If you have availed a high-deductible health insurance plan, you must be fully aware of how it can create a big hole in your pocket. This type of insurance may require you to work with a tight budget and push you into uncertainty. Employers are trying to cut down the cost of providing the workers with health insurance and are offering more such plans. Although the premiums are not that high, you are forced to shell out huge bucks before the plan becomes active.
The health plans which you get in the state, as well as federal insurance markets, involve high deductibles as one of their rules. Now, how do you save yourself from this quagmire and derive maximum benefits from such coverage while cutting down the costs? Keep reading!
Claim Free Services
You are eligible for a few free preventive health services under the Affordable Care Act, irrespective of them having a high-deductible policy. All you need to do is to ensure if the hospital or, in that case, the doctor’s office codes this procedure accurately. After that is done, you can inform the insurance company regarding this, and it will cover the cost of the service you avail. Free procedures are enlisted by the federal government, and you can go through them online. Before you go through a screening or a test, try to find out which costs are likely to be covered.
Save On Medicines
Have a discussion with your doctor and find out whether a generic is applicable for a prescribed drug. If yes, then in that kind of a situation, you need to search for other options. The right pharmacy will help you get hold of a generic drug at the right price, and thus, you can save a significant sum on the purchase. There are a number of ways through which you can slash the costs of your prescription drugs. Just surf through the internet.
Find Out If You Can Get a Discount
Inform the hospital or your doctor that you are liable to a high-deductible plan and ask them if you are eligible for a discount if the payment is done in cash. You might be lucky enough to get a doctor who will provide you with a substantial discount if he or she comes to know that you will have to cover the expenses all by yourself. In case you are unable to afford the cost, ask the hospital or the doctor for help. They may offer you a low or even a no-interest installment plan. You don’t need to worry much as some of them would definitely lend you a helping hand. It doesn’t need to be said that you shall have to try and find out whether an alternative and cheaper treatment is available or not.
Compare the Prices Offered to You by Medical Providers
Prices for a particular procedure differ from one hospital to the other. With that being said, you shouldn’t opt for a healthcare provider on the basis of the cost — just make it a part of the process. When you shop around and compare prices, make sure to let the insurance company know so that the right price is charged from you. There is a high probability that your company will negotiate with the provider at a lower cost.
Create a Health Savings Account
If the high-deductible plans that you are eligible for are found to meet the requirements, you will be allowed to open a health savings account by the Internal Revenue Service or the IRS. A health savings account is basically an investment account where you will be able to drop in all your pre-tax earnings so that you can spend them later on health care. If you don’t spend any portion of your money and the interest that you have pocketed, that amount will remain in your HSA as long as you want. Added to that will be the sum that your employer will be providing. These days, an individual can pretty easily save around $3500 to $4000 in a health savings account, whereas a family can save up to $7000.
These five tips might help you save money on your high-deductible health plans. They are considered to be quite effective. So, try them out with further ado because you deserve the benefits.
