Affording IVF

by Leave a Comment

5 Ways You Can Save on Your Healthcare Costs

IVF costs
These simple tricks can save you hundreds on your health care costs
Everyone knows that health care can be expensive. Even if you have decent insurance, those trips to the doctor can add up quickly. Figure in some diagnostic testing and medication or two… well, you get the picture. Even with skyrocketing costs, it is possible for you, the patient, to save money on your health care, without cutting any corners. Below, I list 5 ways that you can save money on your healthcare costs. I hope you find them useful.

Use the internet (with care!) for medical advice

Google is your friend. The internet is full of great information about health problems. The most important thing is to know when you should seek medical care and when it is OK to stay home. some things like abdominal pain could be a range of conditions ranging from temporary ailments like heartburn or food poisoning, to serious conditions where delay can just cause more problems. Don’t be afraid to do some research on your condition, just take it all with a grain of salt and use your head! If you think it might be serious it is better to error on the side of caution and get it checked out by a professional. While skipping a few doctor’s visits will save you money, not going and then having your codition worsen will just lead to more doctors visits and higher medical bills. One good source of information on basic family medicine is The Family Doctor, a site maintained by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Remember to use reputable sites for your information. Sites maintained by professional organizations or doctors offices are always good bets.

Make the most out of every visit to the Doctors

Lets face it, going to see a doctor is expensive. So whenever you need to see your doctor it is best to be prepared for the visit. Things like having your symptoms all written down, with details like when each happened, and in what order can be very helpful for your doctor to accurately diagnose your condition. By writing all this important information down before hand you can be sure to have it all for your doctor when you go in for your visit. Often, especially with more complex symptoms, it can be easy to forget a minor detail about this or that. Seeing a doctor can be stressful for some people, and that stress can cause them to forget something about their ailment. What they forget, or the minor detail left out, could be just what your doctor needs to nail down a diagnosis. Often one of the most important tools available to doctors in their effort to obtain an accurate diagnosis is what you tell them. Making you you present the whole story in full detail can save you from unnecessary diagnostic poking and prodding, all of which costs more money.

Ask questions

This is one of the most important things you can do to help save yourself money at the doctors office, be it for infertility treatment, or at your family doc, is to ask questions. A lot of doctors are very busy, and they might recommend testing or prescriptions that are more expensive than necessary or fail to take the time to fully explain why the more expensive test is important. By simply asking them if the test is really required, you can get the pros and cons of the decision and use those to better analyze if you really need that test to be done. Often if you just mention that you are concerned with costs and ask if there are any less expensive options available, they will offer less expensive testing, or even say that the test is not 100% required… imagine that. Asking these questions of your doctor is very important to making sure you get the care you need and not the care you don’t. Besides, it is your health and you should be proactive!

Reduce unnecessary and duplicate testing

It is your health, you should be proactive enough to have personal copies of all your health records. When you switch doctors or see multiple specialists for different conditions it is important that each doctor has your complete medical record. Keeping and sharing your complete medical records can save you from repeated tests ordered by your new physician, or a test ordered by a specialist that you already had done last year and don’t need it repeated yet.

Primary care doctors

Having a good primary care doctor can save you money. Health care is confusing. Being bombared by adverts on television about this medication or that condition can fill patient’s heads with all kinds of ideas, and conflicting thoughts about whether they should be taking X or they need to get Y test done… Having a primary care doctor that you can go through to coordinate your care can be invaluable. They can act as stewards to your health and make sure you are getting the care you need and not anything more. They are your health experts. Use them as such.

