Some people look at December as the month of Joy, Holly, and Mirth. For others it means going to the dreaded mall during holiday happy hour to get that pair of boots your significant other just has to have. Then, there’s those who look to the end of the year as the chance to squeeze in all of the doctors’ appointments they’ve been putting off all year, before their annual deductible resets and they are back to paying more money out of pocket for medical expenses.
High deductible insurance plans are very common and have risen at a rapid pace over the last five years. In fact, patients with high-deductible health plans have grown from 10 Million in 2010 to 17.5 Million in 2014. So, if you have an annual deductible plan, you know that the end of the year is when you have the opportunity to receive maximum savings on health care services.
Here’s how a deductible works; once you’ve spent your minimum responsibility on health care services for the year, then your insurance will start covering your medical expenses. This is why many people save their expensive procedures, like MRIs or CT scans, for the end of the year once their insurance is fully footing the bill.
Do you know how much diagnostic imaging services cost usually? Here are the prices of a few prices of the most commonly price shopped healthcare services across the country:
Read More: Employer Benefits of Using Healthcare Transparency & Consumerism Tools
With the healthcare market’s prices growing the way they have, consumers are “shopping” for health services. Being an educated consumer and knowing how to use your end-of-year insurance deductible to your advantage can save you time and money. This means we’ll be relying more and more on our healthcare providers to adopt price transparency. Not all providers are jazzed about telling you how much their procedures cost, but if you make the effort to ask around you’ll save hundreds and be able to spend more on those family holiday expenses!
