Grand Canyon Times

• 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 people try to save money by shopping on Black Friday, but another way to save during the holiday season is by taking full advantage of your health insurance benefits, if you've already met your deductible.

Dr. Brian Lee of Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center said people who want to get allergy testing have a few choices.

"Allergy shots still are a thing and still are very effective," Lee told Grand Canyon Times. "It is once a week that the patient has to come into the office, so it can be pretty cumbersome and intrusive into daily life. We offer what we call sublingual immunotherapy, which is essentially the same principle. We test for allergies, we figure out what you're allergic to and we make a special, customized serum of that stuff. Then we start feeding your body small amounts of it."

Lee explained the differences between allergy shots and immunotherapy.

"Traditionally, you had to come into the office once a week for a shot," he said. "But now we can actually do those in the form of a drop that you put under your tongue. You do those at home every day. And we're we're able to allow you to do that home because they're extremely safe. The risk of an anaphylactic reaction is essentially zero. So you get the same benefits but without all the hassles of having to come in for a shot every week."

Most insurance plans cover allergy testing and treatment, so your costs could be little to nothing, according to Family Allergy. Also, winter is a good time to prepare for spring allergies, because if you learn that you need allergy shots for treatment, you can begin before your deductible resets at the beginning of the year, saving you money while you begin to build your body's defenses against spring allergens.

The Kaiser Family Foundation's 23rd Employer Health Benefits Survey found that workers who had health insurance coverage through their employers in 2021 had a general yearly deductible for individual coverage that needs to be met before the plan paid for most health services. For workers at smaller companies, the average individual deductible was $2,379. At larger firms, the average deductible was $1,397, the survey said.

If you have already met your annual deductible, Stamford Heath suggests scheduling appointments and tests before the end of the year, saving money by getting those appointments covered by your insurance. For example, get your annual physical and refill any prescriptions. For those over 45, get a colonoscopy -- or a mammogram for women over 40. You can also use your benefits to take care of lab work or other diagnostic tests.

If you would like to learn more about allergy testing and potential treatments, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.