Sunday, August 12, 2012

Immunizations or Vaccinations for less...

This summer has been a crazy one.  We’ve redone our kitchen, attended two family reunions, gone on a family vacation, attended another reunion, and our youngest had surgery in a hospital 7 ½ hours away from our home.  Time has flown by!!

Now that we are home, we have been preparing for the upcoming school year.  My youngest is entering kindergarten.  (WOW!  Time flies.  I haven’t been home alone during the day for over a decade!!)  My son needed to finish up his immunizations, like every other 5 year old in the US.
IF your insurance will cover your immunizations, go visit your family doctor to have them administered.
IF your insurance (is like mine) and will not cover, or will only partially cover the immunizations, you can still get your immunizations for a reasonable price!!

OUR insurance will cover a portion of the immunizations…up to a certain amount.  When you include the “well child” doctor bill in addition to the cost of many immunizations required at age 5, we would go well over the limit and would be held responsible for the remaining part of the bill that the insurance would not cover.  (Yes.  This has happened to us back when our son was 6 months old.  Our insurance had changed and we found out AFTER the shots had been administered.)  I did not want this to happen again.  The doctor’s office charges a hefty price for each immunization.

Your local Health Department offers immunizations to the public!!  IF you are UNDER-insured (like us) or NOT insured at all—this is the option for you!!  AND this program is not just for children either!!  (I got my 10 year tetanus shot several years ago there as well.)  Our health department charges according to how many shots are administered (or each needle…not the immunization). 
  • 1 shot= $16
  • 2-3 shots= $25
  • 4 or more shots= $30
This option was a FAR more affordable way to get my son his vaccinations that going to the doctor’s office.  Keep your health updated does not need to break the bank!!

 Happy Stretching Pennies…