15 Ways To Lower Your Healthcare Costs
Stressed out by the high price of staying well? These strategies can save you hundreds, or even thousands, on your annual medical bills.
Editor's Note: This article is the first in a five-part special report exploring the connection between your money and your health. Other stories in the series look at how your finances affect your physical and mental health, the challenges of long-term care, managing the costs of mental health treatment and what's new in Medicare this year.
Gas prices are soaring, the cost of beef is through the roof, and electricity bills have shot up everywhere. But in a year when the affordability of basic goods and services is causing great anxiety across the board, there seems to be no expense more worrisome to Americans than what they’re paying for healthcare.
The evidence is everywhere. Two-thirds of Americans now say they worry about how they’ll be able to afford healthcare for themselves and their families — overshadowing concerns about any other necessity, including utilities, food and groceries, housing, and gas, according to a recent poll from nonprofit health policy organization KFF.
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And the majority, some 56%, say they expect the price of receiving care will become even less affordable this year.
"The problem of higher healthcare costs is bad, and it’s getting worse," says Caitlin Donovan, senior director at the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation.
The price of health insurance — the thing that’s supposed to protect you from high medical bills — has grown especially burdensome. That’s particularly true for many people who get coverage on the Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace.
Four out of five people who re-enrolled in marketplace plans for 2026 report their premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments are higher than last year, with about half saying they’re a lot higher, KFF says.
The benchmark premium is up 22% on average, compared with 2% average annual increases between 2020 and 2025, according to the Urban Institute. Meanwhile, the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits for people who earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level means those enrollees, on average, saw their premiums about double.
People who get health insurance through work or Medicare have been hit hard, too. Premiums for family coverage rose 6% last year for people with employer-provided insurance, who paid an average of $6,850 in premiums, according to KFF. And costs are expected to rise even more this year — 6.7% on average, the consulting firm Mercer projects, the biggest jump in 15 years.
Costs have risen even more for people 65 and older who are covered by Medicare. Monthly premiums for Part B, which covers doctor visits and other outpatient care, jumped 9.7% this year, to $202.90, dwarfing the 2.8% inflation adjustment in Social Security benefits.
As a result, the percentage of Social Security income needed to pay Medicare premiums has hit an all-time high, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
The upshot: About one-third of Americans now report making at least one trade-off with daily living expenses to afford healthcare, such as stretching out prescriptions or borrowing money, according to a poll from the West Health–Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.
While the burden is worse for people without insurance, almost three in 10 people covered by a health plan say they’ve made at least one trade-off. Even among adults in households earning $240,000 a year or more, 11% report making at least one trade-off.
"In the wealthiest country in the world, people shouldn’t be choosing between their health and their financial future," says Tim Lash, president of the nonprofit West Health Policy Center.
Fortunately, you have ways to ease the strain. Here are 15 of them.
1. Reassess your health insurance options every year.
Whether you get coverage from your employer, a government marketplace or Medicare, you have a chance to reconsider your options and switch plans each year during your provider’s designated open-enrollment season to save money and get better coverage for your needs. You shouldn’t automatically default to re-enrolling in your current plan.
Yet that’s exactly what many people do. About half of employees who get insurance at work spend less than an hour reviewing their choices, according to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research.
And most Medicare beneficiaries didn’t look at other options for coverage, such as switching Medicare Advantage plans or moving to traditional Medicare from an Advantage plan, during a recent open-enrollment period, KFF found.
The costs of inertia can add up, says Jake Spiegel, a senior research associate at EBRI. Formularies for prescription-drug coverage can change, for example, so a low-cost med you’re taking now might move to a higher tier with a heftier co-pay. Providers may move out of a network, which means you’ll pay more to visit them.
Spiegel advises running the numbers every year, taking into account your total out-of-pocket costs, not just premiums, based on what you think your healthcare needs will be.
For example, if you’re managing a chronic condition that requires frequent doctor visits and treatments, or you expect you’ll need surgery, it might make sense to elect a plan with higher premiums but lower co-pays when you receive care.
2. Consider an HSA, if you’re eligible.
A health savings account is available to those enrolled in high-deductible health plans (with a deductible of at least $1,700 for individual coverage or $3,400 for families in 2026) who have no other comprehensive health insurance coverage, aren’t enrolled in Medicare and can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
Because of a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, all bronze and catastrophic plans purchased on the ACA marketplace are now eligible for HSAs.
"HSAs have a triple tax benefit," says Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners and a certified financial planner and medical doctor. You get a tax deduction on your contributions, earnings on those funds grow tax-free, and you can withdraw the money tax-free as long as you use it to pay for qualified medical expenses.
You can use the funds to cover ongoing expenses, or you can pay those bills out of pocket, then invest the funds and use them in retirement to cover medical needs. Starting at age 65, you can also take money from the account for non-medical spending without penalty, although you will owe income tax on the withdrawals.
In 2026, the HSA contribution limit is $4,400 for individuals or $8,750 if you have family coverage. People 55 and older can make an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution. Bonus: Some employers contribute to workers’ accounts.
