Save on Medical Care – Part II
Here’s part two of my mini-series on saving on medical care. The article upon which this is based was writen by Sid Kirchheimer and originally published in Bottom Line/Personal. Today we’ll be covering tips #3 and #4. Here goes…
Tip #3: Don’t pay for a followup visit — This is one that has always bugged me… You go to the doctor for some sort of problem, they give you a course of treatment then ask you to come back in ten days. Guess what? You’re going to be billed for a brand new visit upon your return, even if the doctor only glances at you for a few seconds and then goes on his/her merry way. The most frustrating thing for us has been when our kids have had ear infections and the doctor wants them to come in for a quick followup ear check — even with insurance, that doubles the cost of an ear infection (not including prescriptions), and our kids have had a lot of ear infections. If you don’t have insurance, why not tell your doctor (during your initial visit) that you’re paying out of pocket, and ask them to waive the fees on the followup (assuming that it’s just a cursory check)? This is especially likely to work if you’re a regular patient, although it might require a bit of wrangling at the checkout desk (or with the business office), as they’re programmed to nick everyone for everything.
Tip #4: Confirm that tests are necessary — In the interest of covering their butts, it’s possible that doctors will order unnecessary medical tests. The motivation here is simple: even if they don’t think a particular test is necessary, failure to order it opens the door for future negligence lawsuits. Unless your health insurance is paying for the test, this sort of behavior can have a huge negative impact on your bottom line. And even if you have good health insurance, this sort of stuff will contribute to spiralling premiums and reduced coverage going forward. So the next time your doctor orders a test, ask him/her what they hope to learn from it. Chances are they’ll have a good answer. But if they don’t, you could save yourself some money.
See also: Part I, Part III, Part IV
[Source: Bottom Line/Personal]
Published on September 27th, 2006 - Leave a Comment
Filed under: Frugality, Insurance
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» Save on Medical Care – Part III» Save on Medical Care – Part I
» Save on Medical Care – Part IV
» From the Archives (September 23rd – September 29th)
» From the Archives (September 21st – September 27th)
» Carnivals – Week of 10/23/06
» Erroneous Medical Bill Update
» Carnivals – Week of 10/02/06
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase 10,000 of which count as Medallion(R) Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you add two additional cards to your account with initial application.
No Balance Transfer Fee!* 0% Intro APR for up to 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. This card offers Blueprint, free and customizable account features that help you avoid unnecessary interest and pay your balances down faster.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
- Chase Freedom Experimenting With Quarterly Rewards Auto-Enrollment
- Income-Based Repayment Plans for Student Loans

Tip It!