Written by Yudi Yuviama in Health
Viewed by 49 readers since 01-17-2009

Unforeseen pharmacy and medical expenses can take a big bite out of the household budget. Even though you cannot possibly prepare for all contingencies and emergencies, you can curb on regular medical-related spending.

Watch Your Bills

You should remember to maintain careful track of every medical expense and check into every itemized bill in detail. Occasionally the paperwork gets mixed-up in the shuffle, and you have to remind the office once in awhile to take the charges off the bill. Be calm when you are haggling with physicians or hospitals over some disputed bills. They will frequently negotiate and reduce the amount due, particularly if patients are emphatic yet polite. Maintain written documentation of each letter, phone call, and bill related to the controversial charges. Be confident, organized, and courteous.

Examining the Payment Plans

If you are confronting after-insurance charges that you cannot pay for simultaneously, contact the billing office of the hospital or physician and see if you are able to make some kind of payment arrangement. You can be amazed by just how much assistance you get. I contacted the hospital on a surgical charge we could not afford to pay, and for some reason in the discussion we found that we were qualified for low-income food programs. The billing section cancelled the whole hospital bill! So do not be disinclined to say you are having trouble meeting the financial obligations. Physicians and hospitals are frequently quite willing to accommodate payment arrangements or provide allowances for low income patients.

Insurance Benefits Coordination

If you take dental or medical insurance coverage, make sure to coordinate benefits between the insurance companies. Typically you have a first insurance carrier that has to be billed first; if you or the kids are also covered in your spouse’s insurance policy, be sure the supplemental insurance company is billed right after the primary insurance has paid-up its portion. If insurance plans can be coordinated, you frequently do not have to pay too much.

More Affordable Prescriptions

Drug spending is one of the hardest medical bills to budget for in a lot of households. Even with insurance coverage, unexpected expenses may add up considerably over the course of a prolonged sickness or during several rounds of medications. Implement these easy ways to lower pharmacy expenses:

• If you can purchase a larger amount of drug straightaway, you may save a little bit of cash. Every time you have a prescription ordered, the pharmacy adds up administrative charges. By prescribing the whole month month’s provision at once, you may save a few service fees for ordering the prescription.
• Pharmacies actually do vary in the price for each drug. Before you order the prescription, contact a few pharmacies and discuss how much your specific prescription costs to fill.
• Do not forget to tell your physician to prescribe the more affordable or generic variant of your drug.

If you do not take the prescription insurance coverage, ask your physician if equally potent over-the-counter drugs are for sale.