Saving Money on Medical Care

Medical care can be expensive.  You naturally want to save money, but you don't want to sacrifice quality.  How do you find the best value? 

Get in the habit of asking what things cost.  You may be surprised to find out how different prices can be for services or products of the same quality.  You may also be surprised to find out that health care is not as expensive as you thought.

Below are links you may find useful in evaluating the best value:

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Medications

Prices vary significantly among pharmacies.  Many pharmacies offer low prices or discounts through cards or membership.  Below are a few options our patients have found helpful:

GoodRx, a site for comparing the cost of medications at local pharmacies

HEB, $4, $8, $12/month for certain medications

MedSavers Pharmacy, a direct-pay (no insurance) pharmacy in Austin, TX.  They have very good prices on generic medications.  They can do mail-order

Pharmacy Checker, a site for comparing the cost of medications at online pharmacies

Wal-mart, $4/month for certain medications

Labs

The labs and lab services listed here are not necessarily the lowest prices or the best values, but they do post their prices openly, allowing you to compare.  There are more labs locally than are listed here, and some may have better values. 

Our lab prices are lower than most other options.  We collect blood and other specimens right here in our clinic.  See here for more details

AnyLabTestNow, a lab which posts its prices online and welcomes self-pay patients

Direct Labs, a discount lab service which posts its prices online.  Labs are drawn at local labs (e.g. LabCorp).

Your Health Lab, a full-service lab which posts most of its prices online and welcomes self-pay

Other Medical Care Services

Beacon Medical Center, a newly founded direct-pay medical center with the goal to provide affordable ER and hospital care that respects patient autonomy and that is not corrupted by government and coporate influence

Ethos Endocrinology, a direct-pay endocrinology clinic in Houston

Healthcare Blue Book, a medical care services cost comparison site

Integral Gastroenterology, a pay-it-forward gastroenterology clinic in Spring

Medibid, a site facilitating direct negotiation of the price of medical care services 

Lonestar Surgery Center, a surgery center in Houston, TX which posts its prices openly and is self-pay friendly

New Choice Health, a medical cost comparison site

No Insurance Surgery, a surgery center in Las Vegas, NV providing surgery especially for those with no insurance or high-deductible insurance.  They provide a free online price quote.  At least a comparison and may be an option for those willing to travel.

Surgery Center of Oklahoma, an ambulatory surgical center which openly posts its prices.  It is at least a comparison to local services, but may also be an option for those willing to travel.  It is ~7 hours from Magnolia, Texas.

Total Care Ultrasound, a direct-pay ultrasound facility

Wedge of Health Freedom, The, a website promoting free-market medical care.  They have a map-based directory of direct-pay practices.

Alternatives to Health Insurance

We do not necessarily advise against having health insurance, but some people cannot get traditional health insurance; others want different options.  Here are some alternatives:

Christian Healthcare Ministries, a medical cost-sharing organization

Liberty HealthShare, a medical cost-sharing organization

Medi-Share, part of Christian Care Ministry, it is a medical cost-sharing program

Samaritan Ministries International, a medical cost-sharing organization 

Short-term insurance is another alternative to traditional health insurance which may be a lower cost option

If you know of other useful sites or resources please share them with us so others can benefit (feedback@stfhealth.com)