Family Health Blog
Recent health news, buzzworthy medical blogs, and personal wellness advice curated by our PinnacleCare team and our CEO, Dr. Miles Varn.
Category: Health finance
You’ve got great benefits. Do you know how to access them?
The best benefits in the world won’t do you much good if you don’t know how to access and use them. It’s an issue that’s more common than you might think. One survey found that 86% of employees are confused by their benefit plan. The first step towards getting the maximum advantage from your benefits... Read More
Strategies to help you get the most out of your benefits plan
Here’s a new resolution for this year—make a plan to get the most out of your benefits. While most people understand the basics of health insurance and other common benefits, far fewer know how to ensure they’re taking advantage of everything their plan has to offer and how to get the biggest benefit out of... Read More
How the No Surprises Act protects you against surprise medical bills
Surprise medical bills can cause significant financial and mental stress, with some bills totaling in the thousands of dollars. These types of bills are so common and hard to understand that Kaiser Health News and NPR have an ongoing monthly feature called “Bill of the Month, where they investigate bills submitted by readers. What are... Read More
Strategies to help you manage the high cost of care for COVID-19
There’s no doubt the cost of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 is high. Data collected by FAIR Health found costs that ranged from approximately $37,000 to more than $93,000 per patient, depending on age, location, and whether the patient had other health problems that increased the risk of complications from the virus. Early in... Read More
Four mistakes that can lead to large medical bills and how to avoid them
Large medical bills can have a significant impact on your financial wellbeing. Approximately one-third of Americans have some type of medical debt and 28% of those with medical debt owe $10,000 or more according to one survey. The issue doesn’t just affect people who do not have health insurance. With high deductible plans and increasing... Read More
Strategies to Help You Plan for and Manage Large Medical Bills
Whether they’re the result of an unexpected illness or injury, out-of-network care, a high cost medical procedure like joint replacement or organ transplant, or a common but costly medical expense such as labor and delivery, large medical bills not only affect your financial wellbeing, they can also impact your health. The stress caused by high... Read More
How to negotiate lower costs for out-of-network care
While seeking care within your health insurer’s provider network costs less, there are situations when you may decide to seek care outside of the network. For example, if you’re diagnosed with a serious, rare, or complex condition, the physicians and hospitals that have the most experience treating your condition and the best outcomes may not... Read More
Facing large medical bills? How to ask for a payment plan
There are many reasons you could end up with large medical bills that strain your budget. If you have a high deductible health plan, you could be required to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket before your health insurance starts to cover the cost of your care. If you go outside your health plan’s... Read More
High Medical Bills: How to Negotiate a Lower Cost
If you’re having trouble paying high medical bills or are faced with unexpected medical costs, you may want to consider negotiating with your healthcare providers to reduce the amount you owe. High medical bills and medical debt are problems a growing number of Americans of all ages are facing. According to data collected by the... Read More
Strategies to help you avoid surprise high medical bills
If you’ve ever received an unexpected high medical bill you’re not alone. Maybe your primary care doctor or a specialist referred you for diagnostic tests or imaging and you assumed that since your doctor was in your insurance network, he or she would refer you to an in-network facility, which is often not the case.... Read More