Whether it’s under the Affordable Care Act, or American Health Care Act, or Better Care Reconciliation Act, health-care is expensive. But there are a lot of things you can do today to make it less expensive.
Even though health care goes out of its way to make its pricing as opaque as possible, and even though the current debate seems to equate health insurance with health care, you can save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars tomorrow, doing the same thing you do with every other product you shop for: do your research, look and ask for discounts and coupons, and use older, generic drugs.
I was diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago. I also had what is basically a catastrophic insurance plan, meaning I would pay 100 percent out of pocket for everything (other than an annual physical) up to $3,000 in annual expenses. For me, $3,000 is three months of daycare for my son, three months of mortgage payments, and eight months of car payments, so I was in no hurry to pay that deductible. So I worked hard to see if there were any way I could get good treatment cheaper.
I know this may seem like message board spam (although I do earn thousands a month working from home—ask me how) but it’s true. While it won’t be as effective for everyone, and nearly all these steps need to be done in consultation with a doctor (not just WebMD), there are savings to be wrung out of whatever is left of the free market in health care. The keys are to understand your health, do research, and take control of your health-care decisions as best you can.