Managing the Cost of Your Ongoing Care
Now that you've gone through Steps 1 through 4, you've done what you can to explore all of your health coverage options as well as address likely outstanding and upcoming medical expenses. There is still one more thing you can do to ensure you get through a challenging financial period safely - change your habits to become a smarter consumer of health.
We don't recommend deferring needed medical care and letting minor conditions become serious. While you are looking for work, you still need to take care of yourself and your family.
Here are a few ways to keep overall health costs down whether you have insurance or not:
Be assertive at the doctor's office.
Physicians are more used to helping patients think through the cost implications of their care than they were 10 or 15 years ago. When discussing care options with your physician, make sure they know that cost is a factor. They've heard it before, and they should able to help you think through the costs and benefits of various courses of therapy and care. Also, see our 4 Tips for Saving Money at the Doctor's Office.
Consider generic prescriptions when appropriate.
Pharmaceutical therapy can be much less expensive than the alternative medical care, so don't cut prescriptions out of your budget. Instead, seek out lower-cost alternative drugs such as generics. See our section on saving money with generics, and the movement for $4 monthly prescriptions, for more information. We are not pharmacists, so please validate your drug choices with your physician or pharmacist.
Use lower-cost walk-in clinics for minor illnesses.
Routine medical care can be done in many settings, with a high variance in cost. The advent of widespread walk-in clinics - chains like MinuteClinic or local walk-in locations often operated by regional health systems - can be a cost effective way to seek out care for things that don't require direct physician interaction. In addition to being less expensive, they are often more convenient as well.
Stay in shape.
We've all heard that prevention is the best cure. People who stay in shape have fewer serious health problems, develop fewer chronic health conditions, and live longer. This rule even applies to the more routine illnesses that many assume are inevitable. A study at the University of South Carolina found that people who exercise regularly get 23% fewer colds than those who don't.