Even for the insured, the cost of copays and other out-of-pocket expenses add up quickly, whether you’re single or have a family. If you’re feeling the pinch, you’re not alone – according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 53% of respondents said they had cut back on their health care to try and save money.

Many respondents reported an increased use of over-the-counter medications or home remedies, rather than scheduling a visit to their doctor. Others said they didn’t fill prescriptions to save money; some even skipped treatment or tests that their doctor recommended.

Ignoring your doctor’s instructions could prove risky if you have a serious medical condition. But no matter health status, you can cut down on some of the costs of healthcare without having to neglect your health. What can you do?

• When you visit a doctor, make sure you’re prepared. Take along all the information the doctor might need, including paperwork and medical records if necessary. Take note of whether your health has changed recently, including energy or weight fluctuations. If you have any questions you want to ask, make a note so you don’t forget them. Being prepared for a doctor’s visit cuts down on the need for repeat visits, and helps save on copays.
• Get your test results over the phone. Most of the time you won’t need to return to your doctor to get test results, so there’s no reason to spend money on the copayment when it’s not necessary.
• Consider setting up a flexible spending account when open enrollment comes around. Flexible spending accounts let you put pre-tax dollars aside to fund certain types of medical expenses.
• Call an organization such as the Patient Advocate Foundation (800- 532-5274) if you have a chronic disease and want some help with getting the most out of your insurance plan.
• If you’re uninsured, then consider visiting a store clinic. In some locations, retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart now run clinics where you can receive routine medical care for about half the price of a doctor’s visit.
• Try and track down locations where you can receive free medical screening. Organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can help you locate such programs.
• Request a quote for affordable health insurance here. Our system is able to connect you with leading health insurance carriers from across the country, and it could save you a lot of money on premiums or health care costs.

photo credit: effekt!

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) was approved by the federal government in 1985, but in the intervening 23 years thousands of Americans have found that the scheme isn’t as useful as it seems. Now, with the economic crisis putting millions out of work, the failings of COBRA are beginning to be revealed, in all their dubious glory.

Under COBRA, workers who lose their jobs can still retain the employer healthcare that job provided. They can retain the healthcare for up to eighteen months, but they must pay for the full price of upkeep once their employment terminates. While employed, they pay only a portion of the premium, with their employer footing the bill for the remainder. But after their employment is terminated, they’ll pay both shares.

It sounds like a great idea – and it works in theory – but the reality is that to maintain their healthcare after losing their jobs, the average worker must pay as much as 30% of their unemployment check. When a family, rather than a single person is involved, that figure can rise to an astonishing 84%.

Real Affects Felt By Real People

One case, cited by healthcare advocacy group Families USA, involved a Minnesota woman forced to rely on COBRA to maintain healthcare coverage for herself and her husband after she lost her job. Her monthly unemployment check amounted to $1,612, while the COBRA coverage bill was $1,200. In Arizona, the situation is even more dire – the monthly COBRA bill for a family is $1,084, and the average monthly unemployment check is just $937.

So clearly, there’s a big problem here, in that maintaining healthcare coverage after losing employment places an enormous financial burden, particularly for families. It’s no wonder that the ranks of the uninsured have swelled at such a staggering rate over the last year, just as the unemployment figures have been increasing.

COBRA’s Last Leg?

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust, a full 80% of workers who are eligible for COBRA don’t use it if their employment is terminated. Given the cost, it’s no surprise that more people aren’t using it. Many advocacy groups are hopeful that the new administration will address COBRA’s inherent failings, but in the meantime, increasing numbers of Americans are finding out first hand that the protection that COBRA was supposed to provide just isn’t there.

photo credit: Obama-Biden Transition Project

Universal healthcare could be useful in more ways than one. With more than half a million jobs lost in America in November (the biggest decline in a single month in more than thirty years), the country is in dire straights. Nearly 7% of the nation is wholly unemployed, and a total of 12.5% are either unemployed or barely working. That’s 19.3 million Americans who have little or no work.

The incoming administration is preparing a stimulus package to be introduced in the New Year, intended to get the economy ticking over again by investing billions in infrastructure. The package may include upgrading school buildings, upgrading public buildings to improve energy efficiency, building of bridges and roads, extending the reach of broadband internet, and improving electronic record keeping for medical billing.

What About Healthcare?

But what about healthcare reform? The much-touted universal healthcare program doesn’t top the to-do list – but should it? Developing universal healthcare as part of the economic stimulus package could have many beneficial effects. Economic stimulation is only the tip of the iceberg – overall, American citizens would enjoy improved financial security, and just as important, the barriers to that much-needed healthcare reform would finally start coming down.

America’s healthcare problems are impossible to ignore. The country spends 16% of gross domestic products on healthcare – more than any other in the world. But despite this, America lags far behind in life expectancy (#48) and infant mortality (#29). Nearly 40 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2007, and that figure is likely to be very much higher now.

Given all these problems, it’s easy to see why universal healthcare could be just what the doctor ordered. With a universal healthcare program in place, every citizen under the age of 65 would be insured, either through a qualified company, or via a government-sponsored insurance program (over-65s are already covered by Medicare).

The Uninsured in America

In the short term, universal coverage would provide an excellent and much-needed boost to the country’s economy. Increasing numbers of people are having trouble paying their medical bills (or accrued medical debts), and in 2007, some 116 million were either uninsured, had problems paying medical bills, or had to forgo medical treatment due to the cost.

And these are average, ordinary Americans – Main Street, not Wall Street. Targeting healthcare as an economic stimulus measure would benefit ordinary, average workers and help relieve one of the most pressing problems for people who lost their jobs during the past year.

There are problems, of course, not the least of which is the cost – an estimated $160 billion a year, and an additional $100 to $200 billion just to set the program up. And this might not turn out to be a long-term solution. But as far as solutions go, it’s hard to see that new bridges and roads are any better – and perhaps the most significant benefit of using healthcare reforms is that the people who benefit the most are this country’s citizens.

photo credit: yosoynuts