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. | Adobe Stock
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. | Adobe Stock
• 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.
"Some still do better with allergy shots, but there's also the sublingual route that we can always consider if they do have a needle phobia or can't make it to a monthly doctor's appointment, if that doesn't work well with their lifestyle, in addition to the medical management,” Oberman told Baltimore City Wire.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, 85% of Americans who have a health insurance policy provided through an employer had to meet a deductible before the plan would pay for most services. There's a single coverage deductible of $2,379 for people employed with small companies. Employees at large companies had an average deductible of $1,397, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation survey.
Stamford Health also noted that once the deductible has been met, families can take advantage of the situation by scheduling medical visits at the end of the year, rather than waiting until the new year. This can include an annual physical and refilling regular prescriptions. It can include lab work, diagnostic testing, colonoscopies for men over 45 and mammograms for women over 40.
Allergy treatments and testing are usually covered once a deductible has been met, and the services may be obtained at little or no cost, according to Family Allergy. This can enable patients to prepare for spring allergies during the winter. If you are diagnosed with allergies, you can begin a regimen of allergy shots or immunotherapy before the deductible resets in January.
If you're interested in learning more about diagnosis or treatment of allergies, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
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