Not solely are health-care prices climbing however people additionally typically are bearing a higher portion of their medical payments than earlier than, as many insurers reduce on funds and extra corporations anticipate staff to pay larger deductibles and copays, writes WSJ Wealth Adviser’s Veronica Dagher.
This may cause even rich shoppers a lot consternation if the invoice is sudden or unexpectedly giant. But monetary advisers–some via their very own experiences–have options. Here’s one:
Simply asking for a reduction helped Patrick Stark, director of monetary planning for wealth-management agency RS Crum in Newport Beach, Calif., shave 35% off a $Three,000 invoice from a hand surgeon who wasn’t in his insurance coverage community.
While Mr. Stark encourages shoppers to barter, he tells them their success will differ from supplier to supplier. He has discovered that negotiation is an particularly efficient software when coping with out-of-network practitioners and conditions the place there’s no insurance coverage protection.
Consumers ought to begin by asking for a 30% to 35% discount to start with and negotiate from there, he says. Offering to pay in money may also land a reduction.
He additionally advises shoppers to name the billing workplace upon receipt of the invoice. “The sooner that you contact the billing office, the more amenable they’ll be to working with you,” Mr. Stark says.
Below, a number of the greatest evaluation and perception from WSJ writers and columnists, and infrequently past, on investing, the wealth-management enterprise and extra.
TALKING POINTS
Borrowing growth. U.S. household debt reached a record of $12.8 trillion in the second quarter, pushed by rising mortgage debt, a robust quarter for auto mortgage originations, and an uptick in credit-card balances, which reached their highest degree since 2009.
Borrowing bust? PACE loans are designed to assist householders make eco-friendly upgrades to their houses. But the number of people defaulting on their payments is on the rise, based on tax knowledge.
Tuesday’s markets. U.S. stock indexes were mixed amid retailer pressure, writes WSJ Wealth Adviser reporter emeritus Michael Wursthorn. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 factors, or lower than zero.1%, to 21999. The S&P 500 fell lower than zero.1%, and the Nasdaq declined zero.1%.
PLANNING AND INVESTING
Summer inventory choices. Ad company big WPP appears just like the basic worth funding, writes the Heard on the Street team: a high-quality firm that has briefly fallen on onerous occasions.
Watching Your Wealth podcast. Subscribe at wsj.com or on iTunes. And discover the complete archives of Watching Your Wealth here.
BUSINESS AND PRACTICE
Broker rebates. Massachusetts is investigating whether retail brokerages–together with Charles Schwab , Edward Jones, E*Trade Financial , Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, Scottrade and TD Ameritrade–harm buyers by routing orders to inventory exchanges that pay them rebates, creating a possible battle of curiosity
Noted. LPL Financial stated Tuesday that it acquired National Planning Holding, an unbiased broker-dealer community, for $325 million with a possible contingent cost of as much as $123 million.
TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE
I might use one. More corporations try to destigmatize psychological sickness and encourage workers to use mental-health days for his or her unique intent.
ADVISER CALENDAR
– XYPN17 And FinTech Competition / Dallas, Aug. 28-31
– Insider’s Forum 2017 / Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 6-Eight
– Disrupt|Advice 2017 / New York, Sept. 12-13
– Commitment to Compliance / Boston, Sept. 18
– APFA Financial Advisor Boot Camp / Los Angeles, Oct. 5-6
– IMCA Private Wealth Advisor (PWA) 2017 / Chicago, Oct. 16-17
– FPA Minnesota 2017 Annual Symposium / Minneapolis, Oct. 16-17
– ADISA 2017 Annual Conference / Las Vegas, Oct. 23-25
– ACA Fall Compliance Conference / San Diego, Oct. 25-27
– FinCon 2017 / Dallas, Oct. 25-28
– The SRI Conference / San Diego, Nov. 1-Three
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The WSJ Wealth Adviser Briefing covers subjects of curiosity to wealth managers, monetary planners and different advisers. It’s delivered to subscribers by e-mail every workday morning; you’ll be able to join e-mail supply right here: http://on.wsj.com/WealthAdviserSignup. Please ship ideas, strategies or different feedback to michael.wursthorn@wsj.com or Wealth Editor Brian Hershberg at brian.hershberg@wsj.com.
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SOURCE: MoneyBeat – Read whole story here.