How to Save Money While Managing a Chronic Illness
Key Takeaways:
Managing chronic illnesses can significantly increase your medical expenses.
The medical costs for chronic illnesses can burden some chronic illness warriors financially.
Practical strategies to cut back costs include having a strong support system, researching your condition, maximizing insurance benefits, talking to your healthcare provider, optimizing medication management, creating an effective meal plan strategy, and prioritizing preventive care.
Managing chronic illnesses can feel like a full-time job. You are primarily responsible for scheduling doctors' appointments, keeping track of medications, and pacing yourself so you don’t completely deplete your energy levels. All these responsibilities can take a mental, emotional, and physical toll on you.
Alongside the health aspects of managing your chronic illnesses, you may face financial challenges. Managing a chronic illness requires a healthcare team, medications, therapies, equipment, and more. Unfortunately, not all expenses are covered by health insurance, leaving people with out-of-pocket costs.
To lessen the financial impact of chronic illness care, here are some strategies you can adopt to manage your finances.
Have a strong support system
As mentioned, living with a chronic illness can impact your physical and mental health. Therefore, every chronic illness warrior deserves a solid support system they can rely on. A supportive network of family, friends, partners, and other people living with chronic illnesses provides emotional support and shares tips on managing medical expenses.
Also, you can join online support groups to connect with other spoonies sharing similar financial situations.
Conduct research
The more you understand about your chronic conditions, the better. Take some time to research your condition, such as treatments and available resources, to see where you can cut costs. Also, increasing your knowledge about your chronic illnesses can help you make more informed decisions about your healthcare. This ensures that you can advocate for the most appropriate and cost-effective treatments.
Maximize insurance benefits
Spend some time reviewing your health insurance policy if you’re insured. See what type of coverage you have for chronic conditions. Take note of copayments, deductibles, and medications or treatments. If something seems unclear, contact your provider.
Speak to your healthcare provider
Be open and honest with your healthcare provider about your financial concerns. Talk to them about cost-effective alternative treatments. Your doctor may be able to prescribe generic drugs or suggest more affordable therapies that won’t affect your well-being.
Optimize medication management
Your medications take up a significant portion of your medical expenses. You can reduce your medication costs by:
Comparing prices by checking different pharmacies or online platforms to find the most affordable prescription prices.
Seeing if pharmaceutical companies offer any prescription assistance programs.
Consulting with your doctor or pharmacist to see if there’s a possibility to split higher-dose medications into smaller doses.
Create an effective meal plan strategy
Adopting and maintaining a healthy diet can be beneficial for managing chronic illnesses. But you shouldn’t worry about breaking the bank to pay for groceries.
Instead, consider these tips for grocery shopping and meal planning:
Plan meals in advance
Create a shopping list and stick to it
Cook at home instead of eating out (if you have enough spoons!)
Buy items in bulk
Take advantage of discounts and coupons
Focus on preventive care
As someone with a chronic illness, your immunocompromised system can make you more susceptible to viruses and infections. If you become sick, that can add to your financial burden if you visit urgent care or an emergency room, plus medication costs. To lessen your medical expenses, invest in preventive care measures by staying up-to-date with your vaccinations, getting regular check-ups, and taking heed of any screenings your healthcare provider recommends.
How Chronius Can Help
If living with chronic illness feels like a full time job, you aren’t alone.
That’s why at Chronius, we make it easy to navigate the healthcare system as a patient. Our online care management platform brings together all of your health records and offers a 1-click appointment prep tool that easily synthesizes your health story for your care team. You also can track all of your symptoms, identify trends, learn from vetted medical information, and follow a custom patient journey map. Plus, if you needs hands on support, our Care Advocates are available to help you with any issues you may hit up against. Personalized support as you navigate your care journey is what we are all about.
Interested in learning more and signing up for our waitlist? Claim your spot today.
