A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness that is going to require a lifetime of daily medication. As if that weren’t bad enough, when she went to fill the prescriptions, she found out it would cost her $350 per month. Holy buckets, people, that is crazy talk. I can’t imagine that a lot of households can bear that kind of load–especially when it takes you by surprise.
The silver lining, though, is that there are ways to save. I thought I would share a few, in case any of you are in the same boat.
- Be honest with your doctor. They are people too, and if you can’t afford the scripts they’ve written you, they may have a solution. It’s at least worth a try as a starting point.
- Make sure you know which brands your personal insurance covers more. Yes, they actually have preferred brands of the same general drug, and I am not talking generics here. Whether they are cholesterol pills or allergy pills, check to see which pill your insurance prefers, and then check with your doctor to see if s/he will write that specific drug.
- Ask for samples. Doctors get tons of samples from drug reps–if you are in a bind, they may be willing to help you supplement a little at first with samples.
- Generics. This one is kind of a no-brainer, but make sure to ask both your doctor and pharmacist.
- Double the dose. Sometimes a higher dose pill is the same price as a lower dose. If the pill is scorable down the middle, you might be able to get the double dose and only take half a pill. It basically doubles the life of one bottle of medication.
- Go straight to the source and check with the pharmaceutical company. There is a HUGE mark-up on pills. Sometimes the pharmaceutical companies have “assistance programs” where they will offer you their product for a lower price. All it means, really, is that they are willing to lower the price rather than lose your business completely.
- Check to see if big box retailers like Target and Walmart offer your drug in generic form at a significant discount. These kind of stores offer a wide range of generics for $4-$10 a month, in hopes that you will also do some shopping while you are picking up your prescription. It’s worth a try to see if your prescription is available through their discounted program.
- Check for coupons. Yes, even prescriptions can come with coupons. Look online or ask your doctor. A lot of times, you can get anywhere from $50-$100 off coupons {which, again, totally shows you their mark-up}.
- When all else fails, order your prescriptions from Canada. First, beware of online pharmacies–sometimes, they are selling subpar products and are largely unregulated. BUT, I do know some people who have found reputable Canadian pharmacies who are willing to ship their prescriptions at a FRACTION of the cost that it is to buy them here in the U.S.
Do you have any tricks up your sleeve when it comes to saving on prescription drugs?
~Mavis
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sheila says
Talk to your pharmacist about a cheaper alternative. Physicians only get about 6 months training in pharmaceuticals but pharmacists have their entire degree dedicated to it. Docs don’t typically know the costs of the drugs and/or all the options. They’re heavily targeted by drug reps with all the latest and greatest (aka expensive) drugs even if they aren’t as effective. Drugs are the most profitable while they are still under a patent. Once they lose the patent, generics can be made by other companies and profits tank.
Linda says
Check with your local SHIBA or SHIP program. Depending on your age and income, you might qualify for state and federal programs to help pay for your meds. Eldercare.gov can tell you how to contact your local program.
Rosaleen Sullivan says
Mavis, you covered this pretty well. Only because I’m a lot older than you (I believe), I have a few more tips from lots of experience. Check several of your accessible 30/90 day pharmacies if your doc prescribes some “maintenance meds” for you. If one pharmacy doesn’t carry your med another one might, Case in point: A family member was prescribed a statin that was not part of WalMart’s 90-day for $10 formulary, but RiteAid carried it in it’s 90-day formulary for about $15. Better the second pharmacy’s price than about $50 through insurance elsewhere. Also, sometimes the pharmacy has some sort of “discount card” they can use for you. You have to ask, though. I have few I’ve found on-line which didn’t help with a med we needed, but a helpful associate tried one they had. Now I know to ask for their discount cards when needed. We also get some meds from Canada and have had very good luck with them. I’ve also gotten some generic Prilosec (Omeprezole) from Mavis’ favorite store, Amazon.com cheaper than any other place I’ve been able to find.
PATRICIA C. says
I would like to impart some worthwhile knowledge I recently learned….
