How_to_be_a_wise_health_care_consumer.doc

Benefit and insurance issues important to you - brought to you by the insurance specialists at: Western States Benefit Planning. How to be a Wise Health Care Consumer
Group Health Insurance Benefits
alternatives are available, and what – if any – differences there are in cost and your doctor has little incentive to find the perfect balance between treatment This edition of Know Your Employee Benefits shares ways that you can can help you better understand how his or her care decisions affect your Health Care Costs and Your
health plan costs. It will also help your Employer
doctor get to know you better, and consequently prescribe treatment that health insurance premiums, are rising at an alarming rate. While this is not a Make Careful Decisions about
Prescription Drugs
recent increases is cause for concern for both employers and employees. Ask Your Doctor Questions
much will my treatment cost?” “Can I effective but less costly?” “What are the risks?” “What are the side effects?” the ability to recover in the comfort of Zocor® is a registered trademark prescription, ask if a generic equivalent is available. Your physician can instruct your pharmacist to use a generic substitute. In addition to generic drugs being less expensive than brand name drugs, you should also know that in most cases less expensive and more effective alternatives to some well-known drugs exist. Because of a surge in direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing of prescription drugs, patients have become more familiar with certain drugs and often believe that these high profile, high cost drugs are automatically the best option for treating their condition. For example, if you are diagnosed with high cholesterol, you may ask your doctor to prescribe Zocor® – a highly recognized drug because of aggressive consumer marketing – rather than asking your doctor to discuss all of the prescription options available to you. Conversely, a doctor may assume you would prefer Zocor, and unless you initiate a discussion about your other options, you may have lost an opportunity to have a treatment that is both less expensive and more effective. Seek Outpatient Rather than
Inpatient Care
Outpatient care is often a much better alternative to inpatient care, for a variety of reasons. It can provide the same level of quality treatment as inpatient care, and is less costly. If you need to have surgery, ask your doctor if laboratory tests can be done in a clinic rather than a hospital. Moreover, in many cases, the surgery itself can be performed in a clinic or outpatient surgical facility, often resulting in a better outcome for you. Outpatient surgical facilities give you This article is provided by Western States Benefit Planning (Mountain). It is to be used for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of an insurance professional. Visit us at

Source: http://www.wsi-insurance.com/media/teams/byrne/media/HOW_TO_BE_A_WISE_HEALTH_CARE_CONSUMER.pdf