Optimize your prescriptions

You can save money on your prescription medications by using a few simple tricks. First, and foremost, the most important thing you can do is to shop around. Price compare your medications between pharmacies. Medication prices can vary immensely, think 5x to 10x, from pharmacy to pharmacy. By calling around and talking to either the pharmacist or pharmacist tech, you should be able to get quotes over the phone. Make sure you have the medication name, strength, and quantity before you call or you could end up comparing apples to oranges. Next, if you are taking combo pills, medications with two or more active ingredients, you can often save a bundle by purchasing them separately. If you are not sure you are taking a combo pill, ask Google, or your doctor. Lastly, be sure to apply the tips above as well. If you have access to your medical records make sure you aren’t taking a medication that was ineffectual in the past. Also, ask you doctor if a generic version would be appropriate.

With a little common sense and being a proactive patient it is possible for you to save on your health care costs. Asking questions and shopping around can be powerful tools in your money saving arsenal.

Cheers!

by Leave a Comment

How to Find Out How Much Your Procedure Costs

Comparison shopping for medical treatment
The same medical service could be priced vastly different at two medical offices.
With the rise of HSA (health savings accounts) and high deductibles people are paying more attention to their medical bills. When more of the costs of medical treatment are coming out of our own pockets we tend to pay greater attention to the amounts we are paying. One of the better ways to control how much you are paying is to do a little shopping around.

Shopping around for medical treatment is a largely unknown concept as most people find a doctor that they like and stay with that doctor… and I couldn’t agree more. It is worth paying a little extra for your care if you have a good bond and you trust your doctor. However, there are plenty of medical costs and procedures that don’t really need to be done at a certain office. Outside testing and bloodwork is the first thing that comes to mind, although make sure to ask the ordering doctor if the test needs to be performed at a certain facility. No sense in doing any of this if the procedure or test has to be done at a specific facility.

If you do not have any medical coverage, then it more important to make sure your dollar goes as far as it can. When you have insurance you will end up paying the insurance negotiated rate – which will be the same from facility to facility, regardless what their billed price is. Network status of the facility can affect this. In network facilities are preferable to out of network facilities as the rates will be better, and out of network facilities can balance bill you.

Balance billing is the practice of billing the patient the remained of the total price after insurance pays their portion. So this means much more costly. Avoid out of network facilities, if all else is equal.

It can be a daunting task to try and do cost comparisons for procedures/tests. You will often need to have the CPT codes for each procedure/test you need done. If needed, you should be able to get these codes from either the ordering physician or the testing facility.

Hospitals, insurance companies, drug stores, and drug companies may list their prices on their Web sites. Very likely you will have to do a little digging to find the prices out. Call the hospital or clinic and ask for their prices. Financial coordinators/counselors, billing agents, and sometimes the front staff are the best people to talk with to get pricing information. It may not be easy, but perseverance pays off.

Although, doing price comparisons can be a huge pain in the you know what, the dividends could be well worth it. When appropriate, I recommend you shop around to see what the going rate is – the money you save could be your own.

These resources may help some:
Your state hospital association

Your state or territory health department

by Leave a Comment

How a cheaper health insurance plan can save you money

choosing an insurance policy
Choosing the best health insurance can be a tricky endeavor!

This article is mainly for those of us lucky enough to be self insured, but I think anyone who has any ability to pick their healthcare plan could possibly benefit from it. I am going to tell you how the cheaper insurance policy could be a much smarter way to go. This topic makes me think of the old adage “You don’t truly appreciate the value of something until you pay for it yourself,” or something along those lines.

Selecting an insurance policy for yourself or your family can be a daunting decision. While everybody wants to get the best coverage possible – the reality is that health insurance is really expensive. Expensive enough to make one think that: welI, I am hardly ever sick. What is the harm in not having insurance for a few months/years? I won’t lie, when I was between full time jobs, and doing some freelance work on my own I let my insurance policy lapse for a few months before my common sense dictated that I set up my own policy in the interim. In this day in age where a minor surgery will cost you 10-20k out of pocket without insurance, and something major could run you into the 100’s of thousands of dollars – it just doesn’t make sense not to have some kind of financial protection from what would be a veritable mountain of debt. A debt that could possibly haunt them for the rest of their life.

