Five Tips to Help Save on Meds
Submitted by Randy on Tue, 06/24/2008 - 15:37.
Tagged: Health and Fitness
For many older Americans, healthcare and associated medications can consume a large portion of their monthly budget. Here are five tips that you can use to help save on prescription medication:
- Price-shop pharmacies - Make phone-calls to nearby pharmacies and gather price quotes on your medications to look for the most cost-effective choice.
- Coupon Sites - Coupon discounts on brand-name drugs are likely to be more expensive than their generic counterparts. However, if your doctor has decided that a brand-name medication is the best choice for you, then brand-name coupon sites such as OPTIMIZERx and Internet Drug Coupons may help you save money. Do note, however, that such coupons cannot be used by those insured through most state and federal programs, include Medicare.
For these last three tips, you should consult with your doctor and/or pharmacist to see if they make sense for your particular situation.
- Pill Splitting - Medications are sometimes sold at different strengths, but at the same price for the same quantity of medication. In other words, a bottle of 20mg pills may be sold at the same price as 40mg pills. Because of this, pill splitting can be an effective way to save money, depending upon the prescription. Some medications, such as time-release or specially coated pills, are not meant to be split. Therefore, you should consult with your medical specialist to determine if this is an option for you.
- Buy in bulk - Ask if purchasing in larger quantities - say, a 90-day quantity instead of a 30-day quantity - will save you money.
- Look for less-costly alternatives - Periodically review your prescriptions with your doctor and/or pharmacist to see if generic or over-the-counter equivalents are available.
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Free drugs, or reduced cost medication
Many manufactures offer patient assistance programs to patients in need. Usually it is based on your most recent tax returns, but can be adjusted if laid off or unable to work due to illness. A good clearing house of information is www.needymeds.com. Also the manufacture web sites are another option if you know who makes your medication. Hope this helps.
David, Thanks for the
David,
Thanks for the additional tip!
Randy