April is Financial Literacy Month. Your health and your wallet are more connected than you think.
Spring has a way of making us want to reset. We clean out the wardrobes, renew our routines and banish the heaviness of winter. But there’s one area that’s often overlooked in the seasonal reset: the money we spend on our health.
April is Financial Literacy Month, and at the Black Women’s Health Check, we think it’s the perfect reminder to take a closer look at how health care costs shape our financial lives. Between rising premiums, rising deductibles and a system that often seems designed to confuse rather than clarify, it can be hard to know where to start.
So we’ve rounded up five practical, low-stress ways to make your health dollars stretch further this spring. None of these require a financial advisor or a perfect budget. A little time and the knowledge that you are worth it to get every value from what you are already paying.
1. Find out what your insurance covers for free
This surprises a lot of people. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans are required to cover a range of preventive services at zero cost to you, meaning no copay, no deductible, no bill. We’re talking annual wellness visits, blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, diabetes screenings, depression screenings, and more.
The catch is that these services must be billed as preventative, and that doesn’t always happen automatically. Before your next appointment, call your insurance company and ask specifically which preventive services are covered at no cost under your plan. Then tell your doctor that you want your visit coded as a preventive. It’s a simple conversation that can save you hundreds of dollars.
2. Check if you have paid your deductible yet
If you’ve had any medical treatment since January, it’s worth logging into your insurance portal or calling member services to find out how much of your deductible you’ve already paid. Your deductible is the amount you pay out-of-pocket before your insurance starts sharing costs, and once you meet that, your out-of-pocket costs drop significantly.
If you’re close to meeting it, spring is a great time to schedule any care you’ve been putting off. That specialist appointment, that imaging you need, that follow-up you’ve been putting off. Completing them before the end of the year means your insurance is really working for you.
If you’re nowhere near your deductible and you’re generally healthy, it may also be a sign to reconsider whether your current program is still a good fit when open enrollment comes around.
3. Look for an HSA or FSA if you don’t already have one
A health savings account (HSA) and a flexible spending account (FSA) are both ways to set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses, meaning you pay less in taxes overall. The money can be used for doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care, vision care, menstrual products and a long list of other qualifying expenses.
An HSA is available if you have a high-deductible health plan and the money fluctuates from year to year. An FSA is offered through many employers, regardless of your plan type, although most FSA funds must be used within the plan year.
If any of these are available to you and you don’t use them, you’re leaving money on the table. Even contributing a small amount each month can add up to significant savings by the time you need it.
4. Check your prescriptions
If you take regular medications, it’s worth taking a few minutes this spring to make sure you’re paying the lowest possible price for them.
Start by asking your doctor or pharmacist if a generic version of your medication is available. Generic drugs contain the same active ingredients as brand-name versions and are usually a fraction of the cost. Then check to see if programs like GoodRx, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, or your state’s drug assistance program could lower the price even more, sometimes below what you’d pay with insurance.
If you have a drug that requires prior approval and you have been denied or delayed, know that you have the right to appeal. Your doctor can provide supporting documentation and many denials are overturned on appeal. It takes time, but it’s worth it.
5. Know your right to appeal a denied claim
Speaking of appeals, this one deserves its own spotlight. Insurance companies deny claims every day, and many of these denials are incorrect, outdated, or based on criteria that have nothing to do with your actual medical need. What most people don’t know is that you have a legal right to appeal any refusal.
The appeals process works like this: your insurance company rejects a claim, you ask for an internal appeal, and if that’s rejected, you can ask for an external review by an independent organisation. The decision of the external auditor is binding, which means that the insurance company must follow it.
The American Medical Association reports that the vast majority of prior authorization requests that are appealed are ultimately approved. The system relies on people not fighting back. Opposition is free and works more often than you think.
If you’re not sure where to start, your state’s insurance commissioners office can guide you through the process. Many states also have patient advocates who can help at no cost.
One more thing
We know that the healthcare system is complex by design. Navigating requires energy that many of us frankly don’t have after work, caregiving, and life. But small moves made now can mean real savings and better access to care throughout the year.
At BWHI, we believe that health equity and financial equity are deeply connected. A system that is not affordable is a system that is inaccessible, and inaccessible care is not really care. That’s why we’re fighting for policy changes that make these moves less necessary, including limited premiums, lower deductibles and an end to prior authorization as we know it.
In the meantime, spring is a good time to start. You have this.
