Get The Best Price For Your Prescriptions

It’s simple to fill your prescriptions, just go to the pharmacy and get the medicines your doctor prescribed. But as easy as it may seem, for many, it is financially hard to do. With other necessities like groceries and rent payments, paying for a high-cost medication is already too much on their plate. Thus, some skip filling a necessary prescription just to lessen their financial burdens.

Best Price For Your Prescriptions

Compared to any other aspect of health care, prescription drug prices are indeed increasing faster. The more prescriptions you have, the harder it is to afford them, even with health insurance. But there is something you can do to pay less without neglecting your doctor’s order.

In the following, we’re sharing with you how you can get the best price for your prescriptions.

Find A Prescription Assistance Program

Some states and prescription drug companies offer prescription assistance programs to help patients who can’t afford to pay for their medications. Each program works differently. Some are designed for uninsured patients, while others are for those whose insurance copayments are prohibitively expensive.

Every prescription assistance program differs in the eligibility requirements. But typically, they will evaluate your financial situation and the cost of your prescriptions.

If you qualify for the program, you can get the requested prescriptions for free or at a lower price.

Choose The Right Pharmacy

Most patients assume that all pharmacies have the same price for prescription drugs. Thus, they tend to go to the nearest pharmacy when the doctor gives a prescription. But you’d be surprised to find that their prices differ remarkably even for common medications.

In fact, it can vary by as much as ten times, according to a Consumer Reports investigation.

Shopping around different pharmacies to compare their prices is one of the best ways to ensure you get the best deal for your prescriptions. Though it might seem time-consuming, you can do it easily by using drug price comparison websites.

Instead of traditional pharmacies, you might also want to consider looking at a variety of stores. They have better prices at times.

Consider Mail-Order Prescriptions

Mail-order service is another option aside from getting your medications from a local pharmacy. By using a computer or smartphone, you can easily order and fill your prescriptions.

You can also get the best price because mail-order pharmacies have the potential of dispensing prescriptions at a lower price than other pharmacies.

In addition to that, prescriptions from mail-order typically contain a three-month supply. One study showed that the use of a three-month supply could reduce out-of-pocket costs up to 29%.

That’s a lot of money to save on more, especially if you have maintenance medications. But note that mail-order pharmacies operate through a health insurance plan.

Look For a Generic Equivalent

Seemingly, the best medicine doesn’t always mean lower cost. It’s probably one reason why many patients don’t ask about a generic alternative to their prescriptions, thinking that it wouldn’t give them the same result.

But generic drugs must contain the same active ingredients as the branded prescriptions based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules.

Since the FDA puts all generic drugs through a thorough review process, their quality, safety, and effectiveness work the same as brand-name drugs.

Thus, you can get the best deal on your prescription when you look for its generic alternative with 30% to 95% cheaper cost than the branded ones.

Use Discount Cards

If you don’t have health insurance, using a card for prescription discounts can also help you get the best medications price.

Depending on where you shop and what type of drugs you purchase, you can save as much as 80% of the original price with a discount card.

But be extra careful when using drug discount cards because some are, unfortunately, fraudulent. They only intend to take your fee without truly giving you discounts.

Thus, make sure that you will use a reliable card to get real benefits by doing thorough research and carefully examining the specific discounts for your prescription.

Consult With Your Health Insurer

Generally, your health insurance covers many prescription medicines. It means that your health insurer will reimburse the cost of your prescriptions.

However, you have to consult with your insurance company to find out which ones are covered and which ones aren’t. This way, you’d be able to discuss with your doctor which medicines cost the least on your plan.

Wrap-Up

Filling your prescription medicines can be unreasonably expensive, yet you can potentially get the best price with some research, diligence, and negotiating. However, it’s important to note that your primary concern must not save money for your prescriptions.

Because more than anything else, your health should be your priority no matter how costly the prescription price may get.