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20 ways to cut those medical bills

Money's tight. We're having to cut corners, and cut down on things that are thought not to be essential.

There's been some noise made about the fact that the cost of private medical care has exceeded the inflation rate for the last few years. A comprehensive medical scheme just for yourself could easily put you back between 10% and 20% of your income every month. So it's not surprising that many people are scaling down, maybe as far as to just a hospital plan. But it's worrying that many others have decided to go without a medical scheme of any kind - they're just hoping for the best.

"Your medical needs should be considered first and foremost," says Johan van Tonder, independent medical scheme researcher. "If you're healthy and don't suffer from any chronic diseases, a hospital plan might be enough. However, if you're older, you might be more prone to chronic conditions, which might bankrupt you if you have no cover for out-of-hospital expenses."

In the case of those who have no cover, the cost of injury or emergency surgery could be crippling. While some state hospitals offer excellent service and facilities, many don't. And paying for private care could set you back the price of a good second-hand car - without the numbers to negotiate best rates, private patients often pay even more than medical scheme patients. A second-hand car, that is, if it's not a big operation. A big op is closer to the cost of a new one.

Whichever situation you're in, there are ways that you can get the treatment you need without being crippled by the cost. But you need to know how.

Here are some ideas:

Stick with the company medical scheme. This is often cheaper than going for an open-market medical scheme, where you as an individual may have little bargaining power. Also, closed schemes often charge you according to your income, but everyone gets the same benefits. So it's good for lower- and middle-income earners. Open schemes charge a set fee for a particular option, regardless of your income. And once you retire, this will still be the cheapest way to go. In-house medical schemes are usually not aimed at making a profit, whereas open medical schemes have to be. Many companies also pay a portion of the medical contribution for their employees. If there's a clinic at work, use it. It's probably free.

Stick together. If you have two children and a spouse, it should be cheaper to all be on the same medical scheme than if you or your spouse join different schemes as principal members. Even if your company insists on your joining their scheme, you can get out of it if you're on your partner's scheme as an adult dependant. There are some options where you only pay for one or two children and the rest are free.

Shop around. If you have to paddle your own canoe as far as a medical scheme is concerned, shop around. You need to find one that suits your needs. Some medical schemes have high premiums, but also have a wider range of benefits for specific categories of treatment. If you don't get ill often, it might be worth your while to go for a medical scheme on which premiums are low, there is good hospital cover, but which is low on day-to-day cover. If you need ongoing medical care, though, you will need a scheme with higher day-to-day limits. An idea is to go to an independent medical-scheme broker, who could help you make sense of the many different possibilities.

Chronic medication costs. The list of chronic conditions or PMBs (Prescribed Minimum Benefits) indicates which conditions medical schemes have to continue treating - even if an individual member's benefits have run out. If you suffer from one of these conditions, ask your GP whether the medication he/she is prescribing is on the formularium (list of recommended medications) issued by the Health Department. If it isn't, ask for one that is, or for a suitable generic. Otherwise you could end up having to foot the bill for your treatment.

Use your benefits
If you have an over-the-counter facility on your medical scheme, use it. The R100 you save on vitamins by not paying for them out of your own pocket could be spent on petrol in those last three desperate days before payday. Also don't go over your limits if you can help it - if the medical scheme covers up to R800 for frames for your new glasses, take the best you can find in that price range.

Get a hospital plan. If you have no medical scheme, because you think it's too expensive, try picking up the tab on a two-week stay in a private hospital after an accident. A hospital plan is a lot cheaper than a full a medical scheme, but go for one that covers you from day one, otherwise there's little point. Many schemes have very reasonable hospital plan options if you are prepared to go to a particular hospital chain for elective procedures (not for emergencies). This allows the scheme to negotiate bulk discounts. Make use of this.

Get your facts straight. Unless there's a medical emergency, don't be shy to ask exactly what your hospital plan or medical scheme will cover before you're admitted to a private hospital. This isn't the time to be modest. What some people do, if they have noc cover, is to have the operation done in a state hospital, and to go to a private hospital to recover from it. Post-operative care is often a problem area in state hospitals, not the operations themselves.