I printed out a coupon I found on the manufacturer’s website for a new RX which should have brought the price down to $10 out of pocket for me but hubby was charged $40 when he picked up the Rx. A paper was attached saying that my coupon was rejected. When I called the pharmacy back to ask why it was rejected, they said the discount WAS applied but brought the price down to $40. Several employees said the same thing over a two week period. Since i knew I qualified, I was persistent in trying to find out what went wrong. Finally I spoke with the pharmacist who realized what happened…. Unbeknownst to me, the pharmacy had applied “their own discount card” before trying to apply my coupon from the manufacturer. My coupon was only valid if I received no other discount other than my aetna insurance. So to correct the transaction, the pharmacist took their discount off and re-applied my coupon from the manufacture and it worked. The price immediately came down to $10 and I got a $30 reimbursement. I never even knew the pharmacy sometimes applies their own discount card without telling the customer about it. The coupon I found on the manufacturer’s website gave me a better discount than the pharmacy’s discount card and if I had not been persistent, I would have been paying $30 more each time I got a refill! I hope this helps someone else out there.
Kim says
I just saved $15 this week by buying my prescription using a GoodRX coupon and purchasing outside my insurance coverage. The network pharmacy was charging $15 more. It won’t count towards my deductible but I saved money.
Diana says
I buy through the Canadian pharmacies AND I order double dose tablets that I can chop in half. In the end, my Rx ends up costing less than 1/4 of what I’d pay at a local or chain pharmacy. I’ve heard the warnings about foreign meds being unregulated. But the meds I order from Canada are dispensed through a licensed pharmacy in the US. I realize that is not insurance against fraud and substandard meds, but I don’t think the risk is any greater than going through any US pharmacy that might not be on the up and up.
Betty D says
Thanks for bringing this up and all the advise others had commented on. The only thing I could add is the 90 day supply. I learned yrs ago when my mom was still living ….my older sister worked in Kmart and got her meds there. She was told by someone there instead of the mthly 30 prescription you can ask your Dr to make it out for 90 days. Less time going to refill it and one co-pay. She was told that many customers didnt know they can do that. So since then Ive been getting what I need that way. Sometimes I have to remind the Dr to make it 90 days.
Dottie says
#2 is very important. Your doctor has no idea what is covered by your specific insurance. I always recommend that my patients call their insurance and get them to mail a copy of the formulary. Then you can bring the list to your appointment and the doc can pick off a list of already approved meds. Bonus is , if you have flat price copays you will know your costs before you even get to the pharmacy. Also, many insurances receive rebates from certain drug companies and they pass the savings on to the patient, so in some cases filling a brand name might be lesser cost for you than getting a generic!
ChrisM says
Be sure to call EVERY pharmacy in your area. My dog is on a very expensive med that can only be purchased at a human pharmacy. Sam’s Club and Walmart were NOT the cheapest nor was Costco. A local mom and pop pharmacy and Meijer had the best prices. We’re talking Walmart had it for 350.00 and Meijer and small pharmacy had it for 65.00 per month, Same dose, same amount of pills and same generic. The difference was that Meijer had several humans on this med and was able to purchase it cheaper in quantities. I buy the higher dose and cut them in half for her. I have also purchased it from Canada with no problems.
Jen Y says
People don’t realise that you can shop around for cheaper medical care to an extent. Call & price dr visit’s lab work ect. It’s not as simple as pricing anything else though, truly the insurance sets the price on most things.
i carry a print-out of medications that my insurance covers with me to the dr when I need to deal with an expensive medication. The medications are rated & sometimes the dr will see a cheaper med on the list that does the same thing as the more exspensive. A great example – my husband is a type I diabetic. He recently started using the insulin patch, a new technology that he loves by the way. The insulin prescribed for the patch is $97 a vial ($47 for us after insurance). A vial lasts him about a week. He researched & found that Walmart sells their slower acting insulin for $25 a vial so under his dr’s care he decided to try it. The reaction time didn’t really matter with the patch because he’s being given insulin through a drip constantly. So even without the savings our insurance adds we save $22 a vial..a huge savings for us. He also discovered that his patch will last him 36 hours instead of 24 as prescribed. So (under dr’s care) he changes his patch every 36 hours rather than every 24 giving him 12 extra hours on each patch – which cost $200 a month because insurance does not cover them yet(right now the company is giving him a coupon so we get it for $50 a month, we don’t know how long that will last though). It’s basically like splitting the higer does to make it last longer.
