Reducing Health Care Costs for the Insured
How to Reduce out of Pocket Medical Expenses
Having a health care insurance does not mean that you should stop paying attention to the costs of the health care delivery. Your health care insurer may not cover all the treatments and investigations you require. The deductibles that you have to pay out of your pocket may further tighten your budget to uncomfortable levels.
According to a recent national study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change, when the ‘out of pocket’ spending for health care service exceeded 2.5% of family income, financial pressures started building up rapidly.
In February 2008, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo started an investigation into allegations that healthcare insurers were unfairly saddling consumers with too much of the cost of the out of network health care. On Jan 13th, 2009, the Attorney General announced a settlement with the healthcare insurers, according to which the United States will pay $50 million to set up a new independent database run by a qualified nonprofit organization which will act like a watchdog to protect consumer rights.
Tips on Reducing Health Care Costs for the Insured
Here are a few tips with which you can limit or cut down your ‘out of pocket’ healthcare costs:
- Prevention is better than cure! A balanced diet (taken at regular intervals), sufficient intake of water and fresh fruit juices, regular exercise, good sleep, avoidance of bad habits like smoking, alcohol in moderation and practice of relaxation techniques will ensure that your body and mind are kept fit and healthy.
- Conduct a market study before choosing your health insurer. Talk with your friends, colleagues, and customers about their health insurances, visit the web sites, call the brokers or agents. Look out for low premiums, high coverage, low deductibles and coinsurance in your search for an affordable health care insurance. Ask specifically how much you will have to pay out of your pocket for consultation, specific laboratory investigations, procedures, prescriptions, hospitalization etc. Bargain for good deals and get them in black and white.
- Do not go to the doctors for trivial illnesses. Remember that a common cold will get cured in 7 days if treated and in one week if left untreated!
- Take your doctor into confidence. If your doctor gives you a referral for a specialist and/or hospitalized treatment, request for cost effective institutions, where your ‘out of pocket’ expenses will be far less.
- Opt for teaching hospitals. In addition to having the latest technologies, teaching hospitals provide comparatively lower prices for consultation, investigations and surgeries.
- Ask for alternate, cheaper prescriptions. Newer medications are not necessarily the best.
- Take a second opinion. If you are prescribed more than 3 medications for a single illness or costly investigations and procedures, take a second opinion. The doctor may be practicing wide shot therapy or defensive medicine,at your cost
- Look out for discounts. Many insurers, institutions and private practices advertise discounted rates from time to time. Take advantage of these.
- Join a group health care insurance. The premiums will be much less if you join a group health care insurance. If none are available, talk with your community leaders, church, parents association of your kid’s school, your colleagues and employer to start one.
- Go through your medical bills with a comb. You might be surprised to find some investigations and treatments which you never availed mistakenly billed. Contest them. Your health insurers will appreciate this and hopefully bring down your next health care premium.
Thus getting actively involved in your health care delivery and insurances can be cost effective and pay rich dividends in the long run.
Related Reading: Cut the Healthcare Costs: Tips for the Uninsured
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