Prescription prices are putting the bite on household budgets. The recession is amplifying the pain as workers lose health coverage and employers cut back on drug benefits. More Americans are being forced to choose between buying food and buying medicine.
Still, there are plenty of ways to save money if you're willing to expend some effort. You'll need to be honest about your finances. You'll also have to educate yourself about pharmaceuticals, know your health plan, become a savvy shopper -- even beg on occasion.
"It really pays to do your research and be a smart consumer," said Roba Whiteley, executive director of Together Rx Access, a pharmaceutical industry-funded program that provides free and discounted drugs to the uninsured and working poor.
So, before you skip a dose, read on to learn how to play the medicine game.
Read the fine print
If you have health insurance, the first step to saving is to learn how your plan works.
You might have smaller co-payments if you fill prescriptions through the mail or at particular pharmacies.
Health plans give members an incentive to choose cheaper medicines through a tiered system of co-payments. The least expensive drugs might have a co-payment of $10 to $15, sometimes less, for a 30-day supply. More expensive drugs might be $25 or more. Some pharmaceuticals won't be covered at all.
Ask your doctor to check the plan and judge which is the least expensive, but still effective, drug for your condition.
Talk to the doc
If you're uninsured, strapped for cash or have a stingy insurance plan, tell your doctors. They can help.
Granada Hills allergist Jacob Offenberger sends uninsured patients home with samples. Others get prescriptions for the least expensive generics. Patients with high co-payments get rebate cards or coupons, often issued by the big drug manufacturers, for discounts on prescriptions.
Doctors should review your medicines periodically to see whether there are cheaper alternatives, or whether you still need them.
For example, Offenberger said, "Some people . . . need asthma medicines only during certain seasons."
Generics rule
A generic drug is a pharmaceutical no longer under patent protection. These medications are sold over the counter or at low cost as a generic prescription.
