Save Money on Health Care Costs

Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | (0) Comments

MSN has a good article on how to cut your health care costs- especially if you are either not covered or under-covered by health insurance. I might need to remember this stuff since I signed up for a high deductible Health Savings Plan last year. These work well for single people who don’t go to the doctor very often. The premiums are about 1/3 less than a normal 80% plan but the deductible is $1200.00. So you pay everything until you hit the 1200.00 limit and then they pay 100% after that. It is good coverage for catastrophic illnesses and accidents, but not if you have a bunch of kids that are always needing to go to the doctor. Here’s where the article affects me- Say I need an MRI because of my back problems. With the insurance I have, it would cost me the full amount up to 1200.00. But according to this article, many labs and facilities are willing to give cash discounts and negotiate a price with you-

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Need an expensive test that’s going to cost you a hefty out-of-pocket sum? It might be worthwhile to compare prices among different labs and clinics; fees can vary widely. To compare prices, you need to know the CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) code, a universally accepted number that corresponds to an MRI, a specific lab analysis, or any other billable service. The American Medical Association’s Web site, ama-assn.org, has an easy-to-use CPT search engine. Once you have the code, you can get price quotes from several providers. You may be surprised at how well you’ll do. “For a CT scan, the price could range between $500 and $1,500 at two different facilities,” says Devon Herrick, PhD, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas.

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Check out the rest of the tips. Lots of good stuff there.