When something ails you, your doctor has a choice of numerous prescriptions to try to help you feel better. Unfortunately, prescriptions today seem to be getting more and more expensive, while pocketbooks are getting thinner and thinner. Here are some of our best tips to help you save money on your prescriptions.
Health Insurance
If you have a good health insurance plan, you can save hundreds, and sometimes thousands on your prescriptions each year. Try to get an insurance plan that allows you to pay a deductible rather than a percentage. For example, a deductible program for prescriptions may require you to pay only $10 on a $200 prescription, while a percentage-pay program may require you to pay as much as 50 percent of the cost of your prescriptions. That can really add up.
Prescription Card
Sometimes you can’t get great coverage for prescriptions with your health insurance, and other times, you simply can’t get health insurance at all. In these instances, a prescription card is an option. This works somewhat like a club. You pay a yearly or monthly premium or “fee” to be a member of the club, or to carry the prescription card. Then you get discounts on prescriptions at the pharmacy. This is a good option if you know you or members of your family will need prescriptions on a regular basis throughout the year. People who are generally healthy usually forego the prescription card and fees in favor of their hopefully good chances for saving more money by simply paying for any prescriptions needed (if any at all) throughout the year.
Use Generics
One of the best ways to save money on prescriptions, even if you have insurance or a prescription card, is to choose generics. Generics are made with the same formulation, only they do not have a name brand attached. Many insurance companies and discount prescription clubs will reward you with further discounts when you choose generics over name brands. If you have to pay for your own prescriptions, you will notice a significant difference in the price between generics and name brands, but you won’t notice a difference in their effectiveness.
Ask for Alternatives
Instead of running to your doctor and asking him or her for a prescription, be open to other options. Many times, doctors will give you prescriptions for the ease, but if you ask for non-medicine recommendations, your doctor might be able to give you a natural alternative that can work just as well, and will help balance your system.
Ask for Combinations
When I had a killer cold, and my doctor knew I was on a tight budget, instead of loading me down with fancy prescriptions, he recommended special dosages of a few different over-the-counter medications. But then he went a step further and gave me a prescription for an $8 combination of the over-the-counters. Ask your doctor if a cheaper combination exists if you need multiple prescriptions for the same ailment.
Stay Healthy
Do what you can to keep your health in top form to prevent the need for expensive prescriptions. Follow your mom’s advice: eat a balanced diet, exercise, drink plenty of water, take your vitamins — you know the drill.
By D. Blair Thompson