SheKnows.com Hosts a Giveaway of The Healthcare Survival Guide

From providing tips on health or parenting, to covering the latest beauty trends or entertainment news, SheKnows.com serves as a forum for women to connect and discuss a wide range of interests. They also have a message board where readers are encouraged have discussions with each other, as well as the writers for the website, many of whom are experts and published authors. The website frequently hosts contests and giveaways, providing readers with a chance to win useful prizes, such as workout equipment, strollers, or informative books.

The newest giveaway is The Healthcare Survival Guide: Cost-Saving Options for the Suddenly Unemployed and Anyone Else Who Wants to Save Money, the book that brings you this blog. If you find this blog helpful in lowering your medical costs, saving money in general and staying healthy, The Healthcare Survival Guide is a more in-depth version. In other posts, we have discussed ways to save money at the doctor and how to stay on top of your bills, amongst many other things. For a more in-depth look at how to make healthcare affordable, enter here. It’s FREE, you may enter as many times as you would like, and they are giving away three copies! You may enter until February 27.

Good luck!

Find low-cost or free dental services nationwide

In today’s economic climate, most people find it hard enough to afford keeping up with their basic medical care, let alone dental care.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Besides the obvious cosmetic benefits of taking care of your teeth, the American Heart Association says that keeping good dental hygiene could reduce your risk of heart disease.

Fortunately, the folks at WorlDental.org have put together an expansive database of free and low-cost dental services throughout the United States. The site features loads of information on clinics, fairs, and other places to get cheap dental care in Minnesota, Northern California, and Indiana; North Carolina, Michigan, and Maryland; Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Hamphire; as well as New Jersey and virtually anywhere else in America.  The site is updated continuously, so if you don’t see a clinic or event in your area, check back soon.

Are you having trouble paying for dental care? Would WorlDental be helpful to you? Leave us a comment!

Use of medical services likely to fall in early 2011

Over the last few years, expensive insurance premiums and rising unemployment have made Americans reluctant to spend money on costly non-essential procedures and medications. This reluctance often has led to patients skipping out on appointments and cutting back on medications.

Despite this trend, Debra Sherman of Reuters reports that there actually was an increase in spending on medical services during the fourth quarter of 2010. This brief lapse in financial conservatism could have happened for a number of reasons, including increased confidence in the economy. However, it’s more likely that people were attempting to make as many doctor visits as possible after meeting their annual deductibles. With these deductibles having been reset on January 1, it is expected that people will go back to skipping doctor visits.

It’s important to know that saving money does not have to cost you and your family sound health. There are other ways of cutting costs where you can maintain good health without breaking the bank. All you need to do is strategize:

• Be proactive. Don’t default to any single doctor. Planning ahead and shopping around will provide you with many options. A lack of options may subject you to expensive services – more options means more prices to compare. Search your area for medical services and be open to different providers – community hospitals typically offer the same services as academic medical centers, but at a cheaper price.
• Like we discussed last week, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about a discount. It never hurts to ask.
• Keep a journal to keep track of all of the services you have received. When you receive your bill, match up records to make sure there are no errors.
• Make sure to stay on top of your medical bills – this means being clear on what your insurer will and will not cover, addressing billing errors immediately, and writing everything down – if there is a dispute, it will support your argument to know who at your insurance company you spoke with and what it is you discussed.

Have you avoided care to save money? Tell us your story in the comments!

The Dangers of Inactivity

The health dangers associated with prolonged periods of inactivity have long been known to the medical community and the general public. Parking yourself in front of the television and avoiding exercise, the common wisdom goes, can lead to weight gain and deteriorated health.

However, a new study from the University of Queensland, Australia, brings to light more details regarding the dangers of sitting. According to the study, prolonged periods of sitting — even among those who exercise regularly — lead to a bigger waistline and increased levels of blood fats.

This data comes on the heels of a University College London study  that found that the risk of heart disease doubled among those who spent more than four hours a day on the computer. Furthermore, the risk of a cardiovascular event increased 125 percent for people who spent at least two hours in front of a television or computer screen after work.

What’s shocking about these findings is that regular exercise alone isn’t enough to combat several hours’ worth of sitting — something millions of Americans do everyday at their desk jobs. Genevieve Healy, the lead author of the Queensland study, suggests that regular exercise mixed with frequent breaks during the workday to stand or walk around is the most effective way to offset the negative effects of sitting.

For many of us, spending over four hours a day in front of a computer is unavoidable. Based on these findings, what do you plan to do to offset the negative effects of sitting? Let us know in the comments!

