Toward the end of the year, when you may have used up your deductible, it's a good time to look into health care services you have been putting off. | Pexels/Maitree Rimthong
Toward the end of the year, when you may have used up your deductible, it's a good time to look into health care services you have been putting off. | Pexels/Maitree Rimthong
• Most Americans who get health insurance through their employer have an annual deductible.
• You can save money during the last few months of the year by taking advantage of your health insurance if you've already met your deductible.
• Most health insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment.
Many people try to save money by shopping on Black Friday, but Dr. Franklyn Gergits of Sinus and Allergy Wellness Center said another way to save during the holiday season is by taking full advantage of your health insurance benefits, if you've already met your deductible.
Gergits said people who want to get allergy testing have several choices.
"Some patients don't like needles. Also, with prices for everything going higher, some patients are looking for other options," he told the NE Valley Times. "So we offer the allergy drops that you put underneath your tongue on a daily basis at home. Over the course of a week, you're [ingesting] a drop underneath your tongue daily. That is one-seventh of the dose that you would get if you came into our office once a week for an allergy shot. The allergy drops are just as effective for patients as the shots are, in my opinion. I can say that with some clarity, because I was a patient who used both. I started with allergy shots, and then I converted to allergy drops. I'm still on allergy drops, and they're keeping my allergies well-controlled."
Eighty-five percent of American workers who received health insurance coverage through their employer in 2021 had a general annual deductible for single coverage that needed to be met before the plan paid for most health services, according to the 23rd Employer Health Benefits Survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. For workers employed by small companies, the average single coverage deductible was $2,379. Workers employed by large firms had an average deductible of $1,397.
Once your deductible has been met, Stamford Heath recommends making the most of your health insurance coverage and saving money by scheduling appointments and testing before the end of the year. Recommendations include getting your annual physical and refilling prescriptions. People over 45 can get a colonoscopy, and women over 40 can get a mammogram. Stamford Health also recommends taking care of lab work or other diagnostic testing.
Most insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment, so once your deductible has been met, costs could be very low or even zero, according to Family Allergy. Winter is the perfect time to prepare for spring allergies. If you discover you have allergies at the end of the year and your allergist recommends allergy shots for treatment, you can begin the allergy shots before your deductible resets, which will save you money in addition to beginning to build up your body's defenses against spring allergens.
If you would like to learn more about allergy testing and potential treatments, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
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