Healthbeat by Deirdre Cox Baker

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Save on health costs

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 7:59 am

I’m trying to imagine a scenario in which I ask a doctor for a discount, but maybe it’s not all that difficult to accomplish. According to a new book, some 61 percent of patients who do just that end up with a discount of some type.

“The Healthcare Survival Guide” is now available and has a Web site. It’s priced at $6.95.

I’ve seen some of the tips before, and included those in an Oct. 9 Quad-City Times article. The tips I used in the news article came from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Here are some of the money-saving tips stated in the book:

1. You can get COBRA for just one family member, such as one who is pregnant or who has a pre-existing condition.

2. Ask the doctor for a discount. Most (61 percent) will get one if they only ask.

3. Look on pharmaceutical Web sites for free trial offers for medications.

4. Check out a university dental clinic. There’s one in Iowa City, run by the University of Iowa School of Dental Medicine.

5. When comparison-shopping for health insurance, look for delays when coverage starts. It’s a red flag when reading the fine print.

6. Review the hospital bills closely. Charging for the wrong number of days is a common error.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 7:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Save on health costs”

  1. Jessica Says:
    October 27th, 2009 at 10:05 am

    Dierdre, Thank you for sharing information with your readers about The Healthcare Survival Guide. Your readers can also download the book for free on the book’s website: http://www.healthcaresurvivalguide.com. If a hard copy is purchased, we donate partial proceeds to charity.

    Thanks again!

  2. The Healthcare Survival Guide in the Quad City Times « The Healthcare Survival Guide Says:
    October 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am

    [...] The Healthcare Survival Guide in the Quad City Times The Healthcare Survival Guide was featured October 27 on the “Healthbeat” blog on the Quad City Times’ website. Columnist Deirdre Cox Baker underlines some of the indispensible cost-saving tips found in the book, including asking your doctor for a discount, using university dental clinics, and reviewing your hospital bills closely. Read the story here: http://healthbeat.qctimes.com/?p=2823 [...]

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