSA) take advantage of the plan. A HCSA allows you to have funds taken out of your pay before taxes are taken out. Once medical expenses like co-pays, deductibles, over the counter medicines, and mileage to/from medical travel have occurred, a reimbursement can be requested tax-free. Most HCSA plans allow a maximum of $2000 to $5000 to be deducted. The U.S. Senate, however, is considering limiting the maximum amount to $2500.

2. Contact your health care insurance company to find out if a discount is available if you regularly exercise at a health club. Also, ask if they offer a discount for the health club membership, something you may already be paying full price. There may also be preventative care or health screening savings or bonuses available so ask about these discounts as well.

3. Carefully review the health care plans that are available through your employer. If you are married, compare the health care plan of your working spouse. Look for not only lower employee contribution costs but also office co-pays, required deductibles, percent of required match for hospital or laboratory services, and differences in prescription formulary exclusions for medicines that you need frequently. Select the health care plan that gives you the best benefits for the cost based on typical medical needs and needs that you may have for the next year.

4. Keep a list of prescription formulary exclusions from your prescription drug plan with you when you visit the doctor. Most all insurance companies now pay limited expenses for a specific list of drugs even when there is no generic drug available or your doctor insists on the drug. In some cases you may have to pay a very high amount for the drug since your insurance will only pay a small portion. You may not find out how much the drug costs until you pick it up at the pharmacy. If you have the formulary list with you at the doctor, then when the doctor needs to prescribe medicine for you it will be easy to make sure you will not have to overpay. If the drug your doctor prescribes is on the list, ask them if there is another drug that will give you the same benefit.

5. Look for prescription discount programs. There are many free discounts available online or from large prescription retailers. Most of these programs offer online price checking. You can input the drug that you need and the location where you want to pick it up. The discounted price will then be provided. Even if you have prescription drug coverage, compare the discounted price to your plan price. In some cases, the discount price will be cheaper. If this is the case, when you pick up the prescription, let them know you will like to use your prescription discount instead of going through your prescription drug coverage. For many less expensive drugs, large retailers like Wal-Mart and Kroger offer set lower priced prescriptions for as little as $4.00. You can go to their website and see if the drug you need is listed under this discounted price. If you regularly take medications, purchase a 90-day supply instead of purchasing a 30 day supply each month. You will generally save 30% of the cost by purchasing your prescriptions this way.

6. Stay in good health and use preventative measures to limit illness. People who are in better health generally have less short term and long term health care costs. Look for opportunities to avoid illness like flu shots or well checks to monitor and maintain good health.

7. Monitor your health insurance statements and billing from health care providers. If you see anything that does not make sense, call and question the charges immediately. Doctor offices and medical insurance companies frequently make mistakes since they offer different pricing and different health plans for different groups. This can cause confusion and errors.

8. If you smoke, quit smoking. Some health insurance plans require additional charges for smokers. Avoid these fees not only to save money but to improve your health. Some health care plans will even pay for you to attend classes or counseling to increase your chances to quit smoking.