• 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.

While many people save money by shopping on Black Friday, another way to save money this holiday season is by making the most of your health insurance, if you've already met your deductible.

Dr. Cody Aull of West Palm Beach Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said people seeking treatment for allergies have multiple options. 

"As far as allergy drops or shots go, it takes an extended period of time for you to get a complete resolution of your allergies," Aull told Florida Business Daily.  "The knee-jerk reaction should be three years. If your immune system isn't great, it could go up to five years. So there is a time investment for a complete cure for allergies. But just because there's a time investment, it shouldn't be arduous, as far as the amount of work you have to go through. A lot of that comes with nothing more than drops once a day, but it’s next to your toothbrush, so it’s no big deal. So there isn't necessarily a huge time commitment with allergy shots. There's so many different courses we can use to get to where we need to be with the patient."

Eighty-five percent of American workers who received health insurance coverage through their employer in 2021 had a general annual deductible for single coverage that needed to be met before the plan paid for most health services, according to the 23rd Employer Health Benefits Survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. For workers employed by small companies, the average single coverage deductible was $2,379. Workers employed by large firms had an average deductible of $1,397.

Once your deductible has been met, Stamford Heath recommends making the most of your health insurance coverage and saving money by scheduling appointments and testing before the end of the year. Recommendations include getting your annual physical and refilling prescriptions. People over 45 can get a colonoscopy, and women over 40 can get a mammogram. Stamford Health also recommends taking care of lab work or other diagnostic testing.

Most insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment, so once your deductible has been met, costs could be very low or even zero, according to Family Allergy. Winter is the perfect time to prepare for spring allergies. If you discover you have allergies at the end of the year and your allergist recommends allergy shots for treatment, you can begin before your deductible resets, which will save you money in addition to beginning to build up your body's defenses against spring allergens.

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