How to Save Money on Health Care – Part 5
In this series of articles we give you some great tips on how to save money on health care.
Part 5 is about reducing the amount you spend on prescription drugs. Prescription drugs can be expensive but you can save money with these useful ideas.
Part 5: Save on Prescription Drugs
Use generic equivalents over brand-name drugs
The generic version of a drug should have the same active ingredients and be just as effective as the brand-name drug. Generic drugs are usually less expensive than the brand-name version; therefore many health insurance plans provide incentives to use generic drugs.
If your insurance policy does not provide coverage for prescription drugs, be sure to ask your doctor if a lower-cost generic version of the drug is available. If a prescription from your doctor doesn't distinguish between the brand-name drug and the generic version, be sure to ask your pharmacist if a lower-cost generic version is available.
At times your doctor may not prescribe the generic version, and in these situations you should trust their professional advice. It may be that certain generic drugs have different inactive ingredients and your doctor wants to avoid giving you a particular ingredient.
Ask if there is an over-the-counter substitute
If your health insurance plan doesn't include drug coverage, or if your co-payment is high, ask your doctor if there is an over-the-counter (OTC) alternative to your prescription medication. An OTC drug may be just as effective but only be a fraction of the cost of the prescription drug.
Order your prescription drugs by phone, online or by mail
You may be able to save money by ordering your prescriptions by phone, online or by mail. You may also save money by ordering larger quantities at a time, such as ordering a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply.
Don't order large quantities until you know the drug is right for you
If your doctor prescribes you a drug for the first time, consider asking for a test supply first before ordering a large quantity. You don't want to pay for a month-long supply if you find out in a week it doesn't alleviate your problem or gives you uncomfortable side-effects.
Use a pill-splitter
It is often cheaper to buy drugs in larger doses and split them in half. For example, instead of buying 100 pills of 100mcg each, you could buy 50 pills of 200mcg each and split each pill in half. Pill-splitters are widely available and relatively inexpensive.
There are a number of situations where it is unsafe to split a prescription medication, so always discuss it with your doctor first.
Only take prescription drugs you need
When your doctor gives you a prescription, understand exactly why you need it and how long you need to keep taking it. Determine if you really need it and if it is worth the cost.
