PFT #100 - Personal Finance Tip of the Week: Medical Bills, Deductibles and Copays

It’s no secret that medical bills are among the most significant expenses we face in our lifetimes. While we often can’t control the cost, there are several ways to soften the financial impact.Let’s perform a diagnosis—and a treatment plan:

1. Verify Insurance Processing:
   When you receive a medical bill, confirm that your insurance claim has been fully processed. It’s common to receive a bill before insurance adjustments are applied. Ensuring the claim is complete helps you avoid overpaying and requesting reimbursement later.
   
   
2. Consider Cash Payments:
   If you’re uninsured, have a high-deductible plan, or your insurance doesn’t cover a service, paying cash can be a smart financial move. Many providers offer discounted cash rates for labs, imaging, and outpatient procedures. Always ask about available discounts.
   
   
3. Consider Medical Credit Cards:
   If cash flow is an issue, a medical credit card may be an option. However, choose this option if you can commit to paying off the balance within the promotional 0% interest period. Otherwise, you’ll owe the full accrued interest, which can be substantial.
   
   
4. Compare Provider’s  Costs:
   If you need surgery or a procedure, ask whether your doctor operates at multiple locations as these costs can vary widely. Contact each billing department, request billing codes, and compare prices. By doing this, I reduced a $10,000 bill to $1,000—and after insurance, I paid just $300.
   
   
5. Save on Prescriptions:
   For daily medications, request a bulk supply—such as a 90-day prescription instead of a 30-day refill—to save money. In my case, this approach reduced costs by about 40%. Also, explore discounted programs like GoodRx, and consider generic options when appropriate.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello, every one, I am David and you were listening
to the personal finance Tip of the Week and this
week's topic is on medical bills, deductibles, and copays. It's
no secret that medical bills are among the most significant
expenses that we face in our lifetimes. While we can't

(00:26):
often control the cost, there are several ways to soften
the financial impact. So let's perform a diagnosis and a
treatment plan. Number one, verify insurance processing. When you receive
a medical bill, confirm that your insurance claim has been
fully processed. It's common to receive a bill before insurance

(00:48):
adjustments are applied. Ensuring the claim is complete helps you
avoid overpaying and requesting reimbursement later. Number two consider cash payments.
If you're uninsured, have a high deductible plan, or your
insurance doesn't cover a service, paying cash can be a
smart financial move. Many providers offer discounted cash rates for labs, imaging,

(01:13):
and outpatient procedures, so always ask about available discounts. Number
three consider medical credit cards. If cash flow is an issue,
a medical credit card may be an option. However, choose
this option if you can commit to paying off the
card within the promotional zero percent interest period, otherwise you'll

(01:36):
owe the full accrued interest, which can be substantial. Number four.
Compare provider costs. If you need a surgery or a procedure,
ask whether your doctor operates at multiple locations, As these
costs can vary widely, contact each billing department, request billing
codes and compare the prices. By doing this, in my situation,

(02:00):
I reduced a ten thousand dollars bill down to one thousand,
and after insurance, i paid just three hundred. As a
side note, this is not a common exercise that patients perform,
so when you're calling the billing department for your codes,
they may be a bit miffed. Nevertheless, you have the
right to this information, so be steadfast with your efforts

(02:23):
so that you can get the information that you need.
And that leads us to number five, which is save
on prescriptions for daily medications. Request a bulk supply, such
as a ninety day prescription instead of a thirty day refill,
so that you can save money. In my case, this
approach has reduced my cost by forty percent. In addition,

(02:46):
consider discounted programs like GoodRx and consider generic options where appropriate. Okay,
so that will do it for the Personal Finance Tip
of the Week, and we are celebrating our one hundredth
Personal Finance NAT's episode. We have enjoyed giving you all
these tips and hearing about all the great stories where
people have saved money, so be sure to know that

(03:08):
we have many more on the horizon and we look
forward to your continued success. So until next time, I
am David