3. Check for medical billing errors.
About half of medical bills have mistakes, Donovan at the Patient Advocate Foundation estimates. Review your statements, identify possible errors and, if you see something fishy, dispute the charge.
Only about six in 10 people with some concern about a medical bill reached out to their provider, but nearly three-fourths of those who suspected an error succeeded in getting the charge corrected, a 2024 study published in the JAMA Health Forum found.
"For people who did make the call, they were really more likely to get some relief," says Erin Duffy, a scholar at the USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service and lead author of the study.
Wait to pay any medical bill you get until you’ve received the explanation of benefits (EOB) or Medicare Summary Notice from your insurer, Donovan advises.
If the amount your insurer says you owe doesn’t match up with the bill, there’s an error, and you should call the provider’s billing office and ask them to explain the discrepancy. Be persistent, says Donovan, who notes that it usually takes multiple calls to get a resolution.
4. Compare prices.
Getting an MRI or a hip replacement isn’t the same as shopping for a new appliance or a car. But the principle of checking costs from several providers to find the best price for what you need still applies.
And prices for common healthcare services do vary widely, even within the same geographic area. One study found, for instance, that the price for a lower-back MRI in the Miami area ranged from $186 to $1,423, while the cost of a hip or knee replacement around San Diego ran from a low of $20,305 to a high of $51,995.
Federal law now requires hospitals to post prices on their websites — including cash prices and the negotiated price for specific insurance plans — for 300 "shoppable services," such as a colonoscopy or knee replacement.
Many have personalized tools so you can see what your costs will be. You can also call the provider for an estimate.
5. Negotiate with your provider.
Once you have a sense of the costs from different providers, you can negotiate, even if you have insurance. "Ask what the cash price is," Donovan says. "If you know you won’t likely meet your deductible outside of some catastrophic event, sometimes it will save you money not to use insurance."
In fact, hospital prices for 70 common services, such as lab tests, imaging and routine procedures, were lower nearly half the time for patients paying in cash rather than using insurance, a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found.
You can also negotiate after the fact — say, if you’re stuck with a big bill because, as is common, the provider’s fee was much higher than what your insurer deemed "reasonable and customary."
In the JAMA Health Forum billing study, 62% of respondents who reached out to negotiate a bill received a price cut. Donovan suggests offering a percentage up front, then monthly payments for a certain number of months, with the total adding up to a percentage of the original bill.
6. Do an annual prescription review.
About 66% of U.S. adults report taking at least one prescription medication, with 31% taking four or more, according to KFF. More medications mean a higher risk of side effects and drug interactions, as well as higher costs.
It’s a good idea to review your prescriptions annually with your physician to make sure you still need them.
"Talk to your doctor about what you should and shouldn’t take — it could save you a lot of money," says Arthur "Abbie" Leibowitz, chief medical officer and president emeritus of Health Advocate, a provider of health advocacy and navigation, well-being and behavioral health programs.
Don’t forget any over-the-counter medications or dietary supplements that you take regularly. Americans spent almost $69 billion on dietary supplements last year, most of them over-the-counter purchases, according to Grand View Research.
7. Shop for better prices on medications.
While generic drugs are usually cheaper, sometimes insurers will cut deals with pharmaceutical companies that make the name brand more affordable, so check the formulary, says Leibowitz.
Health insurers often have preferred pharmacies with better prices, so see where you’ll get the best deal. You can compare prices at GoodRx.com. Mail-order pharmacies are usually cheaper and permit you to get a 90-day supply.
If you take medications with a high co-payment, check with the manufacturer to see whether it offers a discount program that reduces your co-pay and, if so, how the program works with your insurance. (Medicare recipients usually aren’t eligible, and some marketplace plans won’t count the manufacturer’s assistance toward your deductible.)
It’s also worth checking online pharmacies such as the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., though that usually means paying out of pocket.
"If you have a comprehensive insurance plan, it usually makes more sense to get your drugs through your insurer, where you have a co-pay and your payment is helping you reach your deductible," says Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, a consumer advocacy organization.
But in some cases, he says, the self-pay price may be cheap enough so that it makes sense to bypass your coverage, even though the payment won’t count toward your deductible.
8. Know when to go to urgent care.
According to Venteur, a health-benefits technology company, the average urgent care visit in 2026 costs between $150 and $280 without insurance; it’s a $20 to $75 co-pay with coverage. An emergency-room visit costs $1,500 to $3,000 or more without insurance; the typical co-pay is $100 to $500 or more with coverage.
That math’s a no-brainer. "Urgent care isn’t a substitute for preventive care and a relationship with a primary-care provider, but in many instances, it can be a good alternative to an ER visit," Leibowitz says.
Urgent care can handle less-serious problems that sometimes end up in the ER, such as an ankle sprain, upper-respiratory infection or back pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. But with certain symptoms, or if you have underlying health conditions, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you’re experiencing potentially serious symptoms such as chest pain, seizures, a sudden, severe headache, severe abdominal pain or serious bleeding, or you have a head injury or a compound fracture with a bone poking through, go to the hospital.