So there are a few things to consider when shopping around for an insurance policy. The main ones to look at are

Monthly premiums – how much money you will be spending each month to maintain your policy.

Deductible – how much money you will have to spend on medical bills before your insurance policy kicks in (note: having insurance will get you lower rates at any doctors that are in network for your policy).

Max out of pocket – the maximum amount you will spend in any plan year of your policy on eligible medical expenses. This is an important one! Why, you ask? I will get to that in just a second.

What it actually covers – AKA the fine print. What exactly is considered an eligible medical expense? Does the policy cover things like eye care? Or infertility treatment? The important thing is to be aware of any possible things that you will likely use the insurance for and if they are covered or not.

The main thing to think about when selecting an insurance plan is to figure out it will cost you. This is not quite as simple as multiplying the monthly premium by 12 and calling it a day, although, that is an important piece of information. You also want to consider what the cost to you would be if you got really sick, and needed to be hospitalized. I.E. what is the deductible of each policy you are looking at and what is the max out of pocket. If you are hardly ever sick and almost never go to the doctor, it doesn’t make much sense for you to pay extra each month for a low deductible policy. A policy that would save you a few buck if you went to doctors just a few times a year, but would end up costing a lot more in premiums. You want to think of what will be your total health care costs on each insurance policy.

The deductible can be an important piece of data to consider when figuring how a policy will impact your total health care costs. Lower deductibles mean that the insurance benefit will kick in sooner. If I had a $100 deductible on my policy and I went into the doctor for $300 dollars of care I would pay 100% of the first $100 and that would satisfy my deductible. The next $200 would be processed at my coinsurance amount. For example, if I had a 80/20 coinsurance benefit on my policy, it would mean that out of that original $200, I would be responsible for just $40. Sounds pretty nice right? The lower the deductible the more you will pay each month. So again you have to consider how often you actually use medical treatment. If you are not someone who goes to doctors very often it is not very important to have a low deductible when it is costing you more money in premiums each month. As long as the money you save by not having a low deductible is more than the money you will save by having a low deductible than you are better off not having a low deductible, and vice versa.

One of the most important things to look at is the max out of pocket costs section on your policy. This little piece of info tells you how much you will have to pay if things really hit the fan. If my policy has an out of pocket max of 5k, and I get into accident and need some serious care, I know I will not have to pay more than $5k. For me, someone who doesn’t need much medical care, but wants to have insurance to protect myself from the potential life-changing amount of debt that an accident could give me, this is a very important. I save a lot of money each year by going with a higher out of pocket max. You should look at your total costs though, and a lower max out of pocket could make sense for you if you have kids, or need more medical care.

Also factor in any regular care that you need, and if it is covered or not. For example, I wear contacts and every year I need an eye exam and new contacts – about a $250 annual expense without insurance. I would then factor that in when looking at the total cost of the policy. If the policy covers that expense 100%, cool, I know that will save me $250 bucks a year. However, if this policy costs an extra $500 from a similar policy I am looking at and there are no other differences that matter to me (think long and hard about this) then I am basically losing $250 bucks a year by going with the additional coverage. You then take these numbers and see how they affect your total health care costs for the year.

You should take all these factors into consideration when selecting your insurance policy and go for what you think will end up costing you less money in health care expenses. As with many financial decisions, it is much more important to look at the long term costs and go with whatever makes the most sense. I went with a high deductible, moderate out of pocket max because I am not often sick or needing medical care. I figured that the amount of money I save each month on premiums to be well worth the cost of a few minor doctors’ visits, if I for some reason I needed the additional care. I can bank the addition costs and spend/save them for something else. If I was someone who went to the doctors on a regular basis, then it would be more important to have a lower deductible.

I hope I shed some light on the things to think about when shopping around for a health insurance policy and why a cheaper plan can save you money, and be the smart choice. If you have any questions about any of this don’t hesitate to ask! Happy healthcare shopping!

