February 11, 2009 5:44 PM
- Text
New Book Tackles Health Care Costs
Uninsured people file for bankruptcy every year because they cannot pay their medical bills. Others cannot afford the high cost of prescription medicine or simply can't get health insurance.
Yet in 2004, the 13 largest drug companies netted profits of $62 billion, and U.S. hospitals posted $26.3 billion in profits.
While 46 million Americans — including 8 million children — go without health insurance, the top 12 HMO executives earned $222.6 million this year.
"It's not just people without health insurance that's the problem," author Fred Brock told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler. "It's people who work for companies that are tired of footing the bills and are putting it off on employees."
Brock believes the biggest threat to your financial future may be the rising cost of health care and an inability to pay for it. He offers suggestions about how to deal with the health care crisis in his book, "Health Care on Less than You Think."
Brock says the two main problems are that the U.S. health care system is expensive and Americans don't get enough for their money and that people who have pre-existing conditions and don't have health insurance through work have a difficult time getting insured.
Brock believes our health care system is on a collision course until the government fixes it, and that won't happen for at least 10 years. In the meantime, he offered some strategies to make staying healthy cheaper.
Pill Splitting
"You can overnight cut your drug bill by 50 percent," he said.
Brock says pharmaceutical companies discourage people from splitting pills because the practice can save people enormous amounts of money. He said sometimes the stronger version of the pill is cheaper than the lower dosage so people can save money buy splitting the pill into the prescribed dosage to them.
Pill splitting doesn't work with time release medication or capsules, Brock said. He said check with your doctor before splitting.
Buy drugs from Canada
Although it is illegal to buy drugs from Canada, Brock says the authorities look the other way. In fact, he said the U.S. buys drugs from Canada when we have a shortage. Brock said buying drugs in Canada can save another 30-50 percent on one's drug costs. The problem is that it takes longer to get the drugs, so don't do it with drugs that are needed immediately.
"You can do it easily on the Internet," he said.
Negotiate hospital bill
Brock said your insurance company has already negotiated with the hospital to charge you well below the "sticker price." If you don't have insurance, negotiate with the hospital to try to get the bill down to what the insurance companies pay.
Buy private health insurance
If you don't have a pre-existing condition, private individual policies can be cost-effective, Brock said. He said Health Savings Accounts can cost even less than your employer's insurance.
Read an excerpt of the book here.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Yet in 2004, the 13 largest drug companies netted profits of $62 billion, and U.S. hospitals posted $26.3 billion in profits.
While 46 million Americans — including 8 million children — go without health insurance, the top 12 HMO executives earned $222.6 million this year.
"It's not just people without health insurance that's the problem," author Fred Brock told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler. "It's people who work for companies that are tired of footing the bills and are putting it off on employees."
Brock believes the biggest threat to your financial future may be the rising cost of health care and an inability to pay for it. He offers suggestions about how to deal with the health care crisis in his book, "Health Care on Less than You Think."
Brock says the two main problems are that the U.S. health care system is expensive and Americans don't get enough for their money and that people who have pre-existing conditions and don't have health insurance through work have a difficult time getting insured.
Brock believes our health care system is on a collision course until the government fixes it, and that won't happen for at least 10 years. In the meantime, he offered some strategies to make staying healthy cheaper.
"You can overnight cut your drug bill by 50 percent," he said.
Brock says pharmaceutical companies discourage people from splitting pills because the practice can save people enormous amounts of money. He said sometimes the stronger version of the pill is cheaper than the lower dosage so people can save money buy splitting the pill into the prescribed dosage to them.
Pill splitting doesn't work with time release medication or capsules, Brock said. He said check with your doctor before splitting.
Although it is illegal to buy drugs from Canada, Brock says the authorities look the other way. In fact, he said the U.S. buys drugs from Canada when we have a shortage. Brock said buying drugs in Canada can save another 30-50 percent on one's drug costs. The problem is that it takes longer to get the drugs, so don't do it with drugs that are needed immediately.
"You can do it easily on the Internet," he said.
Brock said your insurance company has already negotiated with the hospital to charge you well below the "sticker price." If you don't have insurance, negotiate with the hospital to try to get the bill down to what the insurance companies pay.
If you don't have a pre-existing condition, private individual policies can be cost-effective, Brock said. He said Health Savings Accounts can cost even less than your employer's insurance.
Read an excerpt of the book here.
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