Saving Money on Prescription Medication: Part III

** Information in this medication post series should not be construed as medical or financial advice.  Please consult your doctor or pharmacist to discuss your personal pharmacological needs. 

Medication is expensive.  Sometimes prohibitively expensive.  Billions of dollars are spent every year by pharmaceutical companies on R&D, clinical trials, marketing, advertising and branding.  Likewise, those costs are passed on to the consumer.  Thus, patients everywhere are faced with paying tens if not hundreds of dollars per prescription medication.  Thankfully, there are a few ways to help lessen the financial impact on your wallet.

Saving Money on Prescription Medication:  Part I

Saving Money on Prescription Medication:  Part II

HSA to Pay

According to Wikipedia, a Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax advantaged savings account available to those taxpayers with High Deductible Insurance Plans.  The funds contributed to the account are not subject to income tax at the time of the deposit and the money rolls over from year to year.  Consider taking advantage of these tax savings accounts to pay for your prescription medication.  You can even use these accounts for over-the-counter medication if you have a doctor's prescription.

Use Scrip to Pay
The Substitute Currency Reaps in Profits (SCRIP) program is another great way to save a few pennies when paying for your prescription medication.  Pharmacies at Kroger, Walmart, Target and Kmart participate in the SCRIP program.  You can use Lands End SCRIP at Kmart and take advantage of their 17% SCRIP credit.

Rewards on Credit Card

If you don't participate in the SCRIP program or have an HSA account, consider using a reward type credit card to earn points or cash back on your medication purchase.  Obviously this method is only money-saving if you pay off your credit card in full each month to avoid interest charges and late fees.

Redeem Coupons for Gift Cards

Many pharmacies offer gift card incentives for new or transferred prescriptions.  Kroger has an apparently ongoing promotion offering $25 for transferred prescriptions.  My parents have received Meijer Catalina coupons (those coupons that print out at the register) for a $10 or $20 gift card with a new or transferred prescription.  Target frequently has a coupon in their ad for a $10 gift card with a new or transferred prescription.  Walgreens has also run similar promotions in the past.  If you do run across a pharmacy coupon, I would cut it out and save it right away even if you don't anticipate any upcoming prescription medication needs.  If you have family or friends if they have any coupons before you go to a pharmacy empty handed.

Saving Money on Prescription Medication: Part II

** Information in this medication post series should not be construed as medical or financial advice.  Please consult your doctor or pharmacist to discuss your personal pharmacological needs. 

Medication is expensive.  Sometimes prohibitively expensive.  Billions of dollars are spent every year by pharmaceutical companies on R&D, clinical trials, marketing, advertising and branding.  Likewise, those costs are passed on to the consumer.  Thus, patients everywhere are faced with paying tens if not hundreds of dollars per prescription medication.  Thankfully, there are a few ways to help lessen the financial impact on your wallet.

Saving Money on Prescription Medication:  Part I

COUPONS:

When your doctor prescribes you a new medication that does not have a generic equivalent or the name brand is preferred, ask if the drug rep left any coupons, rebates, or $0 co-pay programs.  You may get lucky.


SAMPLES:

Pharmaceutical reps often give doctor offices little trial sized (or sometimes full bottles) samples of the medications they are representing.  If you are waiting for your mail order Rx to come in and you run out of a medication, ask your doctor if they have a sample you can use until your medicine arrives.  You could also consider asking for a sample of your child's medication to use overnight until you have a chance to get to the pharmacy the next morning.  If the samples are available, your doctor might not mind giving you a freebie once in a while.  The doctors office might get a little irritated or upset if you are asking for samples every time you walk through their doors.


ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:

Some pharmaceutical companies offer prescription assistance programs to help the non or under insured population afford their prescription medication.  Participants in these programs might be eligible to receive free or reduced medication.  Patients can fill out the program application online.  The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a great site with a very detailed listing of companies and states that offer heath and prescription assistance program.


SPLIT YOUR PILLS:

If you take a 50 milligram pill and it comes in a 100 milligram dose, consider asking your practitioner to write an Rx for higher dose.  You would need to purchase a pill splitting device to halve the larger dose.  Beware, though, of different opinions on this practice and be sure to discuss your intent with your physician.  This practice will not work with gel caps, time-release medications or capsules.


Come back next Wednesday for Part III of Saving Money on Prescription Medications.

Saving Money on Prescription Medications: Part I

** Information in this medication post series should not be construed as medical or financial advice.  Please consult your doctor or pharmacist to discuss your personal pharmacological needs. 

Medication is expensive.  Sometimes prohibitively expensive.  Billions of dollars are spent every year by pharmaceutical companies on R&D, clinical trials, marketing, advertising and branding.  Likewise, those costs are passed on to the consumer.  Thus, patients everywhere are faced with paying tens if not hundreds of dollars per prescription medication.  Thankfully, there are a few ways to help lessen the financial impact on your wallet.

FREE MEDICATION:

The best way to save money on medications is not to pay for it at all!  Meijer offers a handful of free oral, generic antibiotics, especially those that are prescribed most often for children.  Women can get free prenatal vitamins to be used while trying to get pregnant, during pregnancy or while nursing.  Diabetic patients can get free Metformin Immediate Release tablets along with taking advantage of other diabetic help programs through the pharmacy.


PREFERRED BRANDS:

Print off a list of your preferred medication brands, or formulary, and take it with you to the doctor.  It will helpful to be able to present this to your doctor, and they can choose which medication they would like to prescribe while staying within your preferred list.  Medications that are not on your preferred list are often much more expense.  This simple act will save you, your doctor, the nurses, your insurance company and the pharmacy countless hours and dollars.


GENERICS:

Consider investigating whether your name brand medication has a generic substitute.  Pharmacists say generics work just as well as name brand medications.  They undergo the same rigorous clinical trials and testing as brand names.  They just don't have fancy commercials asking the patients to request their medicine from the doctors.  Even if your doctor confesses that there is not a generic available and s/he still thinks that it is the best medication for you, make a mental note to ask again at your bi-annual or annual check-up to see if anything has been recently approved.


$4 PLANS:

Many pharmacies offer reduced pricing plans such as the $4 plan pioneered by Walmart Pharmacy.  Many common, generic medications are available with a prescription for $4 for a 30 day supply or for $10 for a 90 day supply.  Again, it might be helpful to print off the $4 Walmart Drug List and take it with you to the doctor. If you leave your appointment with an Rx, you can easily refer to it before deciding at which pharmacy to have it filled. CVS, Target and Kroger Pharmacies also offer reduced priced drug plans. 


MAIL ORDER:

Look into mail ordering a 90-day supply of your medication, whether brand name or generic.  Co payments may be significantly lower through the mail than getting a 30-day supply filled at a traditional walk-in pharmacy.  If you have a health plan with drug coverage, you most likely have the opportunity to use a mail order service.  The largest Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBM) are Medco, Caremark and Express Scripts.  Walmart and Walgreens also offers a mail order service.


More ways to save money on prescription medication next week....