Just be sure it’s safe to tweak your meds as my husband has done with his insulin. Some medications cannot be cut in half because they are made to work over a few hours. If you cut them in half it messes that up & you get the full dose at once. So always talk to your dr/pharmiscist before splitting pills.
Denise Hanley says
This is very timely as I just got off the phone with my health insurance RX coordinator and found that one tube of cream for my rosacea will cost me $799~!!!! That is outrageous…even if I HAD that kind of money.
I have called around town, checked GoodRX.com and looked for coupons online. To no avail.
The lowest price on GoodRX is $479.
So I will need to shop from Canada…because one website said I could get it for $45.
***I would love it if someone who buys from Canada could point me in the direction of a reputable place. I could search online for days, and still not find a good one…. Recommendations are best in this situation~!!
Anyone out there have places to share~???
Leslie says
Don’t forget to check LegitScript regarding your online pharmacies! So many rogue pharmacies out there 8-|
katie rucinski says
Our dog Spud was put on an anti-siezure drug for humans. The pharmacy, Shopko, attempted to sell it to me for $239.99. Wowser….not going to happen! Called WalGreens, they said $195 if i joined their club or whatever for $20 bucks….called Wal Mart, insert drum roll please, $31.33…..UNFREAKIN BELIEVABLE !!!!!! It blows my mind how they rip people off every day. You have to shop around !!!!
Kate says
Well today I called my local Kroger store to ask for pricing on two prescriptions I had been getting out of state, just so I could keep tabs on whether or not there had been any jump in price this year due to the new federal medical programs now in effect and whether or not I could even afford getting them. Since I had not had these two filled there previously, the person at the other end of the phone said she could not quote prices over the phone without her having my script in hand. She said new federal reuglations prohibit that, citing “fraud” in the past. She also said that their computer system was linked to something else now in play where any attempts to do these searches without a prescription entered would be discovered and they would get in trouble. If this is true, good luck everybody, trying to call around and get the best pricing. So tomorrow I’ll be going up to the counter with my scripts and see if I can “get away” with having a lookup done. She also said I could call my provider and see what they were paying and get the price that way. I already know that one of the two scripts is not covered by my plan.
Susan says
The GoodRx app will check prices at several places near your zip code. We saved $90 on one script for my husband by checking with the app. They also have coupons available sometimes, check this one out.
Tabitha says
No joke on #6! I searched for a coupon BC my dad had a $425 prescription. No generic or alternative available. He hadn’t refilled it BC of the cost. The manufacturer had a discount card for people with his condition and now it’s $10.
Mavis says
Holy cow that’s a huge difference!!
Kent F. says
Hi Mavis!
From the veterinary medicine point of view, buy these meds from your vet. They are usually some higher than you can get at Walmart, 800petmeds, Internet sources, etc., but some things have value and are WORTH spending money on. Your vet operates a business in YOUR community, they hire local folks, develop relationships with you, buy ads in high school yearbooks, do a huge amount of probono work, and if you need them in the middle of the night, they are there. Treating them right usually means they will bend over backwards for you when you need them. The costs of doing all this (and more) are included in the price of the goods and services they provide. Certainly, if there is a huge difference in price, yes, save money, however if it is less than 15-20% different than the big box stores or Canadian pharmacies, support the home team! The same can be said for your local mom and pop pharmacies on the human side. Thank you, Mavis! 🙂
Mavis says
Great perspective. Thanks for sharing!
Mary Sue says
I realize there are health conditions for which there is no alternative to taking medicines but with careful research (on your part) and lifestyle/diet changes, many conditions can be treated without any medication. Yes, it may involve spending more money for better quality food or health counseling, but isn’t a better quality lifestyle worth it? Doctors cannot possibly know everything, so don’t expect your doctor to know every option to treating a specific health condition.
Emily says
Thanks for this article. There is SO VERY MUCH wrong with how the pricing of drugs in the US are set and regulated.
Mavis, I recommend you make your next Friday night feature film the documentary “Fire in the Blood”. It was a revelation….shocking, sad, frustrating, and angering all at once.
We have the means and resources to be able to treat everyone that needs medication. It’s inconceivable that we haven’t righted this wrong yet for people that depend on these drugs in order to just live another day.