It’s the end of the year! What are your health care plans for the end of this year or next year? Have you used all your benefits to their fullest? Have you already started planning for the New Year health expenses?

Here are a few other tips for the end-of-the-year:

1. Be mindful of FSA policies: Traditional FSA plans do not roll over, which means if you don’t use it, you lose it. There may also be FSA eligible expenses that would surprise you, such as vision correction, feminine hygiene products, shoe inserts and sunscreen. Check your FSA policies before it’s too late!

2. Do the math: When planning for different procedures or surgery (that aren’t urgent!), it’s smart to map out different scenarios and how insurance coverage would effect the cost. For Example: If you need knee replacement surgery. Would it be more cost effective to get the surgery and post-op physical therapy within the same year or split it between two different calendar years? Or dental care, most plans have a cap on coverage. Planning routine visits and fillings or more expensive procedure in different plan years, may reduce costs. (Obviously, something is an emergency or needs immediate attention, do not wait to seek medical care!)

3. Shop around: Like any big expense, its always smart to compare prices. Getting the real ticket price for medical care can something be difficult. Calling your insurance carrier and the medical or billing office where you are getting care is a great place to start. For specialty service, such as physical and occupational therapy, private practices are usually less expensive than large hospitals. Sometimes private practice will have a prompt pay discount, which can seriously decrease your out of pocket expense.

4. Use your annual benefits: Most plans cover routine preventative care, such as an annual doctors visits, tests (such as blood tests, pap smears, cancer screening), eye glass prescriptions or dental cleanings. Make sure to check your plan’s coverage and use these benefits. Knowing all your health information from the annual visits can give you a better understand of the years to come and how to plan medical expenses on the horizon.

5. Deductible Season: Speaking of on the horizon, January 1st is approaching quickly. For most health insurance plans, January 1st marks a new year and a new unmet deductible. Many people with deductible plans see the end of the calendar year as a great time to seek care at a lower out-of-pocket cost because their deductibles have been met. For those people, now is the time to seek care before your deductible goes back to zero.

6. New Year, New Insurance Plan: A New Year can also mean a new insurance plan. Start looking at your benefit coverage early. November is usually the time for open enrollment. You should be able to view coverage and benefit packages before committing to a plan. Compare each plan and coverage to what your health care goals are for the new year. For example: If you are planning to get corrective eye surgery, choose a plan that has an FSA that allowed for that expense. Or if you don’t plan on any extensive medical care , look at plans with low monthly premiums.

At Jade Integrated Health, we believe in putting the expert in front of our patients. This includes our medical billing team. Our billing specialist are experts in their field and take the time to check every patient's insurance coverage prior to starting care.* We are as transparent as possible about how much you can expect to pay out of pocket because surprise health care bills are never an exciting thing.

Interested in learning more about your coverage? Call our office to check your benefits for physical therapy and acupuncture.

*Please note: Quoted coverage is subject to change based on the explanation of benefit provided by your insurance company. We will notify you of any changes of the information that was explained to you initially. Jade Integrated Health is not responsible for any misinformation given by your insurance company at the time of this benefit inquiry. A quote of benefits is not a guarantee of payment. Coverage is finalized at the time of claim submission.