Medicine Money: 5 Tips for Affording Health Care
It’s a confusing time in this country, and getting affordable healthcare is not a guarantee. If your medical bills are skyrocketing out of control, follow these five simple health care tips to save some money and pay down your bills a little faster.
1. Get Free Screenings and Shots
There are many local clinics—some are even located in grocery stores nowadays—that offer free medical tests, screenings and flu shots. Why pay even a small copay for those services when you can get them for free?
2. Ask Your Doctor for Samples of Prescription Meds
Most physicians receive free samples from drug manufacturers to give out to their patients. If you’re struggling to pay for medical expenses, mention that to your doctor and see if she can help you out. That’s why they get those samples in the first place—to give them away to their patients—so don’t be embarrassed to ask. One 30-second conversation can save you hundreds of dollars.
3. Find the Lowest Rx Prices
If you’re always getting your prescription medications using your insurance plan, you might be throwing away hundreds of dollars every month. There are many low-cost prescription plans out there that might be better than the one your insurance company provides.
Walmart, Costco and Target have pretty affordable plans, and there are online plans that will deliver meds right to your door. So shop around for discount prescription plans and see what else you can find.
You might also save money by switching from name brand medications to generic ones. The active ingredients are the same, but the costs can be dramatically different.
4. Sign Up For Your Employer’s Flexible/Health Care Spending Account
Most employers who offer health insurance also offer Health Spending Accounts or Flexible Spending Accounts. You can contribute a set portion of each paycheck to be deposited directly into your flex account before any taxes are applied to that income. Then you just use the flex account for any health-related expenditures. This allows you to stretch your paycheck by saving money on income taxes.
5. Avoid the Emergency Room If You Can Help It
If you can treat minor injuries and minor symptoms at home and then follow up with a physician like .Rural Health Services Consortium Inc the next day, you can save a lot of money on co-payments and deductibles by skipping the Emergency Room. For more serious symptoms and medical emergencies, though, you shouldn’t hesitate to go to the ER.
Your health is the most important asset you have, and paying for healthcare is becoming more of a challenge than ever before. But following these healthcare tips can help you get back on top of those medical bills and keep your health intact.
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Category: Health
