How to pay less for healthcare

We all know that the Affordable Care Act does not cover everything. More deductibles and out-of-pocket payments are required for services that may have been covered previously. For example, a high pay premium can come seemingly out of nowhere for prescriptions you once knew and loved.

So what can we do — both on the hospital and patient side — to pay less for healthcare?

Hospitals

• Provide more information on healthcare costs and insurance coverage for your patients (i.e. unexpected inpatient co-pay costs)
• Keep open communication with patients via secure messaging and remote health monitoring
• Connect to a health information exchange so you can have ALL necessary data about your patient

Patient

• Make sure your procedure or service is covered first! Check with your insurance provider and hospital before agreeing to even additives like anesthesia
• Keep an electronic personal health record so you ALWAYS have proof of your services and can therefore avoid unnecessary procedures
• Utilize that same health record to track your health for preventative care

Healthcare costs are really becoming an obstacle for public health. It’s necessary that all parties involved make adjustments to make the best with what we’re working with.