Cutting Medical Costs

Cancer center waiting rooms are a great source of old magazines.

Yesterday, while waiting for my blood draw, for lack of other reading material, I picked up a back issue of Money mag (November 2006).

Two articles caught my eye, one on how to avoid being the victim of a scam, and the other on saving money on medical bills, "50 Ways to Cut Your Health-Care Costs."

No. 4 is "Look for mistakes." That's the statistic I referred to yesterday, that as many as eight out of 10 medical bills contain errors, increasing the bill by an average of 25 percent. I have to say, in all the years I've lived with cancer and wrestled with medical bills, I've found a lot of errors and only one was in my favor.

So these aren't just random errors. Don't pay any bill until you are SURE that it is correct.

Most of these suggestions wouldn't work for cancer patients, who probably don't have the energy to implement them, and I can't really see too many of us taking suggestion No. 1, "Ask for a deal." I would have had a hard time negotiating the price of my mastectomy before surgery. At that time, money was the last thing on my mind.

However, No. 15, "Don't be denied," about appealing insurance co. rejections of any bills, is a good one, as is No. 25, "Go postal," about ordering prescription drugs by mail from your insurance plan. I started doing that when I went on disability almost two years ago now, and it saves me a lot of money on co-pays.

Consider No. 26, "Split 'em up." Pills cost about the same, no matter the dose (antidepressants like Paxil, for example). And some pills can safely be split in half, saving you half the cost or half the co-pay if you buy pills that are twice the dose you need. Don't do this one without checking with your doctor, as some pills cannot be safely split. And you need the doctor to write a prescription for the higher-dose pills.

And my favorite, No. 46, "Wash up." Simple, regular handwashing can keep you from getting sick ans save you money. This one is especially important for cancer patients, who may have low blood counts. Remember to change hand towels often (a wet towel harbors germs), and don't touch the door knob with your clean, still-wet hands on the way out of a public restroom. Half the people who use public restrooms don't wash properly afterwards. (I use a paper towel to open the door.)

And while you're at it, make sure the doctors and nurses around you are washing THEIR hands.

Yuck! Wash Those Hands!

Yuck! Wash Those Hands! Take 2

@ Jeanne Sather 2007.