5 ways to cut costs while staying healthy

The government may not want to use the "R" word, but there’s no question that the economy is in trouble. It's affecting all of us and causing us to tighten our belts. When it comes to medical care, telltale signs come early. Reports of increasing numbers of elective surgeries have been attributed to fear of potential loss of insurance coverage, similar to when rumors of company cutbacks surface. Routine and preventive care visits decline, and in my practice, I see more patients forgoing referrals to physical therapy because of the frequent co-pays.

Taking care of your health during a recession poses quite a challenge. If you’re healthy, you want to stay that way, and if not, you want to make sure that your treatment is not jeopardized. So what can you trim without sacrificing quality? Consumer Reports has a wealth of information on how to get the best value when it comes to your health.

• Ask your doctor about pill splitting. It can save money because pharmacies often charge the same amount for a particular drug regardless of its dose. There’s no harm in splitting pills as long as your doctor agrees with the idea, you learn how to do it properly, you split only pills that are scored, never split extended- or continued-release tablets, and use a safe pill splitting device, available at most pharmacies for around $5.
• Look into a prescription assistance program. If you need medicines (especially for a chronic condition) and have no health insurance, limited insurance, or lack drug coverage under your current health insurance policy you may qualify for assistance.
• Consider switching to a generic prescription drug. Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs can help you find the most safe and effective drug for your condition and give you the best value for your health. Not only are generic medications proven and more affordable alternatives, but the newest brand name drugs have less of a track record for safety.
• Put your fancy gym club membership on hold. As the Consumer Reports survey on health clubs showed, you can pay up to $95 per month for name brand chains and still not get a quality experience. Try out your local Y or community center—which got higher marks in our survey than most big chains—or change some habits: take the stairs, park at a distance, walk the dog. As an inexpensive pedometer shows, those steps soon add up.
• Shop smart. Although it’s tempting to reach for inexpensive processed foods on the supermarket shelf, resist the temptation. It’s important to remember to eat healthy foods including fresh fruits and vegetables. Warehouse club supermarkets fared very well in terms of price on the 2005 Consumer Reports Grocery Store Shopper Survey of 24,000 respondents. Those that gave our readers the biggest bang for the buck (subscribers only) were Aldi, WinCo, Trader Joe’s, Market Basket, Cost­co, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Wal-Mart, and Stater Bros. (These chains are a good choice if your top concern is low prices, and service and the quality of meat, produce, and fresh-baked goods are less important.) Use the FDA’s free nutritional label training program to find information that will help you stay healthy by selecting the right foods when you shop.

—Orly Avitzur, M.D., medical adviser to Consumers Union

Comments

[Toronto life insurance broker]

Great tips! I think that there can be no denying that there is a recession. Although I don't live in the USA as I work for one of Toronto life insurance brokers, I must say that some of your tips are quite useful even when someone is considering getting a life insurance. There are always lower rates for people who are, and live, healthy. And moreover, you feel better when you live a healthy lifestyle. So if you have a gym club membership, don't forget to use it!

[Alyson O'Mahoney]

One of the best ways to save dollars at the drug store is to try store brand medicines. The active ingredients are typically identical to the name brand medicines and relieve the same symptoms, but the cost savings can be huge (sometimes 40% less or more). Store brand medicines are regulated by the FDA at the same standards as name brand over-the-counter medicines.

So when you are asking your doc about switching to a generic prescription, consider doing the same for your over-the-counter medicines.

[Beth]

Yes we are all facing tough decisions. If your company offers a flexible spending account. You should consider enrolling. You have to be careful about your estimations, but if your conservative the first year, you get a good idea. It is pre-tax savings. Also, stores like CVS print on the receipt what is eligible for Flex account reimbursement.

[Maureen Spagnolo]

Re: cutting cost by buying food at big bulk markets - your writer made a mistake by lumping Trader Joe's into that group. yes, Trader Joe's provide low cost food. However, the quality is HIGH! This chain sells organic produce, meats, dairy, and etc - at quite a savings from Whole Foods, and gourmet stores. Most everything I've tried there has been excellent! It should not be included i n such lists as Costco, and Walmart. It's a class of it's own.

[Norma Pollock]

Another way to save on perscription drugs is to shop around. Call different pharmacies to get pricing. I was suprised to save $15.00 on a recent perscription. Enough to travel the few extra miles to the store.

[Gary Goldberg]

About Trader Joe's: be careful if you need to keep your cholesterol down. MANY of their products are MUCH higher in saturated fats than comparable products at chain stores.

For example, Italian-style turkey meatballs: 2 of TJ's [one serving] contain 40% of your daily allowance. THREE of Foster Farms meatballs [one serving] (sold at Safeway) have 13%.

I went shopping once with my mother and she pointed out a chocolate cake at TJ's. I took a look at the contents: one serving contained 86% !!! of the daily allowance of saturated fats, the highest I've seen in ANY product in ANY store.

[Pharmacy]

Hello, excellent site, very rich in content and correctly carefully thought out, personally I found here much interesting and useful.....Well! I am an obssessed blogger. I don't see blogs as funny thing. I see blogsphere a platform to exchange knowledge and expertise...

[yawa]

what cause if you walk all a day?

[Rita]

Generic medications are a great way to keep your prescription drug costs down. I’ve seen ads on TV for Caduet. It has two ingredients. One is Amlodipine and the other is Atorvastatin. With my RxDrugCard I can get 30 tablets of Amlodipine for $9 and 30 tablets of Simvastatin for $9. I’ll bet they are charging more than $18 for this new drug! The unthinking public is going to pressure their doctors into giving them something just because it’s new, when something old or generic would do the job for cheaper.