Healthcare is a top financial and personal priority for people all over the world, especially residents of the US. While some medical bills can be easily repaid, other bills may rise to be tens of thousands of dollars – depending on the treatment required.
Unfortunately, mistakes by the provider coupled with the ever-increasing cost of healthcare mean that trying to pay off extortionate medical bills can often become a real financial concern.
If you’re experiencing an offset in medical billing or simply want to save some money on your medical bills, these are five methods you must implement in your financial strategy.
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Negotiate With Health Care Providers
If you find yourself overwhelmed by your medical bills, you should reach out to each of the health care providers listed on your bills to see whether they will reduce the total amount that you owe. Make sure to have all of your receipts, related documents, and bills on hand for this process.
You must inquire as to whether the provider can offer discounts, provide financial relief, or is willing to waive fees altogether. If you cannot afford to pay the bills upfront, you might even be able to condense the charges into affordable monthly repayments.
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Look For Errors Or Discrepancies In Medical Bills
Even medical bills aren’t exempt from mistakes! Your bill might contain a costly error. To prevent it from impacting your finances, you should review each of the items on your bill to make sure you weren’t overcharged, or charged for a service you didn’t receive.
If you do spot a mistake, contact the health provider and ask them to correct it. Any documentation you offer to support your error claim could help make your case.
If you have health insurance, you can also look for errors in benefit explanations you might have received from your insurance provider. This should be sent to you by an insurer after a health care provider has submitted a claim for services you have received.
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Shop Around For Care
You often shop around if you’re looking for an insurance policy, a new home, or a car, so why not do the same for health care?
The total cost of medical procedures and treatment varies according to the individual health care provider. If you want to save any money on your medical bills, you should consider shopping around and getting in touch with multiple providers to compare prices.
If you need an X-ray or an MRI, you should contact multiple local providers to find the best deal. This can be easily done online.
In addition to the price, you should also keep an eye out for other factors. This includes the quality of the care you will be receiving.
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Open A Health Savings Account
A health savings account (commonly known as an HSA) is a type of account that allows you to set a solid sum of money aside before any tax is taken off of it so that you can cover all of the qualified medical expenses. This includes copays and deductibles.
You can only set up an HSA if you’ve got a higher deductible health plan. All of the money that is set aside in an HSA could help you to reduce the total financial impact of the medical bills.
The money you or an employer contribute towards a health savings account is entirely tax-deductible and entirely withdrawable – provided the money is being put towards a medical expense
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Stick To In-Network Providers
The majority of health insurance plans provide access to many health care providers including pharmacies and doctors’ offices. These will agree to discount services and products in exchange for joining a health insurance network and becoming an in-network provider.
If the health care provider is outside your plan’s network, they aren’t bound by a discount and may charge you out-of-network full prices. You could even be left with a huge out-of-pocket expense if you opt for a provider outside of the network.
Sticking to an in-network provider may even be able to help prevent you from overpaying your medical bills!
Summary
These are 5 ways you can save money on your medical bills. By taking the time to become familiar with insurance benefits, closely monitoring your bills to identify discrepancies, and looking for discounted services, you can significantly decrease your medical bills.
This could save you a considerable amount of money on the total amount you spend on medical bills in comparison to not looking for this extra financial help.
