Talk to Your Doctor about Trimming Costs

Discussing medical costs with your doctor could save you money without affecting your care, according to a new study.

"Almost half the time that costs come up in conversation, either the doctor or the patient come up with some strategy to lower the patient's out-of-pocket cost. And it doesn't take long, usually less than a minute," study author Peter Ubel said in a news release from Duke University in Durham, N.C. Ubel is a professor in the schools of business, medicine and public policy at Duke.