Be Healthcare Savvy

The thought of receiving healthcare is often paired with anxiety over the unknown bill that may follow in the mail. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to accurately predict your bill before getting care. Being a savvy healthcare shopper is about accurately predicting your healthcare costs, budgeting and preparing for them ahead of time, and choosing the most cost-effective healthcare options.

Becoming as savvy a healthcare consumer as you are a grocery shopper is possible with a little willingness to learn and prepare. Here are four ways you can become a savvier healthcare consumer.

1. Be Proactive in Your Healthcare

Scheduling your annual wellness exam each year is a crucial piece to keeping you healthy, and your healthcare costs low. Your annual wellness exam is so important that most insurance plans will cover 100% of the cost of your exam. At this yearly appointment, your doctor will help you establish and keep up with a prevention plan specific to your health needs. This act of proactive care is one of the best ways to catch health concerns early, keeping unnecessary future healthcare costs at bay.

Read more on preparing for your well visit >>

2. Compare Care Costs

No one likes a surprise medical bill. Whether lab work, surgery, diagnostics or other procedures are on your horizon, you can get an idea of what you will be billed by calling your chosen facility for care and requesting a Good Faith Estimate. Furthermore, asking your care provider for the CPT code related to your care will allow you to call your insurance carrier and find out whether your care will be covered, how much, and what you may owe. 

3. Shop Around for Your Prescriptions

You may have just been prescribed a new medication or be on an existing regimen. Your medications may be available at lower costs outside of your designated pharmacy, or available in a more affordable generic form. Search the Walmart $4 drug list, Amazon Pharmacy, and GoodRx to determine if a lesser-cost version of your medication is available to you.

While your insurance plan secures negotiated rates on medications for you, foregoing your insurance discount and using either of the 3 options mentioned above may provide a deeper discount.

4. Get Familiar With Levels of Care

Healthcare emergencies happen and can be alarming enough to send us straight to the expensive emergency room! Animal bites, stitches, open wounds, and infections are all examples of illness and injury that send individuals straight to the emergency room, when less-expensive urgent care or even a clinic visit may be appropriate.

Before emergent healthcare needs arise, familiarize yourself with the varying levels of care available to you, and when it is appropriate to use each. These include telehealth, health care clinics, primary care visits, urgent care, and the emergency room. Knowing which level of care is appropriate for your symptoms can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

With these four tips, you can become more confident in your healthcare spending. The lessened anxiety  associated with unknown costs can open the doors for you to plan financially and receive necessary care at a cost you can be ready to cover!