This year there has been a lot of advice written by consumers, financial analysts, health industry experts, bloggers and even physicians, on how to lower your medical bills.  All the advice suggests that consumers should try to negotiate prices with providers for discounts.   Yesterday I worked up the courage to try out my negotiating skills with a pediatric specialist.  First of all, it was surprisingly easy and I definitely got the impression the office manager was asked this question enough that she had a prepared response.  

A survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found only 31 percent of Americans have tried to negotiate the price of medical bills.  Of those consumers who tried, 93 percent have been successful at least once and more than a third saved over $100.  If you are insured with a high-deductible, uninsured, or under-insured, or looking out-of-network for services, you should ask the provider for a discount.   A physician I talked to from Mount Sinai Hospital suggested patients should offer to pay the provider the amount that Medicare reimburses and start negotiating from that amount.

I have a high-deductible health plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield.  This year my family was blessed once again with good health and we never got close to meeting our deductible.   During the last week of December, I scheduled an appointment with a pediatric specialist for a non-urgent consultation with my daughter.  This specialist came highly recommended and is out-of-network, and charges high rates for consultations -- a perfect opportunity for me to ask for a discount.  Before we saw the physician, I talked to the office manager and offered to pay cash for services even though I had health insurance.  The regular fee for a consultation is over $100 and they offered to charge only $50 for the office visit if I paid cash.  This is a great deal!  Benefits to the provider: they would not be submitting a claim to my insurance company for this service, they would not have to send me a bill for the office visit and they receive payment upfront.  Benefits to the consumers:  I saved more than 50% by writing a check at the time of visit.  Not a bad deal and for your new years resolution I recommend you try this out in 2008.

Happy New Year!

Are you paying too much for your health insurance?  Before you go out and replace your current health insurance plan, you really need to do your research to understand the different options that are available for you to choose from.  

Years ago, health insurance was almost always provided by your employer.  The only choice you had to make through your Human Resources Manager was whether to choose plan A, B, or C.  Today, more individuals are now purchasing health insurance on their own.  As the cost of health care continues to rise, many employers can no longer afford to provide their employees with health insurance.  Some businesses are even offering their employees more affordable options that are described with words like “consumer directed”, “high deductible”, and “HSAs”.  What exactly does all this mean to you?  If you have always had traditional first-dollar coverage employer-based health insurance, this could all be very confusing to you.  My advice to you -- before you go out and purchase health insurance on your own, you should get up to speed on some important issues that can save you thousands of dollars and avoid making painful mistakes selecting the wrong plan for you/your family.   Purchasing health insurance requires a level of knowledge that many of us are not comfortable with.  

I just read a book that does an excellent job informing consumers on how to save money on your health insurance.  This easy to read book, Get a Good Deal on Your Health Insurance without Getting Ripped Off, written by Jonathan Pletzke was recently published and is a must read if you are a consumer in the market for health insurance.   I highly recommend this book if you feel like you’re paying too much for your health insurance and want to understand your options.  For $16.45 at Amazon.com your return on investment (ROI) is substantial.  You can save yourself hundreds of dollars a month by becoming a well informed consumer and can avoid making the costly mistakes from purchasing the wrong type of health insurance plan for your family.   The book and accompanying website is available at www.BestHealthInsuranceBook.com. 

Happy Holidays,

Mona