10 Ways to Save on Prescription Drugs

MSNBC lists ten ways to save on prescription drugs as follows:

1. Ask your doctor for help. Pharmaceutical companies provide prescription medicines free of charge to physicians whose patients could not afford them otherwise.

2. Ask your pharmacist for help. Pharmacists are happy to suggest alternative, less costly drugs.

3. Investigate helpful programs.

4. Optimize your doses. Fewer pills can mean lower bills, so ask your doctor or pharmacist whether you can take a higher dose of your medication once a day rather than a lower dose more than once daily.

5. Consider generics.

6. Learn about your options. Identify the least expensive medicines that are effective for certain conditions.

7. Retirees, choose your Medicare Part D plan with care.

8. Opt for the online or mail-order route. Some health plans will let you order a three-month supply at one time for nearly 30 percent less than it costs to buy three one-month supplies at a retail pharmacy.

9. Shop around online.

10. Tell all your doctors about all your medications.

MSNBC talks about these tips being good for retirees, but most of them will work for the rest of us as well. And as we all get towards retirement, I predict we'll be doing more and more of this sort of thing -- looking for ways to lower healthcare costs. Why? Because healthcare is becoming "the" issue that will direct and define retorement more than any other.

Comments

[Katy McKenna]

Also, take advantage of the pharmacies that offer $4 prescriptions on hundreds of medications. Even if you have a prescription plan that pays for a portion of your cost, it's hard to beat $4.

On more expensive medications, investigate whether you can purchase a higher-dosed pill (say 200 mg. instead of 100 mg.), which might be much cheaper figured at a per-milligram cost, and then use a pill-splitter to cut them in half.

I know one of my medications comes in a 200 mg. strength, which is one of my pharmacy's $4 specials. But I was prescribed the 100 mg. strength. My doctor easily okayed the 200 mg. pills, split in half.

[Pharmacist]

1. Nothing wrong with asking.

2. Pharmacists know drug prices and have a good understanding of prescription benefits. If you feel like a pharmacist didn't explain something enough, ask more questions, or talk to another pharmacist.

5. Generics typically offer the greatest savings. They are safe and effective.

8. 9. and 10. It is best to fill all of your prescriptions at the same pharmacy so they can check for any potential problems. Always tell you pharmacist all drugs that you are taking. This includes prescription, OTC, and herbal supplements.

Katy, I agree that $4 generic programs can also help.

Pill splitting can be useful. Some drugs cannot be split, such as modified release products (i.e. SR, XR, CR, etc.). Pill splitting is not exact, so you may be getting a higher dose in one part and a lower dose in the other.

[D. Gucci]

I'm from Canada, so I'm not sure if this would apply within an American context, but I've found that big warehouse stores, like Costco, have pharmacies with lower dispensing fees than most drug stores, and also offer lower prices on over the counter items. For example, I use a skin cream that is $8 CDN cheaper at the warehouse than it is at my local pharmacy. And -- this is something far too many people don't realize -- you don't need a membership to use the pharmacy at any of these stores. So you get the benefit of reduced prices without the hassle of a yearly fee.

Hope that helps!

[Ed]

Remember that if you are pill splitting to only split the pills as you need them, not all of them on day one. At least that way if you are splitting a 100mg pill, while the split may not be exact, you might get 52MG one day and 48mg the next - you are averaging the 50mg in two days. If you split all at once you might get 47-49mg every day for a week then the higer dose for two weeks, etc.
Go to www.internetdrugcoupons.com to find rebates on many drugs. If you go to a $4 pharmacy, they might be charging you $4 for one drug, but almost double for the 2nd drug that isn't on the $4 list. Price check everything.

[Bob]

My doctor has no problem prescribing a double dose so I can split my pills. Also the $4 generics at Wal-Mart are great.
My wife’s 4 prescriptions for the month cost $22 and my 1 prescription for 3 months cost $10 today total cost $32.
So it works.

[Patty]

Re point number 8 and getting 3 month mail order supply. Generally that is cheaper for the brand name RX I get, but the one generic RX I take is cheaper to get 3 month supply at retail pharmacy as there is a minimum $10 charge on mail order generics with my insurance. So compare the costs before assuming all mail order is going to be cheaper. Costs me about 4.50 for 90 day CVS rx vs 90 day $10 charge of same thing at my mail order pharmacy
(also I take advantage of coupons for getting $25 gift card for switching between some local pharmacies so come out ahead)

[Kenny]

Best ADVICE of All for those who 'can' travel......

Get the medications from outside of the US. I have BP and Allergies, and I have been purchasing meds from outside of the US by making a trip once every 18 months. I buy my regular, monthly daily dosage pills, noting the expiration date carefully.

My Zyrtec costs $2.40 for a 20 pills, and I have to take one a day. The same pill here is $25 co-pay, or $22.99 at Meijer/Walmart on a sale (since it just went OTC few weeks ago) for the SAME QUANTITY. It is the same original dosage, quality is maintained with FDA approvals, and these meds are manufactured in that country for SALE TO US CUSTOMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All that quality talk is just bogus, since buying Generics in the US, does not mean that is made in the US!!!!!! (how many things are). Meds do NOT come labeled like furniture, electronics and toys sold in Meijers or Walmart!!!!!!

My Dad is a PhD in Pharmacy from Ohio and he endorses ALL of the common medications, since the content of the chemical does NOT cost that much, it is the research.

Now, please do not put the 'I am an American', and 'I buy American' hat on, since we are on Free Money Finance and talking about how to save a buck, so that we can invest that buck for our own future.

TRY TO DO THE ABOVE, SINCE IT WILL TAKE YOU SOME EFFORT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET YOUR MEDS.

Take care.

Kenny

ps: The No Co-Pay at Meijer or $4 at Walmart beats MOST deals, but still my method works GREAT for folks having to eat 2+ pills per day (I am at min 3 per day for life)!!!!!

[sahm]

This is all well and good when your RX are on the $4 plan or a generic alternative is available. My daughter is on 3 different meds for her allergies and 2 for her asthma (as needed). Unfortunately, she doesn't respond to the "normal" meds. When my hubby recently switched jobs, I had to fight to have her allergy medicine covered. Our insurance plan covered NO allergy meds because they said you could get it OTC. That was great, and that is what my son takes. It does her no good. Trust me, we are cheap, we do what we can.

I do agree with going to Costco. It is SO much cheaper. We are very blessed to have drug coverage, but I was very disappointed that Costco wasn't on the list. I do save $5/month/med ($35-45 per month for the family) by doing the mail order. But as someone mentioned earlier, if you have them filled all at the same place, it helps check for potential problems. I have learned to be proactive myself and make sure the doctors know EVERY meds we take.

Publix (in GA, FL, SC, & AL) has FREE antibiotics. It is a one month supply. They also take competitors coupons, so the last time I had to get an RX filled for my hubby, we made $15.

[Allison]

I think one of the best ways to save is to take advantage of the new/transferred prescription coupons that many stores make available (or accept competitors coupons). I made $40 in gift cards this month by transferring 2 prescriptions to a pharmacy across the street from the one I originally had them filled. With co-pays of only $20 total for both this means the next two months are on them. The next time I need them filled I'll just transfer them back to my pharmacy and get more $ then. Note: I absolutely agree that its best to keep all Rx together if you're taking more than one, but my husband and I are lucky enough with only one Rx each per month that this is not an issue for us. We are also lucky enough to live in an area where you can't drive 1/2 mile before you hit the next drugstore.