A few ideas for saving money on healthcare

[checkerkitty]

Hi everyone! I’ve been thinking about ways to save money on healthcare over the past few months. After talking to different people and experiencing a few things myself, I realized you can save money on healthcare. Most of this may be something most people already know, but hopefully someone will learn something new and can save some money.

1. Do you have your medical insurance premiums taken out of your paycheck pre-tax?

DH and I have always done this. My in-laws NEVER have since they didn’t know what they were saying “no” to. They are in the process of completing the paperwork that will take their premiums pretax. When you have your premiums taken pretax, you lower your taxable income. So, if you make $50,000 a year and your premiums are $7,500, your new reportable income would be $42,500 and you will now pay less income tax. You will have to check with your employer to see if they offer this. I believe it’s usually called a Section 125 or a Cafeteria Plan. I’m no tax expert so if you have a CPA or know one, you can ask. You might also be able to call the IRS or check online for more information.

2. Do you have your prescriptions refilled once every month or every three months?

My MIL told me about this one. This is how they have all their meds filled. Their new doctor started doing this and it saves quite a bit of money. So instead of having a prescription for 30 pills that they refill once a month, they have a prescription for 90 pills that they refill every three months. Sometimes an insurance plan will put a cap on the number of pills you can have every month for certain drugs. You can call your insurance plan and ask about your specific prescriptions to see if there are limits. So if you pay $30 a month for DRUG X you might be able to pay $30 for THREE months of DRUG X.

3. Does your health insurance offer a mail-order pharmacy?

A quick call to your insurance company will give you the answer to this one. Every plan is different so you’ll have to ask. It will take a very small amount of work on your part in getting new prescriptions written by your doctor and mailing them in, but it may save you quite a bit in prescription costs, especially if you can’t make the three month refill work for you.

4. Do you have a flexible spending account?

I’ve never done this but am thinking about setting one upwhen open enrollment comes around again. This is another “pre tax” option. Money is set aside into an account and you get reimbursed for copays and over the counter medicine, among other things. Contact your employer. A word of caution, this is usually a USE IT OR LOSE IT type of plan. The account resets once a year and any unused money reverts back to the employer. But, if you play this right, you will save money. I’m putting a link to a Wiki article that talks about FSAs and HSAs, which is another type of account that may work for you depending on the type of insurance you have. Again, contact your employer to see what they offer.
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_spending_account[/ame]
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_savings_account[/ame]

5. Have you done price checks at multiple pharmacies?

I hadn’t thought about this one until recently. I am on a generic drug that I take once a week. My copay for generics is $10. I had recently changed pharmacies to a small, independent pharmacy from a grocery store pharmacy. Imagine my surprise when I picked up my prescription and only paid $4.75. Because the cash price was lower, they charged me the cash price. I don’t know if they could have charged me the full copay, but I suppose they can do anything they want! I would never have known. I went by my old pharmacy and asked what the cash price was for the same prescription. It was $28! I would have been paying the full $10 an month. There is a companion script that goes along with the first one. That one was $6.00 at the small pharmacy. I didn’t bother pricing it at the old pharmacy. I figure I saved $120 a year without even trying. The moral of the story is, call around. You never know what you’ll find.

6. Do you ask for samples at the doctor’s office?

You really should! Most doctors get thousands of dollars worth of samples. If you are having trouble paying for your medicine or your copay is outrageous, ask your doctor or their nurses.

7. Have you ever asked for a less expensive drug?

Sometimes doctors don’t have samples but I have asked for a generic or less expensive drug. If you go on your insurance company’s website, you should be able to find a copy of the drug formulary. Print it and keep it with you when you go to the doctor’s office.

8. Have you ever been on your insurance company’s website?

Most companies have websites. They also may offer free programs for weight loss, smoking cessation and even discounts for gyms, massage therapists, acupuncture and even magazines. Take a few minutes and find out.

If I think of anything else, I'll post. If anyone has anything else, please post!

