Money is tight now as everyone knows it. And, with rising health care costs, it is sometimes complicated to find ways to cut back especially on necessities such as healthcare costs.
One great way to save money on your rising medical costs is to shop around on the web. There are many great websites like www.glasses.com that can help you find affordable medical care, prescription glasses, and the like to help take the sting out of rising medical costs.
How to Easily Save Money on Rising Medical Costs
Here are five additional tips for spending less on rising medical costs and healthcare expenses.
1. Go Generic With Medication
Ask your health care provider if your medications are essential. Are there other alternatives to try out before prescriptions? If it is important to have the drug, ask if there exists a generic version of the drug available and if there are any reasons why the generic variation would be inappropriate for you. Frequently medicines that come off patent can cost nearly 90% less than their brand-name counterparts.
2. Try Out Coupon Websites
If you cannot acquire generic, try to find medication coupons. The AARP advises looking for online coupons for prescriptions, especially for non-generic medications.
3. Exercise Your Own Prevention Practices
Experts suggest simple steps to preventing medical issues before they become a problem by doing things such as eating a well-balanced diet and exercising. These tactics can mean major financial savings in medical care expenses. Consider maintaining a healthy weight and going to the medical doctor routinely for checkups in order to prevent larger medical costs.
4. Negotiate Your Medical Costs
It can be simple to negotiate medical expenses. Generally, doctors and other healthcare providers are willing to lower their standard fees for patients with limited incomes or special financial circumstance. This holds true especially for men and women without medical insurance, or for services not covered by health insurance. But, it is your decision to start the dialogue with your doctor.
5. Check Your Medical Bills
Always take a look at your medical bills and insurance coverage before and after a visit to the physician. Look for anything incorrect or suspicious. If you discover an oversight, call your healthcare provider immediately for corrections.
Do you have any tips that help you save money on medical costs and your healthcare? I’d love to hear about it in the comment section.
Great tips Hank! One, to go along with point #4, is to see if the doctor/hospital will lower your bill if you pay it all at once. We’ve been able to save 15-20% for having our last two kids just by asking. That meant savings of a couple of hundred dollars and all it took was us asking. I guess they figure it’s better to get it all at once as opposed to running the risk of someone not paying, or taking too long to pay.
I would also add a HSA/FSA. They can provide some good tax benefits if you use them correctly.
One great idea is to move to a high deductible plan if you are currently health and stay with that plan. People who have a higher deductible generally change their attitude and daily regiment to work on becoming healthier so they lower their overall out of pocket costs.
Great article!
I’m glad you included exercise and eating right – a lot of people overlook those two, and they are the EASIEST things you can do to create a healthier you!
Great set of tips. My dad is very vocal to his doctor about requesting the cheapest possible quality medicine that can be prescribed. I guess that’s also a wise practice aside from go generic.
I agree with what you said about eating right and doing exercise regularly. These two are very important to achieve and maintain a healthy life.
Good on “going generics for medication” Since the moment i realize life isn’t going to be a small world for little girls anymore, i practiced frugality into a certain level. My meals, my hangouts, my medications and everything.