Texas Health Insurance Costs Less When You Learn How The Industry Works

Three strategies can help you cut the cost of health care. One of the most surprising ones gives you negotiating power. Bigger membership groups allow you to negotiate provider rates and you can actually borrow that power.

Big businesses bargain to get lower rates on covering greater numbers of employees than small businesses and small businesses end up getting crushed by rates that are just too high. Big insurance companies reach settlements with networks of doctors and hospitals to keep charges for service low in exchange for guaranteed large numbers of patients, too.

Texas Health Insurance Members Can Get Medical Bill Negotiation Services

One of the biggest problems with Texas insurance plans is that individuals who have to buy their own health insurance in Texas, and that's becoming more and more people every month, are not part of any big negotiating group. Did you know that you can "borrow" that negotiating power?

Medical bill negotiating services are easy to find online. At least one independent online insurance broker, eTX Health Insurance, allows website visitors to sign up for a medical bill negotiating service on health care bills that exceed $200 with no upfront costs. This bill negotiation service costs nothing unless the bill is reduced. Then, the negotiating service takes 30 percent of the reduction, but you're still 70 percent ahead.

Health Insurance In Texas Is Not Limited To Retail Lab Services

The second way to save on health care is to avoid paying retail price for expensive lab tests, which carry some of the highest markups in health care. If you have a co-pay or haven't met your Texas health insurance deductible, rather than blinding accepting charges for whatever lab your doctor orders tests from, you can order tests online yourself. Sometimes, you may end up getting the results from the same lab your doctor was ordering through, but you won't have to pay for all of the "middleman" charges.

Ordering directly from independent labs is typically cheaper than paying for lab work done at a hospital or having blood drawn at a doctor's office and sent off to a lab. The direct method may even save time because online results are generally available within 48 hours. That could mean less nail-biting time spent wondering what's going on inside your body. Just knowing you're getting the results for up to 80 percent less than full retail price will probably save you a lot of worrying, too.

Health Insurance for Texas Is Not The Only Way To Save On Prescriptions

The third way to save on health care involves another discount, but for prescription drugs, which also involve huge markups on pricing. Some Texas insurance plans don't cover prescriptions at all or charge you a $35 co-pay for every prescription. Did you know that the Rx Wizard takes your location, the medicines you're looking for and the quantity you want to buy and then searches your area for the best price available? It's that easy when you go online, but that's not the only way to save on prescriptions.

Insurance agents and brokers may offer free discount cards that work with tens of thousands of national and regional pharmacy chains. Even though the cards are free, the discounts may be up to 75 percent. Again, it's just a numbers game because the more people using the cards, the bigger the incentive for retailers to accept the discounted rate in exchange for more customers.

Another way to pay less for the same medication is to ask your doctor or pharmacist whether your medication comes in double the strength you need. Unless you're using a time-released drug, you may be able to simply use a pill splitter to cut a double-strength pill in half. The savings could be huge because the double-strength version may cost no more than what you were paying anyway. With a pill splitter, which is available through many pharmacies and online suppliers, you could literally cut your what you pay for prescriptions in half.

Combine these strategies and you'll see big savings in your health care costs in the coming years. That may even help you pay for health insurance in Texas.


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By Wiley Long - President, eTXHealthinsurance.com - Texas's leading independent online health insurance agency specializing in individual and family Texas Health Insurance plans. Get an online Texas Health Insurance quote, compare plans, apply online, and Save!