Find how to reduce your medical bills.

Unfortunately, over 47 million Americans do not have health insurance. Here are some great tips to reduce your medical bills for if you are one of the uninsured, or if you just need help with medical bills in general.

Sign up for a discount club

Health plans and companies like Careington Health Systems and AmeriPlan offer discount cards that are available to most everyone to use on health insurance costs. Heal care providers (including dentists, doctors, optical, chiropractic and much more) who are part of these plans agree to give members up to a 60 percent discount on their medical bills.

While you will pay a monthly membership fee that can be from $10-$30, and you will have some medical bills to pay cash at the time of your health care service, you will still experience major health care savings. Be sure to review each plan's coverage in the area you live, as some regions have fewer participating providers and doctors that participate than others.

Dental Care

There are many schools and colleges of Dental Medicine that offer discounted or free dental care. While you may be seen by a student or resident of the dental school, the dental care provided is always under the close supervision of licensed professionals. Find additional ways to get help with dental bills.

Health insurance for kids

Each and every state across the country offers a cheap or free health insurance program for children, infants,  and teenagers. While the programs do vary, typically for little or no cost the state health insurance plan will pay for prescription medicines, routine doctor visits, hospitalization, dental bills, and more.

Even better, your kids and teenagers are usually eligible for aid even if you're employed. Do note though that the exact terms of each state health insurance plan varies. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has website where you can learn what plan your particular state offers to those who need help.

 

 

 

Eyeglass Deals

It is a fact that the best deals and prices on eyeglasses can be found at Wal-Mart, BJ's, Sam's Club, and Costco. You should always avoid the high-end eyeglass retails and emporiums located at your local mall.

As just one example a pair of eyeglasses with what are called featherweight lenses, which may be priced at LensCrafters for $240 cost around $80 at Costco. Another example. Wal-Mart often offers special deals on two pairs of children's eyeglasses. At these locations you will very often find "no-name" versions of the exact same frames and glasses, for a much cheaper price. In addition, there are also non-profits that offer free eyeglasses and exams.

Free and Low-cost Prescription Medications

If you visit a hospital, clinic, or doctors office and need medication you have many options to get cheap or free prescription medicines. First you should ask your nurse or doctor if they have any samples they can offer you.

The pharmaceutical companies give them plenty of free samples of drugs to pass out, and often the clinic has enough medication for your entire course of treatment.

If they do not have any free drugs, try your local Wal-Mart and Target as they both offer over 400 prescription medications at just $4 each.

In addition, many drug companies have prescription assistance programs. For example, Pfizer recently created a program that if you are newly unemployed and if you have lost your insurance coverage they will provide medications for free that they manufacture including Lipitor, Celebrex, Lyrca and others for up to one year timeframe. There are some restrictions to the assistance program, but it is a great program.

Emergency Hospital Room Visits

You should not use a hospital emergency room visit for routine or standard medical care but when you have a life threatening illness or medical condition you can rest a little easier knowing that both doctors and hospitals are required to at provide some type of care to you to the extent that you're stabilized regardless of your financial situation or income. Many states require this by law. Additional ways to get hospital bill assistance.

Hearing Aid Assistance

For those that have health insurance, hearing aids are rarely covered by your plans and they can be surprisingly costly and can cost in excess of $4,000 a pair. If need a hearing aids, you can try a lower priced, often high quality over-the-counter model from Nexear and other hearing aid manufacturers. The prices for these will start at around $299 each and they will usually come with a thirty day risk free free trial. If you're unsatisfied with these types of hearing aids after 30 days, you can then consider a Costco house brand hearing aid. These hearing aids are made by the same big name manufacturers but sold for a fraction of their prices as they are sold under generic brand names.

Negotiate your Hospital and Bills

According to Consumer Reports as well as the Wall Street Journal survey last year, over 70% of respondents who attempted to negotiate a hospital or medical bill with a provider for lower prices were successful. Almost 65% of people were successful in negotiating with their dentist for a lower dentist bill and 61% successful with their doctor. Discounts negotiated will range from 20 - 50% and they are often dependent and provided on your personal financial circumstances, but it always pays to ask for help. Find other negotiating tips.

Also, if you pay in cash, you can usually get a discount. While you're asking for a lower bill, remember to consider how you will pay. If you do happen to be lucky enough to be able to a pay a bill or a portion of it in cash, that will often warrant you a bigger discount on your bill. If you can't pay a medical or hospital bill in cash, hospitals and medical providers are frequently willing to consider payment terms to provide you with assistance.