HOW THE ACA WILL SAVE YOU MONEY
Buy in Bulk. If you have an ongoing prescription for a chronic condition, such as high blood pressure or asthma, you can save significantly by ordering a 90-day supply. Your insurance company can provide a list of approved mail order companies. A word of caution: Do not purchase drugs
manufactured outside the US, recommends Nilam Gandhi, PharmD, MBA, pediatric pharmacy manager at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City. You can’t be sure of their quality and safety. “In the US, every drug is tested through the FDA (US
Food and Drug Administration), but we don’t control how other companies outside the US make their drugs,” Gandhi says. “They are not regulated by other countries, and a lot of times those drugs aren’t even tested. They may not even have an active ingredient. So check with your insurance company and order through a reputable company.”
Look for Discounts. As Plank discovered, drug manufacturers typically offer prescription assistance programs for people who are uninsured or underinsured. Many pharmacies offer in-house savings programs. And in an effort to promote overall wellness, some health insurance plans offer discount weight-loss programs, tobacco cessation programs, or memberships to fitness centers. “Sometimes with being a member of a health plan,
you’ll be able to go out and shop with discounts for these types of health care benefits,” says Wendy Shanahan- Richards, MD, MBA, a national medical director for Aetna and co-author ofNavigating Your Health Benefits For Dummies (Wiley, 2006).
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes into full effect in 2014, many of its provisions will save money for individuals and women in particular. For instance, one provision of the ACA makes it illegal for insurers to deny or charge more for health coverage to those with preexisting conditions. The ACA already allows families to keep their adult children on their policies until age 26. While this may cost money in the short term, it will cut down on costs if that child needs medical care. The ACA also requires insurers to cover mammography, immunizations, FDA-approved contraceptives, and other women’s health preventive services without co-pays or deductibles. Under the ACA, insurance plans will no longer be allowed to charge women higher premiums than men for the same insurance plans.
Live Well. Make healthy choices by eating a balanced diet, exercising every day, getting plenty of sleep, and reducing stress. And if you smoke, it’s important to quit. Studies cited by Aetna found that “70 cents of every health care dollar is spent on problems that could have been prevented.” So be sure to have appropriate checkups and
screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies. Most insurance plans cover 100 percent of these preventive care services. “One of the biggest cost drivers in the US for
medication costs are chronic conditions,” says Shanahan- Richards. “If we can get preventive care early on, that might help us avoid costly care down the line.”
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