What to ask your doctor on your next visit

Before your physician knocks on the door of your exam room, you should have a mental list of questions ready. Research health conditions before your visit. One option is to consult an online symptom checker. You’ll be asked a series of triage questions, then offered a variety of treatment choices. It’s your job to be well-equipped to make the most of your and your doctor’s time.

Paying the bill

If you are not on a copay plan or have not yet met your deductible, you are obviously concerned about the cost of services you are paying for out-of-pocket. Consider these options for maximizing your health care discounts:

• Ask your doctor’s office if they provide a discount for paying cash.
• Stay in-network! Make sure you are utilizing in-network medical providers. Your health plan has negotiated rates with designated networks – don’t throw your money away on out-of-network providers.
• Let your doctor send you the bill. Ask your doctor’s office if they will wait and send you the bill after it is has been processed with your health plan. This will ensure you pay the negotiated discount rate and you can avoid the hassles of overpayment and waiting for reimbursement.

HSA’s and Unintentional Overpayment

If you have an HSA, it’s important not to overpay for medical expenses. Since you’re paying "cash" from your HSA, if you pay the entire bill up front, you may be paying too much. For example, most claims must be re-priced before you know what you owe. If you pay cash at the time of service, chances are, you pay before the network discounts are applied. This may pose a problem if you are reimbursed by your physician’s office, because you have technically made an unqualified withdrawal from your HSA.

Know the costs before your visit

Make sure you understand what you are paying for and how much it will cost. If you’re covered by a high deductible plan, it’s important to know how much things cost. Call ahead to ask the price of a doctor’s visit and any tests you think may be needed. Speak up! Tell your doctor that you are covered under a high deductible plan and that keeping costs down is important to you. If there is more than one test to effectively diagnose the same condition, ask which one is less expensive. Ask about generic drug alternatives, too.

Prescription Samples

Some doctors offices have a cabinet full of samples of the prescription drugs you take. Before you run to the pharmacy with a new Rx, ask about taking samples first so you won’t waste money on a drug you don’t like, or that doesn’t work for you.

Need to have surgery?

With the steady rise of Healthcare costs, consumers are beginning to shop for treatment like they shop for a car. Access an online hospital comparison tool to determine which hospital is most experienced in treating your condition. Ask friends and family members if they have had a particularly good hospital experience that they will share with you. Talk to your doctor about what you should expect when seeking care at a hospital. Compare prices by calling area facilities. It’s not unusual to find huge price differences between hospitals that are in the same city. Remember, they aren’t competing like retail stores or gas stations.

What is a network discount?

Your PPO health insurance plan has agreements with certain providers and hospitals to offer discounted rates to you, the plan member. Don’t throw you money away on out-of-network providers – stay in-network.

What is re-pricing?

Ever wonder what happens to your claim after it goes in the mail? It goes through a series of hoops including re-pricing and discounting before you get your EOB. One hoop is probably discounting. Your claim must be recalculated or "re-priced" with all applicable discounts before it is sent out for payment.