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Save up to 80% off on prescription drugs. Find out the secret to affordable health care! You can save money on prescriptions even if you don’t have insurance. Savings Money on Prescription drugs is a must for all of us. Get these tips for saving money on prescription drugs.
Can You Save On Prescription Drugs? Yes, You Can!
Eventually, all of us need to go to the doctor. And prescriptions are expensive—there’s no two ways about it.
Without a doubt, depending on how old we really are, he or she will prescribe some kind of medication to us. Whether a diabetic, or someone who can’t keep our blood pressure under control, medication can be a real challenge to find at a reasonable price.
Even those of us with insurance find that the copay can be rather large and wonder why we even have coverage. Health care costs in America are over $3 trillion annually and increasing at well above the inflation rate.
There are a few ways you can cut your prescription costs substantially. Here are a few strategies to help you save on prescriptions.
Tips For Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
Health Savings Account
You can save at least one-third of the cost of most prescription drugs by paying with pre-tax dollars. The way to do this is to make a contribution to an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) or HSA (Health Savings Account).
You only want to contribute the amount you believe you’ll need based on your current health behavior. Take into account all your yearly doctor’s visits, including eye exams and how often you need prescription refills. I usually add in a few extra visits to the doctor in case one of the kids needs an extra sick visit.
FSAs generally don’t allow you to carry money from one year to the next, so take care not to elect more than you will need.
It is also very important to know your health savings account plan, as most do have limits in terms of yearly deductions.
Discount Prescription Drug Programs
Many pharmacies, including grocery stores, have some kind of program for discounted prescriptions. For example, Walmart grocery store has a generic drug program that will allow anyone, with or without insurance, access to over 400 drugs at a price of $4 a refill (view list here).
Three months’ supplies for these same prescriptions could cost an upward of $50 or more.
This is much cheaper than a lot of insurance programs that want at least $10 a month for basic generic pills. If you are someone who needs half a dozen of these prescriptions filled, you can imagine the savings you will have by going this route, as opposed to going to big pharmacies with also big prices.
Check around your local area for some stores that take part in this. For some reason, it seems some of the best prices and ways to save on prescription drugs come from grocery store chain pharmacies.
Make sure you check out Inside RX. I just love this discount card.
Discount Prescription Cards
If you are unfortunate enough to need some newer, very expensive pills, there is also a way to save on prescription drugs for those as well. You just ask them for a discount. You can visit the manufacturer’s website to request a discount card.
For example, if you need to get a prescription filled for Lyrica, you can go to lyrica.com. Then go to the Lyrica answers area, and request a discount card that will cover (depending on your insurance with this one) everything up to a $25 dollar copay.
That’s pretty good considering this pill can run you 60 dollars or more with insurance! Other big costing prescription pills, such as Uloric for gout, also have discount cards on their website.
If Possible Choose Generic Versus Brand Name Prescription Medications
Determine whether your drug is newer to the market. Brand name prescription drugs that are sold by one drug maker are at a premium. If it is available as a generic product, they are often much cheaper and sold by multiple companies. If you’re unsure, always ask your doctor.
Again, Walmart and Costco, sell generics at discounted prices, just $4 a prescription, which may be less than your insurance is asking you to pay.
And if there is no generic version of the medications you take regularly, keep in mind that one might be on its way.
Ask Your Pharmacist
Make your pharmacist part of your health care team. Pharmacists will know if drug companies are running any current prescription promotions. They might also give you coupons for certain drugs or manufacturers. These are things that your doctor may not know about, but your pharmacist will.
If you are visiting an independent pharmacy, they may also be able to work with you and your current budget. It really never hurts you to just ask for help.
Always do a little research if you can before filling your prescription. It never hurts to ask your doctor as well. They understand that everyone is on a budget.
We all pay so much for health care. Whether or not insured. It really pays you to do a little research to find what you need, so you can save on prescription drugs and are not always paying top dollar. Don’t let the high prices be the reason you don’t take your medication!
If there are other helpful tips that you have learned, we would love to hear all about it. Please leave us a comment below.
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Gary @ Super Saving Tips says
Great tips. Sometimes it pays to ask your pharmacist what the medication would cost if you paid for it yourself (not use your insurance), because occasionally it costs less that way. Also, for some medications, your doctor can write you a prescription for double the dose (at the same cost) and you can split the pills in half so you get twice the medication for the same cost. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to find out if your medication is safe to split.