How To Bargain For Health Care

In this day and age it seems that health insurance premiums keep going up and it is becoming more and more difficult to find suitable coverage for the budget that has been set aside for health insurance. However when it comes to your health, it is not something that you want to be frugal about. Getting one serious illness and not having health insurance can lead to financial ruin. In fact, one of the leading causes of bankruptucy in the United States is just that, medical bills.

A 2009 Harvard study found that annual deaths in the United States total almost 45,000 due to lack of health insurance. It is important to find some health insurance coverage that is suitable to your needs. Yet, even more importantly it is necessary to know how to navigate that health insurance coverage. Often times people have issues even with health insurance because they are not aware of how much the medical procedures they need are going to cost them, and therefore are often financially unprepared. It is important to know that hospitals and physicians do give quotes for procedures, and that you can bargain.

If you have a PPO, or a Preferred Provider Organization (see PPO article), you can choose who it is you see for a certain procedure. Therefore you have the ability to call various hospitals and physicians and ask them for quotes ahead of time. Again, bargain! A routine knee surgery can run anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $10,000 or more depending on where you go.

Therefore by shopping around and bargaining, you will know what your cost is and this allows you to plan accordingly. It is also possible that situations arise where it is cheaper to pay out-of-pocket than to pay the deductible, depending on what that is. Therefore don’t be afraid to shop around and ask questions in order to see what the best price is for you.

If you have an HMO, or a Health Maintenance Organization , you still have the ability to shop for health insurance quotes. It might be a good idea to start shopping within your health insurance network, that way it is more likely that the procedure will be covered by your insurance company. However, if it is a procedure that will be cheaper out-of-pocket then going through insurance, you too have the ability to call the hospital's human resources department or your physician to find out how much a procedure costs.

By doing a little work it is possible to bargain so that you will find the best price for you. It cannot be said enough that you need to bargain! If a hospital that you would like to go to quotes a procedure that is far too expensive for your budget, and your health insurance premium or deductible is too high, and you had seen lower quotes at a different hospital; you can tell the hospital how much you are willing to pay.

Bargaining works because most doctors get paid based on what procedures they do. Therefore the more procedures they do, the more money they receive. You might be pleasantly surprised that with a little research and persistence, you may be able to receive whatever treatment you need for a price that you can actually afford to pay, without using health insurance.

When it comes to your health, all you need to do is be a little proactive, and the health insurance industry will cater to you needs.