Top 5 Ways to Cut Medical Costs

The cost of healthcare escalates by the day. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t find ways to cut corners on medical costs. Become a savvy health consumer with these five tips on cutting costs — without sacrificing quality of care — brought to you by The Healthcare Survival Guide: Cost-Saving Options for the Suddenly Unemployed.

1. Find a doctor who will forgo medical fees. Yes, they do exist. You can search for doctors in your area willing to forgo fees through the American Medical Association’s website.

2. Negotiate a discount with your doctor. Doctors are often far more willing to offer a discount or a payment plan for care than you might think – in a recent survey, 61 percent of adults who attempted to negotiate a discount were successful.

3. Instead of a specialist, use your primary doctor. Family doctors, general internists and pediatricians tend to charge less than specialists and can sometimes offer the same caliber of care. If you need maintenance care for a controlled chronic condition, this may be an option for you.

4. Need dental? Try a university dental clinic. Seeking care at a university dental clinic can cut your costs greatly – in some cases, patients pay only for the necessary materials – and the dental students and interns are closely supervised. Your state dental society can help you find a clinic near you.

5. Participate in a clinical trial. The U.S. National Institute of Health’s website lists current clinical trials being held across the nation. If you qualify, you could greatly reduce the costs of your care and medication – or eliminate them altogether.

Top 5 Ways to Stay on Top of Your Medical Bills

Doctor and hospital bills are routinely rife with errors and inaccuracies – costing you precious money. Save cash and peace of mind with these five tips on monitoring your medical bills, brought to you by The Healthcare Survival Guide: Cost-Saving Options for the Suddenly Unemployed.

1. Be specific when clarifying coverage with your insurer. Before receiving a medical procedure, check with your insurer to be sure what they will and will not cover. Keep detailed records of who you spoke with and when – this information will help you greatly when disputing a billing error.

2. Address billing errors quickly and aggressively. All too often, insurance companies and doctor’s offices issue incorrect bills. Don’t be a victim: insurance companies will often reprocess a claim, saving you money.

3. BYOM – Bring Your Own Medication. Don’t waste money paying for the same drugs at the hospital pharmacy.

4. Ask if you can pay in cash. Many hospitals offer a discount on bills paid in cash rather than check or credit. It never hurts to ask.

5. Opt for a non-teaching hospital, if possible. Community hospitals offer similar care as academic medical centers, and often at a lower cost. Ask your doctor.

Free and low-cost care in San Francisco

As part of our ongoing effort to help you find free and low-cost healthcare resources when you need them most, we have been researching clinics and other thrifty resources throughout the country.

Today, we’ll talk about low-cost resources in San Francisco, CA. The San Francisco Department of Health has a comprehensive list of primary care centers, health clinics, dental clinics, and more. If you’re looking for free care, you might want to check out the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, which feature two medical clinics and a behavioral health center, as well as psychiatric services for prison inmates.

If you know of any other free or low-cost resources available in the Bay Area, leave a comment and let us know!

KAZI-FM in Austin, TX interviews coauthor Martin Rosen

KAZI-FM 88.7 in Austin, TX recently spoke with Healthcare Survival Guide coauthor Martin Rosen. On the program “Economic Perspectives,” host Hopeton Hay interviewed Rosen about some of the book’s indispensable cost-saving advice, including asking your doctor for a discount and substituting generic medication for name-brands on your prescription.

To listen to the full interview, click here: http://econpers.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/discover-money-saving-tips-from-co-author-of-health-care-survival-guide/

New reviews of The Healthcare Survival Guide

Two prominent book critics have given The Healthcare Survival Guide positive reviews recently. C.A. Lajos of The Librarian’s Review of Books raved about The Healthcare Survival Guide, calling it ”a guide for getting the healthcare one needs to stay healthy while not going into bankruptcy like so many others.”

“With tips on when it’s safe to cut corners, how to get freebies, and more, The Healthcare Survival Guide is for any seeking healthcare and want it cheap,” Lajos writes.

Meanwhile, Alan Caruba, charter member of the National Book Critics Circle, calls the book “one of those titles that relieves the reviewer from having to say anything more.”

”It’s filled with little-known secrets such as simply asking your doctor for a discount, keeping an eye on pharmaceutical websites for free trial offers for medications, checking out a university dental clinic and how to read a hospital bill to avoid being over-charged,” Caruba writes.

Video of FOX 29 appearance now available

On September 23, some of health reform’s first big changes took effect. Healthcare Survival Guide coauthor Martin Rosen appeared on FOX 29’s Good Day Philadelphia to explain some of the new laws.

Video of the interview is now available: http://www.healthadvocate.com/tv.aspx?v=GoodDayPhila