Description

How to cut healthcare expenses without sacrificing quality? Dr. Thaddeus Bell addresses this question and provides tips for maintaining your fiscal health.

Transcript

Rebecca Fox: It’s the balancing act millions of us experience, keeping a healthy financial bottom line while maintaining our health in the face of rising medical cost. Welcome to icyou on topic. In our studio today is family practice physician Doctor Thaddeus Bell who is here to give some tips on how to cut our health care expenses without sacrificing quality. And Doctor Bell, thank you so much for being here. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Thank you very much for asking me. I am always appreciative of the opportunity to talk to you Rebecca. Rebecca Fox: This is such an interesting topic because it is not like we can show a better doctor’s office with a coupon or can we? What are some ways to cut cost? Dr. Thaddeus Bell: No, you can not show up with a coupon even though a lot of patients would probably like to have that done. There are some things that we do in our office to help with the cost of medical care. Most doctors get a lot of samples in their office to either try or to give patients. We give samples a lot, even when patients often times don’t need the samples. I use them to help encourage patients to continue their care. With the rising cost of gas today, if you can give a patient a week or two of his blood pressure medicine that seems a message to him that you really care about him and that you understand that taking these blood pressure medicines is very costly. Sometimes, blood pressure medicines can cause patients as much as a $100.00 a month, particularly when they can not get a generic drug for their particular problem. So, that is one of the things that we do to kind of help. And another thing that I can recommend that will help patients is that I know this may be difficult to understand but if patients will keep their followup appointment and the reason that that should be done is to make sure that your blood pressure or some other medical problem is not going out of control. Patients often times think that once they see the doctor once a year and they have a chronic medical problem, then it is okay to miss that appointment but it’s just like carrying your card to get the all change and to get the check up annually or whatever. We need to follow up the medical condition to make sure that it is not sprawling out of control. Rebecca Fox: One thing I always hear is that people need to do the things that are free to maintain their health. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Yeah. Rebecca Fox: And eating healthy is one of those but how do you eat healthy when food prices are so high? Dr. Thaddeus Bell: That is a challenge. As you and I we’re talking off land that is very much a challenge. I have found on a personal level of watching programs that are creditable in getting tips that the experts have are regarding buying food. On a more personal level, I think that rather than getting fruits and vegetables from the grocery store, you may want to go to the market and you may find that those fruits and vegetables are a little cheaper. I have also recently read that a lot of people are forming these Coops in which they are growing their vegetables in the neighborhood garden and then people take advantage of that. So, I think that as time progress, we are going to find other innovative ways but I‘ll admit that going to the store, getting out of the grocery store the right and healthy foods to eat is a challenge. It certainly is. Now, regarding the—however, there are some other things that you can do and one of the things that we can do is we can keep our weight down by exercising on a regular basis and as I always tell people, you do not have to go to the fitness center to maintain a good exercise program, all you need a is a good pair of shoes, walking shoes, a safe place to walk and be highly motivated. That is the problem. People are not motivated and they do not understand the good consequences that they experience if they get involved in an exercise program because as I always explain to people, I can not think of a medical condition that you have that exercise does not improve. That includes arthritis, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, you name it; stress, you name it, exercise is just something good to do on a regular basis so that you won’t have a bad outcome as a result of that condition. Rebecca Fox: So, do the things that are free. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Do the things that are free, absolutely. We have more motivated now that do the things that are free than ever before and I think people ought to know it. Rebecca Fox: Well, we joked about bringing a coupon to a doctor’s office but I have heard that patients can negotiate in some instances with their doctor for lower rates, is that true? Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Well, in the environment that we are practicing in right now, in most doctors’ offices, that is probably not the case. A lot of physicians will tell you that they are already underpaid that the insurance does not pay else what we bill for the insurance bill as what they think we should have. However, in situations in which a doctor, a doctor’s office does not take insurance he only goes on cash basis. I would imagine that it very well may be possible. But for the most part, you go to have to pay the co-pay and then the doctor is going to have to accept what the insurance company gives him regarding your health care. Rebecca Fox: So, you have some of the way but not completely a way to negotiate the prices. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: That is right. Doctors are already complaining that we are not getting paid like we are supposed to be getting paid. There is always a cost cut when it comes to doctors. A lot of patients are not aware that when I submit a bill for you, let’s say I submit a bill for a $100.00 and the insurance company pays me $65.00, there is absolutely nothing that I can do to recover that cost. So, it’s a contract often times that the doctor and the insurance company have and that is one of the reasons why you may see so many doctors getting out of private practice and going to a hospital because hospitals have a greater—in a better position to negotiate with the insurance companies. But back to the point, coupons in negotiating for most doctors, I don’t think so. Rebecca Fox: Okay. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Okay. Rebecca Fox: Dr. Bell, thank you for shedding some light in this issue and giving us some important tips to keep our health cost down. Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Thank you very much and I enjoyed it. Rebecca Fox: Thank you and you can watch more videos featuring Dr. Thaddeus Bell on icyou.com. For icyou on topic, I am Rebecca Fox.