In relief, I was finally able to sneak into the bathroom. The baby was asleep, and my older boys (who were 2 and 3) were playing in their room. But as I left the bathroom and turned the corner, my relief quickly turned into worry. The sound my 2 year old was making didn’t sound natural. Before I even entered their bedroom, I knew he was very hurt.
It turns out he had a broken arm. The kind you know at a quick glance is unmistakably broken. Plans were made, and we headed for the hospital. He slept while I worried and tried not to be sick.
Reducing Healthcare Costs
When an emergency like this crops up, there’s enough trouble and worry to go with them. You shouldn’t also have to worry about how you’ll pay for medical bills.
Luckily, you have more control over this than you think.
Because I already wrote my very best ideas in another post, I’ll encourage you to pop over and check out Worrying About High Healthcare Costs? 6 Simple Ways to Save. You’ll find this post on a blog I write for called Life & My Finances.
Take These Steps:
- Consider your various health insurance options. Look into opening an FSA.
- Shop around for services and doctors. If you’re paying a percentage rather than a flat copay, it’s even more important to get the best rate.
- Determine what equipment you could buy to save trips to the doctor.
- Look for extra discounts on medicine. Ask for samples and coupons at both the doctor and pharmacy.
- Bank the savings.
This was day 10 in the Secure Your Savings and Find Peace in the New Year series. Go to the bottom of this post to find all the money saving and money making posts in this series!
With prices going up regularly, it’s important to find tips for reducing healthcare costs.
These days, that child is one of our most sporty kids. You’d never know he had broken that arm. I’m thankful we have such great medical care!
How do you save on healthcare costs?
We always go with high deductible plans and an HSA because our older son has special needs which translates into more appointments. I love these ideas.
Thanks! We switched to the HSA this year and it’s been pretty good so far. (Our year switches over in July.)
This is something we really had to look into at the beginning of the year since I transitioned out of working full-time. I have always carried the family’s insurance, and that was no longer an option so it was the perfect time to go shopping among my husband’s work policies. Very well-written!
Thanks so much! I hope you had good options to choose from. Back when I was working, I got a stipend for not using my health insurance at work, which was nice.
I am in Canada so this not as big of a concern or financial impact for me. However, I am currently on a medication that is over $1000 a month. Thanks to a doctor who was on the ball they filled out a request with the drug manufacturer and they agreed to pay 20% of my cost each month. Such a relief for me! It definitely never hurts to ask.
It may not matter depending on what type of insurance you have, but we have an HRA and so it’s extra-important not to go to the E.R. unless it’s beyond the scope of urgent care. We’ve save several hundred dollars by taking a kid to urgent care or to their regular doctor’s office for stitches instead of bringing them to the emergency room. Thanks for the tips!
#FridayFrivolity
Try to identify alternatives in your area to the ER, and use them. While I’m sure we have it easier living in a metro area, my chain is 1) call the doctor’s office–even if she can’t get us in, her office can find someone in the system who can, so we only owe the small co-pay. 2) If it is one of those things (like an earache) where I’m pretty sure I know what is wrong and what they’ll do, I just need that RX, I go to the drugstore minute clinic if it is open. 3) There is an urgent care down the street that is open on weekends and until 11 p.m. 4) ER is last on the list–costs too much! Unless life or limb are threatened..
Maintenance medications for chronic conditions are the big expense in my household. Not only can you check at the doctor and pharmacy for coupons, but also look on the manufacturer’s website for discounts and programs. And, with certain medications (check with your doctor), you can split pills of a higher dosage to get your proper dosage for less money.
I use a medical sharing ministry. It’s not the cheapest option on healthy years (though I can handle the monthly payments), but it had the best deductible options for if anything actually happens.
There is a regional carrier in our area that has been trying to monopolize even pre ACA. Now they’ve been putting out really (poor coverage) cheap plans to try to drive out the competition—and it’s working. There’s only one other option left in our area if you don’t qualify for Medicaid, and because of the limitations the other carrier puts on access to their care, prices have gone up.
I cannot switch doctors, so I’m paying the higher price. That, and I know that if they chase the other carrier out of town, they’ll charge whatever the heck they want with zero competition.
I’m not even sure how I feel about the ACA. I’m glad for a lot of protections it provides to citizens, myself included. But I KNOW I have a deep disdain for greedy health insurance carriers.
We’re really lucky in Wales that all prescriptions as well as health care is free; it’s only dentists you need to pay for, if you need work done. I don’t know how we’d manage otherwise to be honest!
Thanks so much for sharing over at Friday Frivolity 🙂