Cut Your Medical Costs

Annual Flu shots

2006-09-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

Bottom Line:
If you are at risk for getting the flu, getting a flu shot may help cut down doctors visits and medications from getting the flu.

On average over 200,000 people are hospitalized from the flu every year. 5-20% of the entire population gets the flu every year, depending on how virulent the strain is for that year (the flu virus mutates almost every season). Most of those affected are older citizens, children, and those with immunocompromised conditions are at greatest risk. If you get the flu and stay at home, the medication cost may not be as high. The costs can really rise if you're stuck in the hospital being fed medications to get rid of the flu and its complications.

So why not get a flu shot this year. Avoid the risk, especially if you are in one of the higher risk categories. Save yourself the time and money. Of course, if you're a healthy individual (low risk group), you can opt not to get the flu shot and save some money that way too.

For more detailed stats on the flu, visit the CDC webpage here.

If you're interested in getting a flu shot, ask your doctor about the best option that will save you money, look for a community flu vaccination program, or check out websites such as findaflushot.com.

Free Drug Samples

2006-09-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

Bottom Line
Free medication samples can sometimes end up costing you more. Always consider generic drug equivalents if your doctor recommends them.

Drug representatives from pharmaceutical companies sometimes hand out free samples to doctors' offices. Some of these samples end up in the hands of the patient and for the underinsured or uninsured, this can obviously save some money up-front. But is there really money being saved? This post won't consider actual numeric costs since drug prices are different; rather we're just going to talk about the general cost issues associated with free samples given to patients.

One problem arises if the drugs are part of a prescription regimen. Once started, it's often recommended to finish the course, and this entails buying the remainder of the prescription (after your free sample runs out) even if it is much more expensive than a similar generic drug. Sometimes there's no way to avoid this since the free sample medication is the only drug that will treat the disease. Just remember to not blindly accept a free sample of medication unless you don't mind paying for it once your sample runs out. If a generic drug suits you, that might be the best option. Always ask for all your options and then decide which is the best for your health and wallet.

Quit Smoking

2006-08-30T20:11:00.000-04:00

Bottom Line
By quitting your nicotine habit, you could be saving thousands of dollars both by not buying cigarettes and by reducing future health care bills.

Well we've all heard it time and time again: quitting smoking is good for your health. But don't take my word for it. The Surgeon General of the US recommends the cessation of smoking and many employers now refuse to allow smoke in their facilities. European employers have even gone so far as to not hire smokers and some in Michigan have told their employees not to smoke at home starting discussions about invasion of privacy. Clearly the trend is to eliminate smoking from our daily lives as even second-hand smoke can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease in non-smokers who inhale it.

The cost of a pack of cigarettes is rising. Nowadays the average seems to be around $4.50/pack, with some states (such as Maine) charging as high as $6/pack. Of course not all packs are made equal, so some speciality brands may be more expensive.

Let's consider John and Wilma, who both have been long time smokers. They continue to smoke half a pack a day each. Each day they spend $2.25 combined, each week they spend $15.75, and each year they spend $819.00. Looking at the expenses, Wilma decides to quit smoking and in a few months she is smoke free and saving money. But how much is she saving?

Every year that amounts to $819.00 just for the cigarettes, but she's also discovered that she doesn't need to buy breath freshners nearly as often since her breath no longer smells of smoke. Also there's not as much perfume being used to conceal the smoke in her clothes and hair. Wow! And to top it off, her insurance premium dropped by over $1000 per year! Her total savings could be over $2000 for one year.

Of course, the benefit to your health is just as important as the cost savings. Take a look at what quitting can do for you. We'll take a closer look at some other benefits of not smoking in later posts as well.

Free Screenings

2006-08-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

Bottom Line
Going to free screenings can save you money over scheduling a doctors office visit, but if there are no screenings in your area, you had better still schedule a checkup with your doctor.

