High Cost of Medical Care
In the United States today there are millions of people without health insurance. As the insurance companies want to make a higher and higher profit it keeps the majorority of uninsured people today from getting health insurance due to the costs. Many business have had to either drop the health insurance or make the deductables in the range of $1000, $5,000 or even as high as $10,000 and place more of the cost on the employee. If you can place pre-tax money into a health savings account to help pay for your medical care this can help eliviate some of the strain of medical care. Many people do not understand the how these medical savings accounts work. You have to estimate your medical care cost at the beginning on your “open season” at work which allows you to make changes to your benefits. What to be careful about is estimating too high as if you do not use everything by the end of the calendar year you lose this money. Another aspect to keep in mind with this type of plan is that the money is taken out of your paycheck each month where your employer has divided the total amount you request for payment for your medical bills by be the total number of paychecks you will receive in a year. You also have to usually have to pay for your co-pay/co-insurance or deductable first and you get reimbursed for the cost. This type of plan will lower your federal and state taxes based on your income.
Does the average individual have other options? If you are in financial hardship, let your physician know personally, as the office staff may or may not have the ability to give you a discount after filling out paperwork to justify the hardship. Do not be embarassed to ask for help, as many providers will work with you, if you ask. If you do not have health insurance or have a very high deductable and need medications, find out the name of the medication manufacturer from your pharmacy and look the company up online, as many of these companies have free or discount medication available. Ask all of your physicians for samples of medications. There are options that can help pay for medical care if you just ask for help. I will be working on a newsletter or dvd to give more information on healthcare saving tips.