Frugal Toolkit

Healthcare expenses can add up quickly, but with a strategic approach, you can significantly reduce costs while still getting the care you need:

Income-Based Care Options
Many clinics, community health centers, and dental offices offer sliding scale services, meaning costs are adjusted based on your income and household size. These services can dramatically lower out-of-pocket expenses, especially for routine care, mental health services, and preventive visits. You can often find these services by searching Google for: sliding scale <location> <service>

Example: Sliding Scale Dentist Boise

Employer-Sponsored Benefits
Your employer benefits may include more than just insurance. Look for free annual checkups, wellness incentives, telehealth visits, mental health resources, and employer contributions to health accounts. Taking full advantage of these benefits can save hundreds each year.

Tax-Advantaged Savings
A Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to pay for qualified medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. HSAs also roll over year to year and can be invested, making them a powerful long-term healthcare savings tool. This is often through your employer and does require a High Deductible Health Plan to qualify.

Prescription Cost Reduction
Prescription prices vary widely even for the same prescription. Cost Plus Drugs is a great option for finding lower price drugs because they are able to cut out the middlemen and price gouging that often occurs. GoodRx is a website that allows you to compare drug prices at your local pharmacies to find current prices and even provides discounts to help you find the lowest possible price.

Provider Comparison Tools
Finding affordable, high-quality providers matters. OpenCare (Referral Link) lets you find Dentists in your area to compare options and the above referral link will give you a $50 visa card to make the dentist visit more affordable.