Posted 12/30/2024 9:51 AM (GMT -5)
Sometimes something is so obvious that it can slip right under our mental radar, and it helps to be reminded of it from time to time, that it's a December thing that can be done, and can possibly save us money, insurance-wise.
Namely, this situation as described on a medical insurance website:
" ... medical clinics see an increase in appointments in early December, as those who have met their insurance deductible for the year want to be seen while they’re still covered under that deductible."
(Of course posting about this might have been much more helpful had I done it a few weeks ago, but that's a point I wish to make: I just never thought about it until this medical insurance website reminded me of it. But maybe most people were already well aware of it, but not me).
So what this tells us is that if we have met our insurance deductible for a certain year, and we get a covered medical procedure done in December, then our insurance will likely cover the cost of it, or most of the cost.
But if we get that same procedure done just a few days later in early January, because we are now in a new calendar year, our deductible resets for the new year, and we wind up paying for that procedure, or for a large part of it, ourselves.
Again, it's probably too late for any knowledge of this to help us now, for 2024, but as December of next year approaches, perhaps we will remember this discussion, and check to see if we have met our deductibles at that time. If we have, we may be able to use that fact to save ourselves some money when scheduling any medical procedures for next December.
Again, most or maybe even all of you were already aware of this, and presumably it will apply in your own insurance situations this coming year, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to be reminded of it from time to time.