Having health insurance is extremely helpful. Medical insurance can provide a necessary safety net for you if you ever become ill. It helps to offset the sizeable and unexpected financial costs that you might incur if a visit to a primary care doctor or hospital is needed. With medical insurance, you pay less for covered in-network health care, even before you meet your deductible. Insurance also minimizes the cost of unexpected medical bills, reduces your risk of bankruptcy, and can encourage you to take better care of your health.
In Australia, as of June of 2019, it was found that 11.2 million Australians (44% of the population) had some form of private patient hospital insurance. What’s more, 13.6 million (53%) had some form of general treatment coverage. When seeking out medical insurance, you need to ensure that you are getting the most out of your coverage. Here are some ways to get the most out of your insurance.
Find out if they offer any freebies.
When you’re seeking out the best health insurance Australia, check to see if your insurance provider offers any free items. This helps to save on costs associated with medical expenses and is needed when dealing with the added costs of an insurance policy. With health insurance, there are sometimes “perks” which you don’t have to pay for. Such preventative healthcare services, like screenings and tests, are services that you sometimes don’t have to pay out of pocket for. Australian residents should make sure to check with your insurance providers to see what “freebies” might be available.
Don’t overspend on medications.
An easy way to cut costs when it comes to your health insurance is to not overspend on prescribed medicine. You don’t have to pay for the most expensive brand of medicine when you receive a prescription from your primary care doctor. Find out if a generic version of the medication is available at a lower cost.
These generic medications provide just as much in the way of treatment as a name brand prescription does. Checking with your pharmacist can help you to save on these costs for future prescriptions. Major retail stores that Australian residents visit have in-store pharmacies which often promote the fact that they offer cheaper alternatives to name brand prescriptions.
Add a health savings account.
Just like a savings account, having a health savings account can help you with saving money for a medical-related emergency situation. A health savings account can be added with some health insurance plans. You can create a savings account of nontaxable money, where you will earn interest on the money that stays in the account. Whatever savings money isn’t used, rolls over to the next year.
Having an extra stash of money for healthcare and medical-related expenses can be extremely helpful. Even though insurance cuts down on costs associated with medical-related activities, it doesn’t cover everything. Rather than having to reach into your own personal savings account, it helps to have health savings account to be able to pull from.
Ask for price cuts.
People sometimes feel that haggling for a better price on items is unseemly, but it doesn’t have to be and it can save you plenty of money in the long run. When it comes to getting the most out of your health insurance, a small form of negotiating can go a long way. When you have a plan with a high deductible, you might be able to get a break during a primary care doctor or dentist’s office visit.
If you pay for the visit with cash, some offices will take a bit off the price. You have to let the office know that you have a high deductible plan. If they aren’t able to take the pricing down for you, ask them if an installment payment plan is an option. This can help you to spread the cost of the visit over time, and not have to incur the full financial burden with one visit. This provides you with peace of mind, to not have to worry about large out of pocket costs or pocket expenses.
