One of our biggest financial struggles is medical bills.  I have Lupus and a host of other medical issues (thyroid problems, Raynaud’s disease, etc) that require lots of visits to the doctor.  With lupus, my symptoms and issues change on a regular basis which means that I regularly get poked and prodded with needles and undergo a variety of medical procedures.  Last year alone, I had 3 MRIs.  All of this is to say that we have lots of medical bills.  And it’s quite hard to budget for bills that are completely varied from month to month.

Last month, we got 3 medical bills to the tune of $3200 total.  That $3200 was AFTER my insurance had already paid their portion.  My youngest daughter also pulled her hamstring during the month of January and my oldest daughter needs either glasses or contact lenses for astigmatism.  Add that to all the regular checkups, colds, and sore throats, and the bills just keep coming!

I completely understand how difficult it can be to plan for and budget for medical bills.  Here are a few things that I’ve learned that may be helpful.

1.  Talk to both your doctor and your insurance company before you have any procedures done.

Ask your doctor what your options are as far as procedures go.  Sometimes there are 2 or 3 different procedures that will produce the same results. Take your doctors suggestions to your insurance company and find out what the coverage would be for each.  Sometimes, it’s cheaper to have the most expensive procedure done because of the amount your insurance covers.

2.  Check and re-check your statements.

Over the years, we’ve found hundreds of dollars of mistakes on our medical bills.  If something doesn’t look right to you, call about it.  It’s worth the few minutes of time it takes.

3.  Check with your employer to see if they offer a FSA.

Flexible Spending Accounts allow your employer to take money out of your paycheck before taxes each pay period.  That money can then be used for approved medical expenses.  The drawback of this is that if you don’t use it all during the year, you lose it.

4.  Save as much money as you can.

When I say “save as much as you can”, I don’t mean buy as many things that are on sale as you can so that you can brag about how much you “saved”.    I mean put as much money as you possibly can each month into a savings account…especially during those rare months when you don’t have any medical  bills.  Even if you make a decent amount of money, if you have lots of medical bills, it can seem like you never get ahead. By putting money in a savings account, you can ensure that you have the money you need to get the treatment you need.

5.  Look for prescription coupons and consider transferring your prescriptions.

I have multiple prescriptions that I fill each month and I was shocked that there are prescriptions for quite a few.  While you can’t use these prescription coupons every month, they certainly do help.  Also, consider transferring your prescriptions to another pharmacy.  Many pharmacies offer incentives for transferring your prescriptions.  One year, Kmart offered $25 gift cards for each prescription transferred with a limit of 5.  I transferred 5 prescriptions, my copay was $10 each, so I paid $50 out of pocket and I got a $125 Kmart gift card.  I would have paid the $50 no matter what pharmacy I took my prescription to, so it was like getting $125 of free groceries!  I was then able to take my grocery money and put it in my savings account!   Other pharmacies who offer incentives are Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Kroger.  These promotions are not ongoing, but you’ll often see coupons in the Sunday paper for transferring prescriptions.  When you see a coupon, hold on to it!

Those are some of the things we’ve done to survive our constant barrage of medical bills!  If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear them!  Please leave a comment!

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