5 Ways to Save $ If You're On a High Deductible Health Plan

1.       Use transparency tools like www.goodrx.com to shop local pharmacies for the lowest price on your prescriptions. I recently helped one of our employee’s and her husband save over $3000 per year on ONE prescription alone by finding an alternative source for the medication. Don't forget to check to see if the drug manufacturer offers a coupon or if there is a patient advocacy program you qualify for.

2.      Negotiate the price of care BEFORE you receive it. Doing research before you have an MRI, or a knee surgery will give you a good idea of what a “fair price” is for that procedure before you have it done. Hospitals are the most expensive places to get imaging done, yet few people know this. Once you learn what a “fair price” looks like, call the facility or provider and negotiate a lower price.

3.      Direct Primary Care (DPC): More and more doctors are transitioning over to this membership model for Primary Care/Urgent Care services. The way it works, typically, is you pay a set monthly “membership” directly to your doctor in exchange for visits, both in-person and virtual, 24/7 access to YOUR DOCTOR from anywhere in the world. The average monthly “membership” amount ranges anywhere from $35/month to $120/month. Google “Direct Primary Care doctors in my area”, or go here to find one near you: https://www.dpcfrontier.com/mapper/

4.      If you have an plan compatible with a Health Savings Account (HSA)….USE IT! If you’re not funneling medical expenses through your HSA, you’re losing the tax advantage, and it could be costing you as much as 35%!

5.      Audit your EOB’s every time. The Medical Billing Advocates of America estimates that 80% of medical bills contain errors, and sometimes, those errors are BIG! Thoroughly analyzing your EOB’s when you get them takes time and patience, but it can reap big rewards if your medical bill contained a significant “ooops”…….and trust me, it happens a lot.

BONUS TIP: Eat healthier, drink less alcohol, smoke less, exercise more, laugh! No, not saying you should become a stick in the mud, but we all know that the better we take care of ourselves, the less we'll even need to see a doctor in the future. 80-90% of the total lifetime dollars spent on your healthcare will be spent in the last 2 years of your life. How we live today will impact how much care we'll need in our last years of life. An investment in our well-being today is arguably the best tip for saving $ on healthcare in the future.