Find a reasonable chemist. On certain medications – both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC), prices can vary enormously from chemist to chemist. The one closest to your house may not be the cheapest. You could be paying a fortune for convenience. Large pharmacy chains are always the cheapest, as they can negotiate lower prices on bulk purchases. They also often charge lower levies than your corner chemists.

Repeat prescriptions can be faxed through. You don't need to pay for a doctor's visit every time you need a prescription. Phone and get the doctor to fax it to the chemist, especially if it's merely a repeat prescription for a non-life-threatening chronic condition. Remember that many chemists also have a free home delivery service.

Check out the state hospitals. If you have no medical aid, consider going to a state hospital, but check them out first. Some of them are very good, although hardly luxurious. But then, when you need to have your appendix out, who cares about plush carpets and elevator music? Ask your GP which hospital he/she recommends. And on this topic - contraceptives are free at government clinics, which are sometimes located in state hospitals. Most schemes will not pay for these. Queue for a while and save yourself some money.

Check out your supermarket. Many OTC medications are available at supermarkets. Things such as headache tablets, vitamin pills and antacids are generally much cheaper at the supermarket than they are in the chemist, as the supermarket buys these things in bulk.

Look at generics. Generic medications are by definition the same as the original brand, but without the brand name. They can cost a fraction of the price. This will increase the time you may take to reach your claim limits in certain categories, leaving you covered for longer. Many schemes already insist that you use these, unless there's a medical reason not to do so.

Take your own supplies to the hospital. Find out in advance what you'll need – tablets, cotton wool, bandages, antiseptic – and take them with you. Hospitals are notorious for charging you for a whole packet of earbuds even if they used only three for you.

Audit your hospital bill. Get your medical scheme to help. If there are inconsistencies, a complaint from them will probably have more clout than a complaint from you. Schemes are usually helpful in this regard, because ultimately they are the ones footing the bill.

Go for the GP who charges medical-scheme rates. This could save you an enormous amount of money. The last thing you feel like doing is paying 70% of the bill after seeing your gynaecologist or GP. Get someone who is contracted into the medical scheme, so the bill will never even be sent to you. Ask your medical scheme for a list of doctors from which you can choose. Also remember that you can often negotiate tariffs - these are not set in stone.

Get access to medical information. In a non-emergency situation, a reliable website, such as Health24, or a good medical reference book may answer some of your questions without your having to incur the cost of going to the GP. Reputable sources of medical information will also tell you when you should go to the doctor, as mere information can never take the place of face-to-face medical treatment when it's necessary.

Ask your pharmacist. Pharmacists can often advise on routine things such as skin rashes, flu or minor infections. Ask your pharmacist about over-the-counter medication or self-treatment for minor ailments. Pharmacists are also often open after hours. Most big cities have all-night chemists with a pharmacist on duty. Clinic sisters can often also give you injections, or take your blood pressure, or do simple tests – you might only have to pay for the medication, not a full doctor's consultation.

Deal now with medical issues. Ignoring a medical problem, because you don't want to pay the GP, often means that you end up paying for three consultations, because a neglected condition has gone from mild to serious. If something's wrong, it's simply cheaper to deal with it right at the beginning. But learn to distinguish when it's serious, and when it's not.

Avoid after-hours consultations. Obviously, if there's a crisis, you'll have no choice. But going to the GP at the 24-hour clinic on a Sunday morning, because you have a sore throat, is going to cost you a lot more than it would on Monday morning.

Look after yourself. Prevention is always better than cure. Taking a good multivitamin, eating fresh fruit and vegetables, getting exercise, not having unprotected sex, sleeping enough, not smoking, not drinking excessively and learning to relax, are all things you can do to prevent opportunistic viruses and bacteria. The healthier you are, the lower your medical costs will be.

- (Susan Erasmus, Health24, July 2008)

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