Christy

[rowdy35]

The FSA (flexible spending account) is really awesome. I had that at a former employer and it was a great program

[frugalfriend]

I'm shopping for health insurance right now, thanks for all the great tips!

[jas]

love having the flex spending account. This was the first year we had it and it came in handy when I had kidney stones and was in the hospital for 5 days. Plus all the other stuff glasses, dr visits, Rx's.

[Monroe on a Budget]

I've used FSA for many years and we really love it. There is some paperwork involved but I have easy access to a fax machine at work in case anything needs to go back to the company.

What I do to estimate the amounts is add up the prescription co-pays for the year, a couple of doctor visits (someone will go in for SOMETHING) and consider whether we expect any dental work or new eyeglasses that year.

[fixer]

Our FSA plan started offering a visa debit card. So now we don't have to fax the receipts too get reimbursed. The money is debited from our FSA account. I don't understand why they all are not like this..

[jas]

Our FSA plan started offering a visa debit card. So now we don't have to fax the receipts too get reimbursed. The money is debited from our FSA account. I don't understand why they all are not like this..

That sounds like an easier way for sure. Even though I have to mail stuff in I love the fact that we have it anyway. I think this year we are going to up the amount. DD has to have her wisdom teeth out in Jan. I have some dental work to have done and need to go to the dermatologist. Also the regular stuff too.

[savvy_sniper]

I have a PayPal business account (online sales) and with it a debit card. If I use it as a credit card (any place that takes MC/VISA) with existing cash in the account (also earns interest), I get 1.5% cashback. I make sure I have enough cash in the account to pay for dental bills, doctor's office copays, prescriptions, etc. I have earned several thousand dollars in cashback for things I had to pay for anyway!

I also have a flexible spending account. I just estimate doctor visits, prescriptions, eye doctor, glasses, miscellaneous OTC purchases, etc. It is great to reduce our taxable income.

[tracyq]

I also have a flexible spending account. I just estimate doctor visits, prescriptions, eye doctor, glasses, miscellaneous OTC purchases, etc. It is great to reduce our taxable income.

We do this too!!! It has been a blessing! I heard that these FSAs are going to be gone with the Health Care Bill. :-( :-\ Grrrrr

[craftypam]

Hi everyone! I’ve been thinking about ways to save money on healthcare over the past few months. After talking to different people and experiencing a few things myself, I realized you can save money on healthcare. Most of this may be something most people already know, but hopefully someone will learn something new and can save some money.

1. Do you have your medical insurance premiums taken out of your paycheck pre-tax?

DH and I have always done this. My in-laws NEVER have since they didn’t know what they were saying “no” to. They are in the process of completing the paperwork that will take their premiums pretax. When you have your premiums taken pretax, you lower your taxable income. So, if you make $50,000 a year and your premiums are $7,500, your new reportable income would be $42,500 and you will now pay less income tax. You will have to check with your employer to see if they offer this. I believe it’s usually called a Section 125 or a Cafeteria Plan. I’m no tax expert so if you have a CPA or know one, you can ask. You might also be able to call the IRS or check online for more information.


2. Do you have your prescriptions refilled once every month or every three months?

My MIL told me about this one. This is how they have all their meds filled. Their new doctor started doing this and it saves quite a bit of money. So instead of having a prescription for 30 pills that they refill once a month, they have a prescription for 90 pills that they refill every three months. Sometimes an insurance plan will put a cap on the number of pills you can have every month for certain drugs. You can call your insurance plan and ask about your specific prescriptions to see if there are limits. So if you pay $30 a month for DRUG X you might be able to pay $30 for THREE months of DRUG X.

3. Does your health insurance offer a mail-order pharmacy?

A quick call to your insurance company will give you the answer to this one. Every plan is different so you’ll have to ask. It will take a very small amount of work on your part in getting new prescriptions written by your doctor and mailing them in, but it may save you quite a bit in prescription costs, especially if you can’t make the three month refill work for you.

