Today, there is a tremendous surge in health care goods and services which has contributed to financial strain on patients and families. The rise in medical costs is arguably due to the use of costly treatment procedures, diagnostic tests and the rise in the cost of developing new drugs. According to AARP Public Policy Institute, a fifth of middle-income earners spend more than 10 percent to cater for their medical expenses. Unfortunately, medical expenses are still causing strains on middle-class people with healthcare insurance. Luckily, there are ways you can improve your medical finances to minimize the enormous burden that comes from huge medical bills. Some of them include:
1. Use a Health Care Savings Account (HSA)
To improve your medical finances, it is imperative to have a health care saving account as it can help you set aside a considerable amount of money every year. HSA is a tax-free patient medical financing option that can assist you in meeting your deductible and catering for other medical bills that may incur. Alternatively, it can remain unutilized and be left to grow as time progresses. One significant advantage of HSA is that it earns interest, and money gets in your account without being taxed. Also, if your HSA happens to get earnings, it is omitted in your income while held in the HSA. If you withdraw money from your health savings account for medical expenses, the money will attract zero taxes. Therefore, you get to improve your medical finances by simply opening a health savings account.
2. Save Money on Medicine
Today, the cost of medicine has gone up, thus causing prescriptions drugs to be unaffordable potentially. Regrettably, drug prices will continue rising as time progresses. Unfortunately, the high cost of medicine still affects drugs that have been in the market for decades. However, saving money on medicine can help enhance your medical finances. Some of the ways to reduce costs on medicine include;
• Instead of using brand-name drugs, use generic medicines. Both of them have the same content and functions the same, but generic drugs are less costly.
• Ask your practitioner to give you a less expensive substitute drug.
• Ensure you take your medicine as recommended by your physician. Inconsistency in drug-taking can lead to further health issues, which can increase medical expenses.
3. Improving Health
One of the easiest ways to cut costs on health care is staying healthy. You can take advantage of inexpensive services that help curb a disease that may cost a lot of money in the future. For example, screening for and diagnosing pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol may restrain a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, people will not have to treat expensive diseases that may emanate from such diseases. For instance, if you treat high cholesterol at its early stages, you avoid treatments such as angioplasty to unblock blocked arteries. Also, screening of any type of cancer may help discover it while at its early stages. This will help cut exorbitant prices that may occur while treating late-stage cancer.
4. Choose a Health Plan Appropriately
Consider your needs and that of your family when selecting a health plan. Choosing a plan with higher premiums is not a bad idea since more of your health costs will be catered for. However, if you or any family member does not have any chronic disease, it is imperative to refrain from such a plan since you will rarely need medical care. Therefore, settle for a plan with a higher deductible as this requires lower monthly premiums, which will help you save more money.
5. Choose In-Network Health Care Providers
You will spend less money by working with providers who are in-network as opposed to out-of-network providers. This is because health insurance plan providers usually contract with in-network providers to charge their clients lower rates.
Summing Up
Most people get into a financial crisis when catering for their medical expenses since they lack comprehensive information on health financing. Ultimately, they end up incurring unnecessary financial burdens which they would have avoided. However, with viable ways to improve medical finances, you can avoid such costs.
Article Written by Maggie Bloom