And if you get insurance at work:
9. Contribute to an FSA.
Most employers offer flexible spending accounts, which allow you to contribute pretax money, up to $3,400 in 2026, to pay for a wide range of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, including deductibles and co-pays, glasses, dental work, medical equipment, and over-the-counter medications. (See your options at FSAStore.com.)
If you contribute the maximum and are in the 22% tax bracket ($50,401 to $105,700 for singles, $100,801 to $211,400 for joint filers), you’ll save $780 by using an FSA.
Take care to correctly estimate those expenses when you sign up, because any funds in the account you don’t use by the end of the year may be forfeited to your employer. Some companies have a grace period that extends the deadline to March 15, or they may permit up to $680 to be rolled over into the next plan year.
Check with your benefits department for your company’s policy.
10. Grab your freebies.
You might be surprised by the free or discounted services you can get through your employer’s wellness program, Leibowitz says. For example, programs to help you stop smoking or lose weight are common, often with a financial incentive for participation or success.
You may also find gym discounts or reimbursements (including subsidized fitness apps such as Peloton), on-site fitness classes, free flu shots, on-site screenings for cholesterol and other biomarkers, and stress-reduction programs.
If you're on a marketplace plan, also:
11. Try to qualify for a subsidy.
If you previously qualified for a premium credit but no longer do, you might be able to limit your income — specifically, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) — to qualify for subsidies.
For 2026 plans, your MAGI must be no more than $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four to qualify. Maxing out an HSA can help reduce your MAGI, as can maxing out pretax contributions to retirement plans such as a 401(k) or traditional IRA.
You can talk to your tax adviser about whether other deductions or capital losses might make you eligible for subsidies.
12. Switch to a lower tier.
If you are in reasonably good health, you may be able to save substantially on premiums by opting for a bronze plan over silver-, gold- or platinum-tier coverage during the next open enrollment period.
The trade-off: You’ll incur higher out-of-pocket costs when you do need care. Gold plans, for instance, pay 80% of covered costs; bronze plans pay an estimated 60%.
You should always do the math to be sure. That’s particularly important for people whose income is less than 250% of the poverty level because they can qualify for extra savings on a silver plan, which could make it the best option.
You can run the numbers to compare at the KFF Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator.
13. Look for alternatives in your preretirement years.
Many adults between 50 and 65 turn to marketplace coverage to plug a health insurance gap between having a workplace plan and qualifying for Medicare — say, if they’re laid off or retire early.
This group already faces higher premiums, paying up to three times more for coverage than younger adults, and they are now being hit particularly hard by the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits.
"They make too much to be eligible for Medicaid and are not old enough for Medicare," says Matt McGough, a policy analyst at KFF.
If you have a spouse who is covered through work, see whether you can be added to their plan, or check whether you qualify for retiree coverage through a previous employer. Or, if you retire at 63½, compare the cost of a marketplace plan against 18 months of COBRA coverage through the company you’ve just left to tide you over until you can get Medicare, McLanahan says.
With COBRA, you’ll pay the full cost of your premiums, plus an administrative fee, so a marketplace plan may still be cheaper, but it’s worth comparing the costs and coverage.
If you're on Medicare, also:
14. Lower your IRMAA.
If your income is even a dollar over certain limits, you will pay a surcharge, called the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA), on top of the base premiums for Medicare Parts B and D.
This year, individuals making more than $109,000 and joint filers with incomes above $218,000 will pay between $284.10 and $689.90 per month for Part B, depending on income, compared with $202.90 without IRMAA. The surcharge is based on the income you reported on your tax return from two years ago.
You can try to lower your MAGI to stay below the IRMAA threshold or lower your surcharge tier. One strategy is to prioritize withdrawals from accounts that are taxed at lower rates than ordinary income, McLanahan says.
The usual order is savings accounts, regular brokerage accounts, HSAs and Roth accounts, she says. Withdrawals from accounts such as traditional 401(k)s or IRAs are taxed as ordinary income and could lead to a jump in MAGI.
If your financial circumstances have declined significantly from the year on which your current IRMAA eligibility is based because of a "life-changing event" such as retirement, divorce or the death of a spouse, you can appeal by filing a short form (SSA-44) with the Social Security Administration.
15. Sign up for Medicare as soon as you are eligible.
"It’s never advisable to delay Part B," says Gio Florez, the director of enrollment and community engagement at the Medicare Rights Center. If you do, you’ll permanently pay premiums that are 10% higher for each 12-month period you were eligible but didn’t sign up. There’s also a penalty for late enrollment in Part D.
Your initial enrollment period encompasses the three months before you turn 65, the month of your birthday, and the three following months.
To avoid penalties, you must enroll during that seven-month period, or you must have creditable coverage elsewhere, such as through an employer or spouse’s employer.
If your employer coverage ends, you need to sign up for Medicare within eight months for Part B and within 63 days for Part D.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.
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