Cheers!

by Leave a Comment

16 Ways to Save for your IVF Treatment

Whether you are saving for an IVF cycle, a new car, or a down payment on the house of your dreams the same principles apply. Often the best way to boost your monthly saving efforts is to make a series of small changes. A few dollars here and a few dollars there can quickly add up to something significant. So without further ado; here are 16 ways you can save money each month.

  1. Enroll in your company’s 401k: Although, this is more a long term strategy to save, it is still a great way to maximize your income. Taking advantage of a employers matching contributions can boost your gross income and is a great long-term saving strategy
  2. Bundle your services: Switching to a family cell phone plan, or combining like services under one provider can save you $10-$100/month.
  3. Shop around for your services: on a like note, you can also save money by breaking up combined plans and policies and finding better rates for the individual parts. Caution: be aware of companies offering intro rates – you can save tons with intro rates, just make sure to either renegotiate, or switch your services when your regular rates resume
  4. Pay off your credit cards: Credit cards have high interests rates. It is always a good idea to always pay down any credit card debt when you have any additional funds available
  5. Flexible spending accounts: FSA are a great way to save a few bucks on eligible purchases. FSA are a way to get some of your pay without the payroll taxes. If your employer offers an FSA plan it could be a great idea to look into it to save you 10-20% of the money you would be spending anyways.
  6. Kick your habit:Quitting or cutting down on you smoking or alcohol habit can save you tons, and make you healthier to boot.
  7. Brown bag it: bringing your lunch to work can save you $5-10 a day, and ties in nicely with the next tip
  8. Learn to cook: Dinner is even more expensive than lunch, and eating in can save you hundreds of dollars a month. As a bonus – you can take your left-overs into work the next day for a cheap lunch :)
  9. Manage your pantry: Cooking at home is great, but one downside of cooking at home is wasted food. Throwing out spoiled food is effectively throwing out money. By keeping tabs on what is in your pantry and fridge and adjust your meals to use up all your food before it spoils you can trim your grocery budget
  10. Negotiate a lower rate: If you are carrying a balance on your credit cards and paying a high monthly interest rate on it you might be able to get a lower rate. If you have good credit history your credit card might be willing to lower your interest rate on your balance. Call the customer service on the back of your credit card to ask
  11. Use the library: Lirbaries are a great place to get books, movies, and tv shows. You would be surprised by the wide assortment of media that is available to be checked out. Your local library is a great place to go to save on rental costs
  12. Reshop for your insurance: You may be over-paying for your auto, car, home, or health insurance(self-insured) and by shopping around you can save $100 of dollars a month
  13. Change your calling plan: There are many ways you can save on your monthly cell phone plan. From ditching unused options, to changing to prepaid options. There are fully functional plans that cost around $50 for unlimited data, text and voice. Sometimes these plans will throttle your data above certain thresholds, and coverage might be different from your old plan, so plan accordingly.
  14. Deal sites: this thread is about saving money and the best way to do that is often to simply pay less for the items you were going to buy anyways. Sites like slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com are great resources to shop for deals. They have huge community forums where shoppers share, compare, and rate deals.
  15. Ditch the Gym: I am a big believer in staying active, and keeping healthy. A gym can be a great place to help you stay fit, especially in the winter time, however if you are not using the gym regularly it is a waste of money. I know I am guilty of under-utilizing my gym membership and I am not the only one. By ditching your membership you can save $30-50 a month. Don’t take this as an excuse to stop exercising though!
  16. Cut unused or unnecessary services: This is a wide ranging one. Take a look at your monthly expenses. Are their any recurring bills on there for services that you don’t regularly use? or maybe don’t even use at all? If so, ditch them. It is easy to forget about a monthly subscription to this or a cheap membership to that, but every little bit adds up.

So there you have it, I hope some of the suggestions above can be helpful. If you have any questions on any of the items above feel free to ask in the comments. Happy savings!