Protect your health and your wealth: 5 tips to beat medical debt

By Bernadette Delight Bankrate com Even though I have enough saved for early retirement I still worry As someone with lifelong chronic conditions I know all too well how healthcare costs can creep up even when everything else seems under control Related Articles Editorial The crock stops here this must be last shutdown Prince Harry Meghan join Steve Bannon Glenn Beck in call for ban on evolution of AI superintelligence North Korea has stolen billions in cryptocurrency and tech firm salaries statement says Meta cutting AI jobs even as it continues to hire more for its superintelligence lab Beyond Meat shares briefly sizzle on Walmart deal and meme stock interest Biological debt is one of the sneakiest options financial stress shows up in people s lives According to Kaiser Family Foundation s KFF analysis of regime statistics Americans owe at least US billion in healthcare debt Approximately million adults owe more than and another three million carry medicinal debt over And the stress around money and especially healthcare is very real According to Bankrate s Money and Mental Wellbeing Survey percent of U S adults say money negatively affects their mental physical condition at least several of the time Understanding your wellness care coverage is an essential part of a healthy financial plan for you and your family Here are six practical tips to protect both your soundness and your wealth Check your insurance coverage meticulously Don t wait until you re in a hospital bed or at the medical professional s office to find out what your plan certainly covers Before any procedure call your provider and ask about deductibles copays coinsurance and whether your clinician is in-network A ten-minute phone call could potentially save you thousands of dollars In the past few days my primary care clinician referred me for a CT scan When I reviewed my coverage I uncovered that it would cost me over out of pocket Because I looked into this before my procedure date I had time to investigate alternatives and avoid a nasty surprise Insurance terms to know Deductible The amount you re required to pay out-of-pocket before your insurance starts sharing costs Copay A set fee you pay at the time of arrangement like for a medical practitioner s visit Coinsurance The percentage you re responsible for after meeting your deductible for example your plan might pay percent while you pay percent Out-of-pocket maximum The preponderance you ll ever pay in a year for covered services Once you hit this number your insurance covers percent of covered care for the rest of the year A multitude of people don t understand how these terms translate into real-life situations so here s an example Imagine you need surgery that costs According to your plan your deductible is You pay that first After that your insurance kicks in and you pay percent coinsurance on the remaining or If your plan has a copay for the hospital visit that gets added too Your total out-of-pocket cost for this surgery would be deductible coinsurance copay Match your Keep Calm fund to your deductible in a high-yield savings account You ve possibly heard about the importance of having an exigency fund I like to call mine a Keep Calm Fund because that s precisely what it does in a problem it gives me peace of mind so I can stay level-headed At a minimum set aside the amount of your deductible having your out-of-pocket maximum saved can be a long-term goal That way if a worst-case scenario hits you can cover your healthcare costs without spiraling into debt or panic Using the surgery example above having at least in your Keep Calm Fund means you can cover the deductible right away The average annual out-of-pocket healthcare cost for employees was over in If you have more saved you ll have breathing room for coinsurance copays or other unexpected costs that may arise Keep your funds in a high-yield savings account so they can earn interest for you in the meantime Read every line item and ask about discounts I can t emphasize this enough Pore over your clinical bills with a fine-toothed comb and speak directly with billing departments or your pharmacy about any discrepancies Mistakes happen all the time including incorrect codes duplicate charges or bills for services you didn t receive I reviewed chosen physical therapy bills in recent days and identified duplicate charges that would have cost me several hundred dollars Plus discounts subsidies or assistance programs are often available but aren t widely advertised or readily apparent For example one of my prescriptions ordinarily costs thousands of dollars a month but the pharmacy helped me find a copay assistance plan that covered preponderance of it Asking those questions and pushing back when something looks off can make a huge difference Avoid credit cards use HSAs or similar plans instead Credit cards are often the largest part expensive way to cover healthcare costs Unless you can pay them off forthwith interest charges can balloon a bill into thousands more over time A better option If you have access consider using a Vitality Savings Account HSA or a Flexible Spending Account FSA Contributions go in tax-free withdrawals for qualified medicinal expenses are tax-free and with HSAs your money can even grow tax-free if you invest it That s a triple advantage that even diagnostic credit cards will never give you HSAs and FSAs help you save for health costs in advance while reducing your taxable income to help you save at tax time Consider physiological tourism Here s a tip you don t hear often consider looking beyond U S borders for healthcare care If you re able and willing healthcare tourism especially for certain elective or screening services can be a safe affordable option to avoid anatomical debt After reviewing research and speaking with American expats in Portugal and Spain I proven that multiple of our healthcare costs are inflated and don t necessarily guarantee higher-quality care absolutely because it s American During a up-to-date trip to Malaysia my husband and I received comprehensive physiological screenings including labs imaging and consultations The appointments were all scheduled for a single day and our total out-of-pocket cost was less than In the U S the same services could easily cost several times that and take weeks to complete But don t rely on second-hand information and anecdotal reports Call these medicinal centers directly and have your list of questions and concerns ready You may just find a smoother less expensive process Final thoughts Advocating for your own wellbeing is a worthwhile fight Lastly but majority of importantly don t take no for a final answer on insurance denials Insurance companies often deny valid asserts with the expectation that patients won t argue or will eventually give up According to a KFF survey percent of insured adults revealed experiencing a denied claim in the past year Among those who use physical condition services the the greater part that figure jumps to percent Here are particular approaches you can take Read the denial letter meticulously It should reference the agenda clause or term used to deny your claim Gather documentation including professional s notes lab results and referrals to encouragement your circumstance File an appeal Several denials are overturned on appeal but only if you challenge them Enlist help if needed including individual advocacy groups or consumer assistance programs You don t have to fight alone In my experience my health providers have been willing to help me fight denied alleges Think of these efforts like preventive care for your financial plan A little preparation a questioning and curious mindset and a strong financial cushion can make a world of difference The healthier your money habits the less likely you are to need a financial exigency room Bankrate com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC