Did Your Health Insurance Get Worse in 2024? Here's How to Stay Ahead of the Bills

Did your health insurance plan get slightly worse in 2024? Looking at your January pay stubs or health insurance statements, you might discover that you have a higher deductible or higher premiums, or both.

Even if you have a pretty good health insurance plan through your job, or qualify for premium tax credits on HealthCare.gov, you likely still have out-of-pocket costs. Going to the doctor, ER, or urgent care, receiving specialist care like dermatology or physical therapy, getting surgery, dental treatments, or other healthcare that's not 100% covered by insurance can leave you with medical bills.

My health insurance situation has gotten a little weird in 2024. Because of the plan we chose, I no longer get to use a health savings account (HSA). We can't use tax-deductible dollars to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

Fortunately, people like us still have options to stay ahead of medical bills.

1. Ask for a payment plan with the clinic

Many doctor's offices, dental practices, hospitals, and medical clinics will let you set up a payment plan. These plans often do not charge interest, and let you break up the medical bills into a smaller monthly payment.

For example, if you owe $1,500 for a medical procedure, you could ask the clinic to let you pay it off with $100 per month. A payment plan gives you flexibility with your personal finances.

2. Get a rewards credit card to pay medical bills

What if you could turn your medical bills into something more fun? If you have good enough credit to qualify, you should consider applying for a rewards credit card that you can use to pay medical bills. This can help you get discounts on travel, shopping, restaurants, or cash back for your medical bills.

Some of the best travel rewards credit cards offer introductory welcome offers with bonus points and miles. Let's say you recently had a surgical procedure that left you with $500 of out-of-pocket costs. You could apply for the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and use it to pay that $500 medical bill -- and you'd get a $200 bonus for spending at least $500 within the first 3 months of opening your account.

The best rewards cards also let you earn reward points with your everyday purchases, not just medical bills. For example, Chase Freedom Flex℠ gives you 3% rewards on drugstores, dining, takeout, and some delivery services.

3. Get an airline credit card to turn your medical bills into a vacation fund

If you already belong to a frequent flyer program, or if you want to join one, signing up for an airline credit card can be another great way to pay for your medical bills. The best airline credit cards offer introductory offers worth tens of thousands in extra frequent flyer miles. Just make sure you spend enough money on the card within a few months during the intro period to earn the offer.

For example, if you're a regular passenger on American Airlines, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® lets you earn bonus miles with the airline: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

So if you have $1,000 of medical bills, and can move an extra $500 of your everyday spending per month onto this card, you can quickly earn 75,000 miles to use with American Airlines. This could quickly give you enough miles for a roundtrip international flight on the airline!

4. Get a 0% APR credit card for big bills

If you have a big medical bill, or several smaller medical debts that you'd like to pay off all at once, it might be worth applying for a 0% APR credit card. These cards offer an introductory period (often for a year, or sometimes longer) to pay off your credit card balance with 0% interest.

Some 0% APR cards also offer rewards, such as the Chase Freedom Flex℠. When you use this card to pay your medical bills, you get the best of both worlds: 0% APR for 15 months, and a percentage of cash back or other rewards points.

Other cards offer 0% APR for an extra-long introductory period, like up to 21 months. But the 0% APR cards with the longest introductory periods often don't pay rewards. So if you already have a zero-interest payment plan from your doctor, hospital, or clinic, it might not be worth signing up for some 0% APR credit cards -- try to get a rewards credit card instead.

Before you sign up for a 0% APR card, make sure you have a plan to pay off the debt in full by the end of the introductory period. This can help you avoid high interest charges. The goal of using these cards should be to help you pay medical bills while getting some extra benefits from a percentage of your spending -- not racking up high-interest debt.

5. Consider a medical credit card

Depending on your credit score, your doctor, clinic, or hospital might offer options to sign up for a medical credit card. These cards let you set up a payment plan at a rate of interest that varies based on your credit history.

But if you have decent credit, medical-specific cards are often not the best choice. The other types of cards on this list can be better, because they pay rewards and offer introductory 0% APR.

Bottom line: Rising healthcare costs are a problem that we all have to keep dealing with. If you don't have a health savings account, you still have options. Try to pay medical bills while saving money on interest and getting extra benefits from credit card rewards.