Have you been putting off that trip to the doctor because you’ve been so busy with the holidays? I found out this week that if you can get those appointments in before the turning of the new year, you can save big money.
There is no doubt health care costs are rising. I shudder every time we have to go to a doctor, and as a mom, I’m usually guilty of putting off my own health care.
About two weeks ago, I started developing knee pain. Like anything else, I put it off. Until one day last week when I was making my way down the basement stairs to retrieve yet another load of laundry. Favoring my bad knee, I slipped and fell down the stairs all of the way to the bottom.
Luckily, I was fine, just a few purple bruises to show for the adventure. It was then I realized that things could have been much worse. What if I had my infant in my arms? What if I hit my head and passed out, leaving two small children essentially alone in the house?
So, with that, I made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. The doctor examined me, took some x-rays and shook his head. It looked like a meniscus tear in my knee, and a previous surgery left very little meniscus left to repair. An MRI was prescribed. My frugal little heart was beating hard. Exactly how much was this all going to cost.
My first reaction was to put off the MRI until sometime next year, after we’ve saved a bit for it. This would have been the biggest mistake of my life. A quick call to our health insurance carrier revealed that we had already met all of our deductibles and co-pays for the year. That meant the insurance company would pay for all of the costs associated with the test as long as it was done before January 1st. By not putting off the MRI, we saved more than $1100!
My husband was so excited about the savings, he asked if there was anything else wrong that I could get checked.
And there are other areas of end-of-year healthcare savings. It is always best to check with your own insurance companies, but here are some general guidelines for end-of-year healthcare savings.
Dental plans: Most plans pay for two cleanings a year, so schedule them in. Dental plans also generally have a cap on the amount they will pay for dental work in the calendar year. If you have anything left within that cap, it pays to get your fillings or other work done, or at least started.
Vision plans: Our vision plan allows for one exam, one set of contacts and one pair of glasses per calendar year. When January first comes, the allowance resets. So by going for an exam at the end of the year, we can take advantage of our allowances, and leave the following year free in case an extra eye visit or contact/glasses replacement is needed later.
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