Several times a year, city communities that are close to medical schools or colleges offer free community screening programs ranging from blood pressure checks to full physical exams. Why not take advantage of the free service and avoid any doctors fees or copays. If money is tight, this is a perfect and free way to get a checkup. Results are confidential and the service is usually quite good. If there are students there, they are willing to learn, and are more than happy to explain what they are doing during the checkup. Best of all, you can just walk in and get the checkup. No appointment needed. You can always take the results back to your doctor to keep on file.

If you're interested but don't know where to start looking, try typing in your city and free medical screening in google to see what you come up with. If there are any hospitals or medical schools nearby, call their information line, and ask to speak to someone about community programs or free screening programs.

The Benefits of Brushing and Flossing

2006-08-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

Bottom Line
By taking preventative care of your teeth and gums, you can avoid costly (and painful!!) dental procedures.

When is the last time you've had a dentist's appointment? Has it been more than 6 months? If so, then it's recommended that you schedule one for a checkup and cleaning, according to the American Dental Association.

Beyond the semi annual visits are the brushings and flossings that you were supposed to do. So how does following your dentist's advice save you money? By reducing the frequency of getting fillings, root canals, denture work, gum reconstructions, and many other procedures that are sometimes as painful to your mouth as they are to your wallet.

The percentage of people visiting the dentist hovers around in the 60-70% range of the entire population even though many of these people are uninsured. Regardless of your insurance status, you'll want to make sure that you have healthy teeth so that any major dental work in the future can be avoided.

In a future post, we'll go over the cost savings in detail by considering the current costs of the procedures. Until then, keep brushing and flossing.

FSA Part 2

2006-08-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

Bottom line
Let's save you some money on those medical expenses.

In the last post (Part 1), I wrote about Flexible Savings Accounts and their potential benefit. Over the next series of posts, we'll learn more about how you can use these accounts to your advantage to leave more money in your pocket.

As promised, this post will look at a simple example.

Let's assume an annual salary of $40,000 for a family of 4. Let's also assume the federal income tax rate is at 15%. For simplicity, we are going to exclude all other taxes and use the 15% rate as a fixed rate for the entire salary.

Sarah, the first child in the family, requires a surgery to get her healthy. Unfortunately, the procedure costs $1,000 and is not covered by the family insurance plan. Let's consider two scenarios, assuming everything else is equal, we will see that by having and using an FSA, this family saves more money:

Scenario 1

Family doesn't have an FSA and pays out of pocket for the medical procedure using after-tax money.

Total gross income: $40,000
Total after-tax income: $34,000
Total after paying procedure: $33,000

Scenario 2

Family has enough money in FSA to pay for procedure and claims the procedure through their employer.

Total gross income: $40,000
Total FSA contribution: $1,000
Total after-tax income: $33,150
Total after paying procedure: $33,150

The end result is a savings of $150 for simply taking advantage of a benefit offered by an employer and taking the time to plan. The extra $150 comes from the FSA money being sheltered from federal income tax.

Next post we will consider what happens if you don't have enough in your FSA to pay for an uninsured procedure. Yes, there's a way to do it!

Flexible Savings Accounts

2006-08-17T21:07:00.001-04:00

Bottom Line
FSAs could give you a bigger tax savings by paying down medical expenses with pre-tax dollars.

In the next few posts, we'll explore Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) and the ways you can save money by using them. Find out if your employer offers them and take advantage of this great benefit. With good planning and tracking of FSA claims, you can save quite a bit of money.

Let's say you have medical copays that annually run you up about $200. Instead of paying that out-of-pocket, use the benefit that the IRS is providing and pay it down with $200 pre-tax. Some employers allow you to use this money for uninsured procedures and even over-the-counter medications. Benefits typically expire at the end of the calendar year (December 31), so be sure to make use of the money that you deducated from your paycheck for every year (this is where the planning comes in). For those who may pay out-of-pocket for significant medical expenses, this can save you quite a bit. In the next post, we'll consider an example and see exactly how much can be saved.

Welcome to the CutMedBills.com Blog

2006-08-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

CutMedBills.com is a new website that is catered to healthcare advice and tips ranging from financial decisions that affect healthcare to health tips that can prevent health problems down the road. The emphasis is saving money throughout your life while maximizing your health. Comments are welcome and encouraged.

Here's to your good health!