Indy Standard

• Most Americans who get health insurance through their employer have an annual deductible.
• You can save money during the last few months of the year by taking advantage of your health insurance if you've already met your deductible.
• Most health insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment.

Indianapolis Sinus Center's Dr. Nicholas Hollenkamp is encouraging people to seek the one thing they crave most this holiday season: health care.

With many holiday shoppers looking to save money by shopping on Black Friday, Hollenkamp wants allergy sufferers to know another way to save money and cut down on distress is by making the most of their health insurance -- if they've already met their deductible.

"In our area, we have a lot of allergies and humidity and sinus problems,” Hollenkamp told Indy Standard. “There's a lot of people with it. There are a lot of variables that go into why people have trouble and the symptoms they have and a lot of different treatment options that can be employed. You have to kind of figure out the right mix. One thing I've seen over the years is that not everyone likes taking care of them, including ENT doctors."

The recent 23rd Employer Health Benefits Survey conducted by the Kaiser Foundation concluded that as many as 85% of American workers who had health insurance coverage through their employer in 2021 had a general annual deductible for coverage that needed to be met before the plan paid for most health services. Family Allergy said that most insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment, meaning that once your deductible has been met, costs for those things could be very low or even zero.

If you discover you have allergies at the end of the year and your allergist recommends shots for treatment, you can begin the shots before your deductible resets, which will save you money in addition to beginning to build up your body's defense against spring allergens.

According to Kaiser Family Foundation, for workers employed by small companies, the average single coverage deductible was $2,379 in 2021, and for workers employed by large firms, the average deductible cost was $1,397.

Stamford Health recommends that those who've met their yearly deductible start making appointments for testing before the end of the year, which could save money over the long run. Recommendations include getting your annual physical and refilling prescriptions, as well as taking care of lab work or other diagnostic testing, Stamford also stresses that people over 45 can get a colonoscopy and women over 40 can get a mammogram.

If you're interested in learning more about allergy testing and treatment, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.