How to Save Money on a Pharmacy Prescription

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By lydiabily
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There are many ways to save money on a pharmacy prescription. Some methods, such as using pharmacy coupons for prescription transfers, work well with both generic and non-generic drugs. There are also specific strategies you can use if you are prescribed a new medicine for which there are no generic versions yet. These can be extremely expensive and have high copays. Fortunately, these are also the drugs you can get the best deals on. Most smart pharmaceutical companies are very aggresive in the early stages of marketing a new drug. They generally have multiple special offers, and if you know what to look for, you can take advantage of them all. It's easier to save money on a pharmacy prescription if you have health insurance, but even if you don't, you can still take advantage of a lot of freebies, coupons offers, and drug store specials.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Take advantage of pharmacy coupons that offer a reward if you transfer a prescription. You can save lots of money simply by moving your prescription to different pharmacies. Many pharmacies offer $25-$30 bonus cards for each prescription transfer. For more details, see the Resources section below for a link to the article, "How to Use Pharmacy Coupons to Get Free Gift Cards."
Step 2

Ask your doctor for a coupon. Most drug companies give doctors coupons that allow you to have the copay waived. Sometimes you can get a coupon that will allow you to get a month's supply totally free even if you don't have insurance.
Step 3

Ask your doctor if she has any free samples of the drug you need. Don't limit your requests to the prescribing doctor. If you have a prescription from a specialist, your primary care physician may also have samples of that medication. You may be able to get a month's worth of samples from your doctor.
Step 4

Check the pharmaceutical company's website. They may be offering free samples or you may be able to get a coupon for $25 off, or a coupon that waives the copay.
Step 5

See if your health benefits program has a mail in service as part of your pharmacy benefit. Ask for a 90 day prescription, because you will often get a better price if you order a three month supply than if you order a one month supply. If you have a very cheap generic drug, this may not save you money. Generally there is a fixed price for generics and a fixed price for brand name drugs. If your medicine only costs you $5 a month and the mail in plan charges a flat $20 or $30 for a three month supply of generics, it will actually cost you more money.
Step 6

Look for special offers from pharmacies aimed at retaining customers. They sometimes have special offers, such as a $9.99 copay for a 3 month supply, rather than your insurance copay which might be $5 or more per month.
Step 7

Look for magazine pull-out coupons that offer to waive the copay, or offer a free month's supply.

Comments

bossypants said

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on 4/26/2009 I've been planning to look into the mail order option you mentioned in Step 5, and didn't know it could actually cost more. Thanks for the tip!