Dallas City Wire

• 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.

Many Americans take advantage of Black Friday to save money, but they could be saving even more cash during the holiday season by making the most of their health insurance, if they've already met their deductible. Dr. Monty Trimble of Dallas Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said people seeking treatment for allergies have multiple options and that allergy testing has come a long way in recent years.

"It's definitely been refined over time,” Trimble told Dallas City Wire. “Our panels are limited to what is most common in this area, and then we do pretesting. But I would say that for most people it's not 100 things; it's definitely a much smaller panel. I think people do pretty well with that. There is blood testing available. At the end of the day, it's just kind of nice to know if people are allergic to certain things or not. A big one that I always tell patients is that if you're allergic to dust mites and don't know it, most people are not going to take the precautions they need, so finding that out can be pretty helpful."

A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 85% of Americans who receive health insurance coverage through their employer were required to meet a deductible before the plan would pay for most services. There is a single coverage deductible of $2,379 for people employed with small companies. Employees at large companies had an average deductible of $1,397, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation survey.

Stamford Health also noted that once the deductible has been met, families can take advantage of the situation by scheduling medical visits at the end of the year rather than waiting until the new year. This can include an annual physical and refilling regular prescriptions, and it can also include lab work, diagnostic testing, colonoscopies for people over 45 and mammograms for women over 40.

Family Allergy also pointed out that allergy treatments and testing are usually covered by insurance. And once a deductible has been met, and the services may be obtained at little or no cost, which can enable patients to prepare for spring allergies during the winter. If you are diagnosed with allergies, you can begin your shots or immunotherapy before your deductible resets, thereby saving money.

If you're interested in learning more about diagnosis or treatment of allergies, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.