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Post by Galia Gichon, Down-to-Earth Finance
Even if you consider yourself a savvy consumer or smart shopper, you might be able to find some hidden money in your health care spending. If you have a regular prescription medicine, it pays to do a little research and examine this area with a fine tooth comb. You could find an additional $300-600 a year. You might be thinking this is just for the little old lady who is counting her pennies and eating frozen dinners. Not so much anymore. Prescription drugs are taking a huge bite of our budget: $287 billion bite. That is what we spent in 2007 on prescription drugs. In addition, 28% of Americans are cutting back in this area which can be potentially harmful, according to a study by Consumer Reports. Take a few easy steps beforehand.
Start with examining your current health insurance plan. Many plans offer three price levels: generic, preferred and non-preferred. Which level do you have or are you currently using? 77% of health insurance plans offer these varied levels. Your next step is once your doctor prescribes a medicine, start by checking with your pharmacy and what they offer. You should also do this with your current prescriptions. You might have to switch pharmacies; check out Costco, Target or Walmart. Also see if your plan offers a mail-order program – these offer huge savings! This is different from scouring the web for mail-order prescriptions, don’t do that.
Another key action step is to talk to your doctor. Be honest and say that you may not be able to afford the drug he or she is prescribing or you just need to watch your expenses. There may be alternatives or generic drugs that have not yet been considered. Do not ask about the drugs you see on TV or ones handed out in samples in their office. Think about it, advertising, free samples, hmmm…. These are usually the most expensive. The benefit of doing this research is that it is a one-time action step. An hour’s worth of work can pay off huge dividends every month.
Galia Gichon is the founder of Down to Earth Finance and is hosting a personal finance workshop at the ING DIRECT Café on 3rd Avenue in New York City on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.
Tags: Down to Earth Finance, Galia Gichon, Health Care, Personal Finance, Savings
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I truely agree with her. We spend more money to insurance (Medical, life, auto, property) than any other thing from our monthly salary. Medical insurance always tops the list and it adds up with presction, copays, deductabiles and so forth. If you work for big corporate company, then you are lucky to have so low copays and no ded. But when you are stuck as self employed and individual insurance is the only way out. Your ded. go way up and everything comes out of your pocket.
If it comes out of your pocket first, it is better you think twice and spend time to save any penny possible. One way is to get the presciptions from wholesale stores like costco or get generic if its not a problem. Secondly, try to use the free things from insurance like yearly physical which will avoid big future problems. You can take care of the problem when its small.
DOn’t take medical insurance for granted and you can save a lot doing some leg work.
Another way to save money on and for health care is with either a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA). Both enable you to deposit money pre-tax and withdraw it to pay for care without paying any taxes. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, that means you’ll save $25 for every $100 you deposit.
HSAs let you carry balances forward every year so you can create a savings plan for your health. FSAs require that you empty out the account every year, so plan carefully. Another bonus for HSAs is that the accompanying medical plan is typically less expensive than a PPO or co-pay plan, in exchange for a higher deductible.
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A lot of money can be saved by checking out the long list of $4/month prescriptions at Wal-mart and Target. Have the list with you when you go to the doctor’s office. Ask him to prescribe a medicine from the $4 list if possible. Some of the medicines can even be had for $10 if your doc will write a prescription and you purchase a 3 month dose.
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