The cost of medical care continues to rise. Therefore do what you can to reduce those expenses. Visit a doctor to address multiple problems within the same office visit as opposed to addressing individual problems as they arise. This way you can pay once to resolve multiple problems (assuming treatment for any of your problems can be delayed long enough to combine them).

     Doctors are given numerous samples from pharmaceutical representatives as an incentive for prescribing a drug produced by their company. Therefore request some of those samples be given to you. You will then be able to reduce your medical expenses by reducing the amount of medication you need to purchase.

     Consider delaying any operations until the following calendar year. You will then have the opportunity to evaluate which medical coverage is more suitable for your needs and to determine if your deductible (if applicable) should be decreased. Ensure the benefits from the new medical insurance coverage outweigh any increase in medical insurance costs. If the medical insurance costs being considered are higher than the benefits, then don't change your coverage. Calculate/estimate the total amount of out-of-pocket expenses (including the deductible, any co-pay, and medication) you believe will be incurred for the year. Ensure your payments into a medical reimbursement account (if available) are adjusted accordingly.

     Also, delaying an operation until the following calendar year can prevent you from paying the deductible twice for the same operation. For example: an operation in November requiring several months of physical therapy would require payment towards the deductible in November and again in January for the next calendar year. If the operation was performed in January, the deductible would be paid only once in January probably saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

     Delay any discretionary operation(s) (not essential to your health) until a year in which a non-discretionary operation (essential to your health) is to be performed. Most likely either operation will result in your maximum out-of-pocket expenses being achieved. Therefore, don't pay for a discretionary operation one year, then pay for a non-discretionary operation another year because you will spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars extra than if you performed both operations in the same year.

     If your insurance requires a co-pay for purchasing prescriptions, then be aware not to pay the maximum for the cost of the prescription. Many programs provide a tiered co-pay that can be $7/$15/$35. Ensure the prescription you receive will not cost you $35. If it does, then do not accept the prescription. Instead, obtain a different one from the doctor that would cost you the lower amount of $7 or $15. Also, consider the use of generics that are much cheaper and contain the same ingredients. The same applies to over the counter medication offered by many stores that are not a brand name. Read the labels for the brand name and store brand noticing the ingredients are the same. The store brand will be much cheaper. If you purchase the store brand medication and are not satisfied, then you are able to return it for a refund. You can then pay more than the brand name medication. The same idea can be applied to any other store brand products.


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