In the year 2018, Americans spent more than $3.5 trillion on general healthcare expenses alone, which is more substantial than the total GDPs of countries like; Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K. This means that the average American spent over $ 11,200 individually in that year on healthcare. Regardless of what most people believe, these exaggerated costs do not guarantee a better healthcare service quality.
Employers across the country are becoming increasingly determined to lower healthcare costs while simultaneously enhancing the quality of the care they offer. In the last decade, there’s been a vast development in healthcare cost-containment strategies. Due to this, healthcare insurances now offer a low deductible plan to ensure every American citizen can afford high-quality healthcare.
What Are the Most Effective Healthcare Cost-Containment Strategies
1. Looking Into Medical Cost Sharing
Non-profit organizations often run medical cost-sharing programs that collect low monthly fees and funds from members. Even though cost-sharing programs aren’t insurance policies, applying to them helps members pay off their medical expenses and bills. While there is no contract to assert payment, medical cost-sharing has benefits such as the ability to choose your care provider and the ability to lower medical care service expenses.
2. Taking Advantage of Telehealth
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Being a digitization product, telehealthcare utilizes; mobile devices, computers, and tablets to remotely manage and access healthcare. Unlike traditional healthcare settings, telehealthcare allows doctor visits to be conveniently performed from your home with the advantage of reduced costs. Research shows that telemedicine has significantly impacted patient cost savings from between $19 to $120 per visit.
3. Taking Advantage of Health Benefits
Health benefits usually consist of services like:
● Prenatal Care: The utilization of prenatal care makes sure that during pregnancy and birth, both the mother and baby maintain good health
● Annual Hospital Visits: To catch underlying health issues before the need for preventive treatments and measures arises indulge more in annual; vaccines, wellness visits, and screenings
● Discounted Services: Discounted healthcare services include; at-home fitness plans, diet and meal plan guidance, gym memberships, or health and wellness
● Case Management or Health Advocate Services: For patients with preexisting complex and chronic medical conditions, a case manager or a health advocate offers the guidance you need to retrieve your medical benefits
4. Utilizing Outpatient Facilities
Since not all medical procedures are performed at a hospital, it is possible to have some of them performed at lower costs from a family medical practice or an outpatient facility. Before you plan or prepare for any medical procedure, be sure to enquire from a healthcare provider whether or not you can have the procedure done at an outpatient facility.
5. Picking a Healthcare Plan and Provider Ahead for Emergency Care
Prioritizing planning ahead for medical services with your healthcare provider will save you from visits to an urgent care facility or emergency department, which will take more time and money. Doing this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t seek out urgent medical care in the event of an emergency; it means it is essential to formulate a plan that will help you get the medical care you need at the precise time that you need it without being forced out of more money.
6. Avoiding Overpaying for Medication
There are limited ways to help you save money on medications. Firstly, ensure you check in with your healthcare provider for generic or less expensive medication with the same makeup as your prescribed medication but at a significantly reasonable cost. After that, check to confirm whether you can order your medication from an online medical website or through the mail.
7. Utilizing Preventative Healthcare
An analysis done to assess the impact of personalized preventative care concluded that prevention and wellness programs and strategies help minimize the progression as individuals age. Preventative healthcare can provide; lower health care expenditures, more quality years, and reduced relevance of chronic diseases throughout the individual’s lifetime.
8. Compensation for Injuries
If your medical bills are because you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, then you might be entitled to compensation to pay for your medical bills. This means that you can receive needed medical care without footing the bill. The most common cause of injuries like this is car crashes, so if you think that you might be entitled to this kind of compensation, then it’s worth getting in touch with a car accident lawyer. Sometimes, you might even receive compensation to cover other costs as well, especially if you’re unable to work.
In Conclusion
The possibility of healthcare expenses receding is almost impossible. Therefore, to decrease the amount of money spent on medication and medical services, it is vital to take on a more proactive healthcare approach. Additionally, it is essential to make sure that your healthcare benefit plan is just as proactive.
