How to Save Money on Prescriptions

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By hzemel
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Is the high cost of prescription drugs burning a hole in your family budget?

Many families who are either uninsured or underinsured face high prescription drug costs. With so many uninsured and underinsured people in the United States and the high cost of prescription drugs, you hear stories about people who have to make a decision about whether to pay for their groceries or their prescription medications. You also hear of people who cut their pills in half because they cannot afford their medications. Unfortunately, patients taking multiple medications or receiving treatment for conditions like Cancer, HIV-AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and other serious illnesses may face hundreds and even thousands of dollars in prescription costs each month. This article presents several cost cutting tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Ask your healthcare provider to prescribe the generic version of the more expensive brand name medication. Most generic drugs are cheaper than their brand name equivalents. Both generic and brand name medications must meet the FDA's rigorous standards, so consumers can be confident that there is no discernable difference between generic and brand name drugs. According to Gary J. Buehler, Director of the Office of Generic Drugs for the FDA: "The American public can be confident that when a generic drug product is approved, it has met the rigorous standards established by the FDA with respect to identity, strength, quality, purity, and potency."
Step 2

Avoid taking a new and more expensive brand name medication when an older drug is available and is equally effective. In some cases, generic drugs may prove to be safer than brand name medications. Most generic drugs have been on the market for several years, so potential side effects and problems are better known than with newer drugs. The site worstpills.org reports that there have been many more incidences of health problems associated with brand-name drugs than with the older generic drugs. Worstpills.org recommends that consumers stay away from newly launched drugs for several years to avoid this situation. For example there have been many reported serious side effects for the type 2 diabetes drug Avandia. The older drug, Glucotrol, provides equally effective blood glucose control without the serious and possibly deadly side effects of Avandia.
Step 3

Do some comparison shopping. Consumers can cut their prescription drug costs by doing some comparison shopping both locally and online. Compare prices at local pharmacies, supermarkets and department stores. Also, compare different online sources as well. A study by the National Center for Policy Analysis reveals that price comparison shopping can reduce prescription costs for some common drugs up to 90%.
Step 4

Patient Assistance Programs also known as prescription advocacy programs have been in the media recently. These programs are offered by the pharmaceutical industry to assist low income people who don't have prescription drug coverage. These programs have been in existence for the past 15-20 years; however, few people know about them. To qualify you must meet certain income requirement-generally 2 times the Federal poverty level with certain allowances for hardship cases. For more information begin your search by entering "prescription advocacy programs" or "patient assistance programs" into your favorite search engine.
Step 5

Consider enrolling in a discount health plan with a prescription discount card. Even if you have medical insurance, you may not have adequate prescription drug coverage. Most discount health benefit companies offer programs which include an Rx benefit. You can save up to 50% or more on your prescriptions with even larger discounts available on mail order maintenance medications. For more information just enter "discount health programs" into your search engine.

Comments

guss1 said

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on 4/26/2009 Looks like you have some solid tips and tricks on saving money on prescriptions. Times like these we can use all the money saving tips we can get.thanks.

Amroch said

on 3/30/2009 Useful information on how to save money on prescriptions. Bookmarked.

showpup said

on 3/29/2009 Very sound advice on prescription shopping. Too many people falsely believe they have no options other than to grab that prescription paper and either fill or not fill, it. I had a doctor recently change my 40mg **** RX to taking two 20mg paxils per day instead because Walmart covers it up to 20mg on their $4 prescriptions but won't cover the 40mg. BIG savings!

secregardener said

on 3/29/2009 Very interesting information on Saving Money on Prescriptions. I guess some of us don't think about thinks like that. Great info, thanks.