When reviewing health plans and evaluating costs, keep in mind that health insurance was not designed to cover every penny related to health care.
Everything is good with an open credit card, but not when you are paying the bill. But you are.
The purpose of insurance is to cover sudden very costly losses. It’s about making you whole again and it doesn’t have to be the financial responsibility of a lot of money to do it. Somehow in the last 60 years we all decided that the traditional plan should pay for everything.
Health insurance, for the most part, is the only insurance product that pays for first dollar coverage such as doctor visits and prescription drugs. The health care system cheated the system on the big bank account paying the bill, not the little guy. Everything is changed…
Employees are responsible for paying more premium dollars out of their checks and higher costs for their health care. Employers should involve their employees in being more proactive in their health care. Here are a few ideas:
-
Don’t run to the ER or doctor for every little thing. What about waiting for home remedies or a doctor’s appointment instead of running to the ER? If you have kids this will save you thousands a year.
-
Try to save money on medicine by finding alternatives. Sometimes skipping the medicine does not affect your health, but you have to visit the doctor again and again. Another thing you can do is shop around. Just because they are convenient doesn’t mean it is the most cost effective.
-
Just because your doctor recommends a test, doesn’t mean you have to get it done right away. Doctors went to school for many years, but they are also trying to run tests to protect themselves and get paid. Ask more questions to see if you think it’s the right thing to do. Exactly as you would expect if your mechanic recommended the item. This is your money.
-
If you’re scheduling a process, take a look around. Many new facilities are coming up to help reduce costs, from outpatient testing to outpatient surgical facilities. The hospital is not the cheapest. far from it. This increases the cost for you and the insurance company.
-
For most things you don’t need to go to a state-of-the-art teaching hospital. There is a time and place for the advanced care that some leading teaching hospitals bring to the fore. However, people have to go through its overpriced and exorbitant charges for most of the things.
In the end, it will cost you more money, either as out-of-pocket expenses or in the form of premiums. There is no free lunch.
