This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. When I was in my 20’s-40’s, I was in pretty great health. Except to have babies, I rarely needed a doctor’s care. My husband was the same way. We hardly ever needed to use our insurance. Once we had kids, this changed. We have a son with autism and a daughter with an eye issue, so we saw our pediatrician and specialists often. When I hit my mid-40’s, I began to see health issues that needed medical attention. We learned the hard way to find surefire ways to cut healthcare costs.

Navigating The Confusing Healthcare Red Tape

We have had quality healthcare for many years. We have also been without health care, which was scary. My daughter recently went into business for herself. Finding healthcare was difficult, confusing and in the end, costly. Navigating the red tape seemed as if it had no end. And now we may be losing Obamacare? Although not the perfect plan, it is the only insurance many people have. Here are some great tips to lowering your healthcare expenses:

4 Ways To Cut Healthcare Costs

• Is It Necessary: Are you considering a procedure? Talk with your doctor. Ask him it is a necessity. Can it be treated with medication, therapy or another alternative? Consider your options before you go under the knife.
• The Destination Counts: If that procedure is necessary, or if you are sick enough to seek help, where you go makes a difference. Weigh your options. If you have a sore throat and a fever, go to the urgent care instead of the ER. If you need an out patient procedure, ask if it can be done in the office instead of the hospital.
• Use Your Health Savings Account: If you have an HSA, use it! My husband has a high deductible on his insurance. Instead of going out of pocket, we used his HSA. This was a huge help and took the worry out of breaking our budget. Be sure to check on the logistics of your HSA. Many will only let you roll over a small amount, so if you don’t spend it, you may lose it.
• Shop Around For Prescriptions: I am on four prescriptions. One of them costs $869 a month. We cannot afford that. I need to compare the costs of my medication, but I don’t have time to call them. I use SearchRx, a free app and website. It allows users to compare prices at different pharmacies and find coupons to save up to 75% off! It’s easy to use! All you do is search for your prescription on the app, find the lowest price/best pharmacy nearby, and then present the coupon to the pharmacist for automatic savings

Good News For The Insured (and Uninsured)

Good news! You can use SearchRx whether you have health insurance or not! Their goal is to help everyone save on their medication costs. Now this is something I can get excited about! I mean, weaving you way around your prescriptions is a headache! When you fill a prescription, you don’t know what the cost will be or if the pharmacy you are using has the best price. What a drag!

With SearchRx, you see the prices of your meds at ALL your local pharmacies! When you use their codes, you can save up to 75% on most FDA approved medications. You can use this discount at more than 60K pharmacies in the US. This includes CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Rite Aid. And don’t worry. There are no hidden costs or fees to use SearchRx. So the next time you fill a prescription, remember to SearchRx! Stay social with SearchRx and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

How do you save on health care costs? I would love to hear your tips in the comments below!