Medical Care Shouldn’t Cost An Arm And A Leg

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Your health and the health of your loved ones is important. Not seeking medical treatment because it’s too expensive should never be an option. Instead, you may simply just need to adopt a few sneaky cost-cutting tricks. Here are just a few of those measures that they may help to make medical care more affordable for you and your family.

Take out a tailored family health plan

A family health insurance plan can save you a lot of money compared to individual schemes. You may be able to save further costs with a specially tailored plan that may include certain medical expenses for certain individuals for a cheaper rate.

Be careful with deductibles and excess – this is how much you must pay before an insurance company pays out. A high deductible is suitable for families that rarely need medical attention as it will keep your rates low. However, if you’re constantly in and out of the hospital, a high deductible might result in your constantly paying for medical treatment out of your own pocket, rending the insurance company useless.

Does your workplace offer an FSA?

A flexible spending account allows you to donate money from your wages each month into a special savings account, which can then be used at your leisure. A special Health FSA doesn’t eliminate your savings allowing you to infinitely save up. These kinds of FSAs can be utilized for all sorts of medical expenses from hospital visits to many forms of over the counter medicine. You may even be able to buy corrective lenses on them in some optician’s stores.

Consider joining a Farm Bureau

Every state has its own Farm Bureau, an organization primarily set up for farmers but available for anyone to join. Whilst policies are different from state to state, being a member of a bureau often allows you discounts on medical expenses for you and your family to benefit from. These organizations do require a monthly fee, but it can be worth paying for many of the other discounts and services that these organizations offer.

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Shop around for prescription drugs

Don’t always opt for the big brands when it comes to medicine. There could be generic brand alternatives out there that are just as effective and much less expensive. Shop around and see what you can find. Don’t buy medicine from overseas as laws can vary from country to country. Always read up on conditions and side effects to make sure that you know what you’re buying into.

Know your legal rights

In some cases, you may be able to cover medical costs by taking legal action, especially if it was an injury as a result of someone else. A no fee personal injury lawyer won’t charge you anything for taking on your case. If you believe you could be eligible for compensation, a solicitor could be worth looking into.

In some circumstance, you may also be able to claim money after treatment. This might apply if there’s been some form of medical malpractice or if you’ve been incorrectly billed. Talk to a solicitor and see if they can do anything with your case.

Check your bills

A surprisingly easy way that we can all be saving our bills is by double checking them. Medical billing errors are fairly common. Insurance companies may also bill incorrectly in some circumstances. You should always ask for an itemized bill that breaks down all costs. This will allow you to see if a medical center has charged you for a treatment you didn’t receive or if an insurance company has not paid for a treatment you has, leaving you to pay the remainder. Solicitors and advocates can be hired to help handle medical billing.

Consider an advocate

In some circumstances, you may be able to seek help from an advocate who may be able to locate ways of lowering costs. Advocates are largely employed to help those that cannot make medical decisions themselves due to disabilities or other consent issues. However, they can also help those with a low income try and negotiate a cheaper treatment option. This may involve talking with multiple hospitals or looking for alternative treatments. Try contacting your local advocacy services to see if you are eligible.