How to Save Money When Buying Prescription Drugs
This guest blog post is contributed by Boomerater.com, a free online resource for Baby Boomers. The site can help you find everything from a financial advisor in New York to the latest gadgets and gizmos. Seniors for Living contributes to Boomerater’s search for senior housing section.
A new Q&A discussion from Boomerater’s forums appears here each Friday. This week’s topic is about how to save money when buying prescription drugs.
Boomerater Question: I can’t afford the rising costs of my prescriptions. I have friends in the same boat who have stopped taking their meds, or are splitting pills, or are taking them every other day. I know this can be dangerous so I’m asking if anyone can offer cost-cutting tips.
Responses from other Boomerater members:
- Whatever you do, don’t change how often you take your medications. DO opt for generics whenever you can. Also, check out the price at your local grocery store pharmacies for generics. The cost of my meds went from a $20 co-pay per month at a national drug store chain to $9.99 for three months at the grocery. Plus, it does not even go through my health insurance plan. For two prescriptions I am saving almost $400 per year.
- I saved a lot of money going to the grocery pharmacy for my generic prescriptions… one word of advice – you will need to have your doctor convert your 30-day prescriptions to 90 days to take advantage of the supermarket pharmacy deals.
- Pill splitting is OK for some prescriptions but can be dangerous for others, especially time-released drugs. You should talk to your doctor. And as mentioned already, if you can take generics you will save a lot of money.
- Check out the generic $4 prescription program at Wal-Mart and other chains. If you’re not sure whether your drug is available in generic form, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a generic equivalency tool at http://www.fda.gov/cder/info/consumer_generic.htm. You can find further details in a piece Phil Moeller wrote for U.S. News & World Report on Tips to Cut Your Drug Costs at http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-best-life/2008/12/9/tips-to-cut-your-drug-costs.html.
Do you have tips of your own to share? To post your reply to this question on Boomerater, go to: Cost-Cutting Tips for Prescription Drugs.
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June 13th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
As an individual consumer, you need to be more aware than ever of prescription medication price increases, and realize that there are ways you can reduce the impact of increasing prices and improve your chance of quality care.
1. Take control of your own health care
You are the ultimate decision maker for your own health care. While physicians prescribe and make recommendations for medications, you should always feel comfortable to ask questions. It is appropriate and reasonable to ask for less expensive medications. You have responsibility to participate in your own health care savings.
2. Ask the cost before you receive the service or medication
With insurance companies and HMO’s still paying for the majority of health care including pharmacy cost in the US, many physicians and consumers continue overlook the cost of care. As we know, times have changed. Consumer behavior has to change as well. Health plans are paying less and medications cost more. Patients are expected to pay more for their prescriptions. It’s time for patients to speak up about quality, safety and cost of pharmaceuticals.
Large employers, Insurance Companies and HMO’s have leveraged their position of size and strength to benefit their own interests. Their purchasing power has enabled them to negotiate substantial discounts with manufacturers and retail pharmacies alike. Instead of passing these saving on to their members they retain most of the benefit of the discounts to boost their own profit margins. Bottom line: Rx prices are going up and the consumer is paying more. The biggest losers are the uninsured, the senior with or without Medicare and the self-employer.
3. Gamesmanship at the pharmacy
Large retail pharmacy chains through contracts with health insurance companies and HMO’s, require you the consumer, to pay a minimum cost (even if the prescription drug retail price is less than your co-pay) that will insure themselves a higher profit margin. This is the “minimum prescription co-pay.” Make sure you are a player in the game…ask your pharmacy “will I save money by using my Aging with Grace/Rx discount card or is my prescription plan co-pay be less?”
4. Real life example, HUGE SAVINGS on prescriptions
A member recently purchased a 30 day supply of Tramadol. The retail cost was $22.93, her prescription benefit co-pay was $20.00. After she presented her Aging with Grace/RX discount card, she learned the cost using the card would be $10.90. By being proactive and asking the pharmacist for the retail price she was able to save $9.10.
As a consumer, you have the right to use your pharmaceutical card, or pay for the medication out of your own pocket by using the Aging with Grace/Rx discount card. In order to ensure that you are getting the best price possible, always ask what the price would be if you pay the cash price and use your discount card. If the cash price is less, then use your Aging with Grace/Rx discount card and SAVE MONEY. You always have the right to choose.
If you are paying for your own prescriptions, or your prescription co-pays continue to rise then you need the Aging with Grace/Rx card. This program gives you, the individual consumer, the same level of discounting that the HMO’s and insurance companies enjoy. The Aging with Grace/Rx program has proven to be an effective tool in lowering the impact of high prescription costs.
In these turbulent times when workplace benefits are being cut, jobs are being lost and savings depleted, we need to be well informed so we can make educated decisions to save money. Managing healthcare costs requires individual responsibility and accountability for the services and medications we utilize. Accepting that responsibility to save money will set a trend for our future health care needs. For those of us who pay our own way, the effort is worth the energy expended for the money saved!
SilverGrace/Rx providing the lowest prices possible on prescriptions at 54,000 pharmacies across the country! Download your card to start saving today.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
[...] The prescription drug bills of a senior with medical conditions can be staggering! SeniorsForLiving’s guest blogger from Boomerator.com offers some great tips on how to save money despite the rising costs of prescriptions. [...]