Lisa Mendonza is a family physician at Kenmore Family Medicine. Mendonza says the office is swamped with last minute appointments.
"Sometimes it's stressful to doctor's offices that people are trying to get in before the end of the year," Mendonza said.
By this time of year people with high deductible heath care plans have met their deductibles so patients are getting in those last minute services before their deductibles reset.
Kim Syracuse, Director of Account Retention for Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, says more than one in four Blue Cross Blue Shield members are enrolled in a high deductible plan.
"The trend for employers and for individuals is to lower their health care cost and high deductible plans are a good way to do that, typically the higher your deductible the lower your months premium," Syracuse said.
Mendonza recommends waiting to the last minute could affect people's overall health, especially if they have lab abnormalities or newly diagnosed hypertension. This is because the follow-up care could be expensive going into the new year if they have already maximized their benefits.
