Here’s how to save money on prescriptions!
The older we get, the more prescriptions we need, and that’s just something we need to adjust to. You might slowly but surely need to be more careful with what you eat, with your heart health, or even with your joints, because, as much as we’d like to feel like 20-year-olds, we won’t anymore.
Not in this lifetime, at least. That’s why we need to start finding ways to save money on prescriptions because if we buy anything that the doctor recommends, we’ll probably go broke in a couple of months.
Well, I guess we both agree that’s not how we want to spend our lives, right? If you’re looking for efficient ways to save a couple of bucks on medication, here’s how to do it:
Ask your doctor for multiple alternatives.
If you’re hit by a sticker shock at the pharmacy, I totally get you. However, you should try to talk to your doctor about it. Doctors don’t always know the full price of the drugs they prescribe, so it might prove helpful to ask for multiple solutions.
You can tell them you might have trouble paying for the medication they recommend and even ask for other, less expensive alternatives. Or, you can even ask if generics would work, because those are definitely cheaper.
As far as we can tell, the FDA has already approved over 10,000 generic drugs, and that’s actually a great deal, especially since they might cost up to 85% less than other brand-name versions. Your doctor could even give you drug samples, too.
Choose the right pharmacy.
You might want to check with your health insurance plan for additional discounts that you can specifically find at some pharmacies. You might find some inside supermarkets, such as Kroger, Albertsons, and Publix, but also in stores like Target and Walmart.
Generally, that’s an efficient method to save money on prescriptions, so you should definitely give it a try. Drug prices are much lower in some pharmacies, and that’s mainly because the insurance companies negotiate prices with them.
Whenever you shop for different types of medical insurance, looking into specific pharmacy discounts is a good way to compare plans.
Get familiar with the formulary.
If you take medication on a regular basis, you need to know your insurance plan’s drug formulary. Trust me, it helps, especially if you want to save money on prescriptions.
First, it tells you and your doctor in which price category and tier you will find a certain drug and how much it might cost you to pay out of pocket.
For example, Tier 1 is the least expensive one. You could also find it on the insurer’s website or even call them to ask about a specific drug. There’s also another way to compare benefits and costs, especially if you’re willing to switch health insurance plans.
Get help from drug companies.
Plenty of drugmakers have a generous list of patient assistance programs on their websites. Why? Well, these lists were made for people who can’t afford brand-name drugs, and I personally think that’s a great idea.
If you want to apply, you might have to show proof of income and other types of required documentation. The Medicine Assistance Tool will let you search for PAPs from multiple drug companies.
All you have to do is plug in the name of your medications, especially since some drug companies might also offer copay discount programs for people with health insurance.
Buy in bulk.
If you take daily medications, then you might get a huge discount when you stock up. For instance, some Medicare Part D plans will offer 90-day mail-order generics at zero cost.
Plenty of chain pharmacies will also sell 90-day supplies at a discount, at the store, or even via mail order. You could even save a bit more by buying up to a year’s supply of some generics.
All you have to do is keep in mind that you can’t return any unused drugs. Just ask your doctor if they could prescribe your medicines like this, so you can save more on prescriptions.
Size up online RX services.
Alternative prescription delivery services can be easily found everywhere these days. You might find what you need at Costco, HealthWarehouse, and even Amazon, as they also have full-service pharmacies.
There are also others like ScriptCo, Ro.co, HoneybeeHealth.com, or even GeniusRx.com and CostPlusDrugs.com that would offer generic drugs.
Before buying anything, weigh their annual membership fees against the lower prices and see how much you’d save. Some drugs cost way less than insurance copays, but you still shouldn’t count them toward your deductible.
Find apps to compare prescription prices.
If you enter the drug and the dosage, these free tools will show you prices at local stores. Just click on the choice you prefer to get a digital coupon, as some might even let you order at home.
One of the best ones is GoodRx because it has a membership plan that covers 1,000 medications for less than $10 per prescription. There are also others, like RxSaver, SingleCare, PharmacyChecker, or even Blink and WebMDRx. When you decide to use these apps, you also bypass insurance.
Pay with a pretax health account
When you decide to contribute an amount of what you’ve earned to these accounts, you also save the taxes you would have paid on that income. Well, with a flexible spending account given by your employer, you submit claims and also get repaid.
However, you have to use these funds within a certain time frame. If you’re in a qualified high-deductible health insurance plan, you can easily set up a health savings account.
As you probably know by now, HSA money rolls over from year to year. I personally find this trick extremely helpful, especially if you want to save money on prescriptions.
Check out national assistance programs.
NeedyMeds has plenty of resources for uninsured people, such as free help to find and file paperwork for many PAPs. If you have insurance but could still use some help, just try the Patient Advocate Foundation’s Co-Pay Relief program.
The Assistance Fund has plenty of other programs that would help cover drug copays and various other medical expenses.
Tap into savings for seniors.
If you’re an older adult with limited income, the National Council on Aging’s BenefitsCheckUp search tool will help you find 2,500 programs that will help you with prescription drugs and many others.
You could also qualify for Extra Help, a subsidy for people on Medicare Part D with low incomes. You can get extra help automatically if you already have Medicaid and Medicare to get Supplemental Security Income.
Join an RX plan where you shop.
Some drug and supermarket chains will have their own discount programs. For example, the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club has plenty of generics that you can find between $7.50 and $15 for a 30-day supply, or even $15-$30 for 90 days. Annual membership is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family.
The Kroger Rx Savings Club costs somewhere around $36 for an individual and $72 for a family, and some medications are $3 for a 30-day supply or even $6 for 90 days. Some won’t cost you anything.
Are you looking to buy some vitamins? Why bother going through all the hassle when you can just order them from here?
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