4. Do you have a flexible spending account?

I’ve never done this but am thinking about setting one upwhen open enrollment comes around again. This is another “pre tax” option. Money is set aside into an account and you get reimbursed for copays and over the counter medicine, among other things. Contact your employer. A word of caution, this is usually a USE IT OR LOSE IT type of plan. The account resets once a year and any unused money reverts back to the employer. But, if you play this right, you will save money. I’m putting a link to a Wiki article that talks about FSAs and HSAs, which is another type of account that may work for you depending on the type of insurance you have. Again, contact your employer to see what they offer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_spending_account
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_savings_account

5. Have you done price checks at multiple pharmacies?

I hadn’t thought about this one until recently. I am on a generic drug that I take once a week. My copay for generics is $10. I had recently changed pharmacies to a small, independent pharmacy from a grocery store pharmacy. Imagine my surprise when I picked up my prescription and only paid $4.75. Because the cash price was lower, they charged me the cash price. I don’t know if they could have charged me the full copay, but I suppose they can do anything they want! I would never have known. I went by my old pharmacy and asked what the cash price was for the same prescription. It was $28! I would have been paying the full $10 an month. There is a companion script that goes along with the first one. That one was $6.00 at the small pharmacy. I didn’t bother pricing it at the old pharmacy. I figure I saved $120 a year without even trying. The moral of the story is, call around. You never know what you’ll find.

6. Do you ask for samples at the doctor’s office?

You really should! Most doctors get thousands of dollars worth of samples. If you are having trouble paying for your medicine or your copay is outrageous, ask your doctor or their nurses.

7. Have you ever asked for a less expensive drug?

Sometimes doctors don’t have samples but I have asked for a generic or less expensive drug. If you go on your insurance company’s website, you should be able to find a copy of the drug formulary. Print it and keep it with you when you go to the doctor’s office.

8. Have you ever been on your insurance company’s website?

Most companies have websites. They also may offer free programs for weight loss, smoking cessation and even discounts for gyms, massage therapists, acupuncture and even magazines. Take a few minutes and find out.

If I think of anything else, I'll post. If anyone has anything else, please post!

Christy

We have always paid our own ins with no prescription ins. I'm not sure if any of you are aware of this, but an expensive medicine that I take 1mg, 2mg, 3mg and 4mg all the same price. The name brand of this medicine could not be cut in half because of the way it is shaped, but the generic can! Also my dh was taking a name brand medicine for $100 a month. Someone in here was going to globaldirect.com (Canada) in here and told us about it. The first time my dh filled the script it was $100 for 3 months plus $10 shipping. When he reordered it; $70 for 3 months plus $10 shipping. Canada has the generic, US does not. Dh's Dr said there is no problem getting drugs from Canada.

Keep in mind the drugstores who are building new stores on the corner of the shopping center that they are already in. Guess where they are getting the money to do it?

[Preston]

this is my first year signing up for FSA and I will tell you I think it is a good idea. My wife is having surgery right toward the beginning of the year and it is nice that this year that income will be pre-tax used to pay for out-of-pocket expenses. Furthermore, the money will be accessible right away in January and will pay for it throughout the year so it will be like having an interest free loan.

Yay.

[shoiji]

I try to get the medication written out so I only pay for one bottle instead of two bottles of the same medication but different mcg's.

[craftypam]

My dh is self employed. Can we do the fsa?

Thanks

[checkerkitty]

My dh is self employed. Can we do the fsa?

Thanks

Sadly, the IRS says no.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969...blink100038866

Qualifying for an FSA

Health FSAs are employer-established benefit plans. These may be offered in conjunction with other employer-provided benefits as part of a cafeteria plan. Employers have complete flexibility to offer various combinations of benefits in designing their plan. You do not have to be covered under any other health care plan to participate.

Self-employed persons are not eligible for an FSA.
Certain limitations may apply if you are a highly compensated participant or a key employee.

[mommynurse]

I used my company's FSA a couple of years ago but felt like it wasn't worth all the paperwork I had to do. There will be a debit card linked to the account next year so I'm thinking about it. I only have a few days left to decide...