Saturday, February 28, 2009

Healthy Outlooks For Health Care Saving

By Alexandra Vrugt

Taking care of your family's health is one of the hardest and most expensive parts of managing a household. With the cost of doctor's visits skyrocketing and fewer employers offering health care benefits, how can a family have their health care needs met? It can happen! Many of your family's health care expenses can be decreased using the same cost saving techniques that you use for daily household budgeting. Here are a few money saving strategies for getting a more positive outlook for your family's health care expenses:

Referrals are great. A lot of medical practices will give a special discount or will perform some complimentary services just for getting a referral. They make money because you are bringing them business and you save or get something done for free. It's a win-win for everyone. If you really like your health care provider, it's only natural to want others to know that they provide good service. Getting a discount is even more incentive.

Making the effort to avoid those high priced designer drugs! Buy generic drugs whenever possible. You will get the same results and the price for a 30-day supply could be as low as $1. If you run after the higher priced, name brand drugs you can expect to pay lots of money, sometimes more than $200 for the same or less! There is usually lots of medical research to support the fact that generic drugs are the same as the designer ones. They simply are there for saving cost conscious people money!

Watching for eyeglasses deals! You will see them throughout the year, but especially around back to school time. These eyeglasses deals usually can range from as high as discounts of 50-75% to actually free specs for certain family members. Additionally, there are always loads of coupons in the Sunday newspaper that can be used for reduced pricing or buy-one-get-one deals on glasses. If your family is low to moderate income, check your child's school or the local hospital which usually knows or offers children free eyeglasses to ensure that they are able to perform properly in school.

Looking out for free money and gift cards! Most pharmacies offer some type of financial incentive to switch your prescription to them. The incentive can range from actual money to store based gift cards. Either way, you get to buy some stuff that you would not otherwise have had the cash for and they get to service your prescription needs. Don't get locked into a "relationship" with a pharmacy. Take advantage every time that there exists an opportunity to switch. Hey...free money is free money!

Clipping those coupons! Check the local circulars, the in-store flyers, and the Sunday newspaper for coupons for different health care services and products. You may be surprised at what you can actually get for free. From exams to drug samples, these coupons may end up being a lifesaver for you or someone in your family.

These are a just a few simple ways of saving money while doing your best to provide your family with great health care services. Take advantage of what's out there. Do it as if your family is counting on it. - 16083

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