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9 Ways To Save On Your Medications

Posted: Sunday, June 06, 2010

by Angela Carter
Coastal Health Information Services

When you were first diagnosed with with your chronic illness, did you find yourself suddenly taking so many medications and supplements that you ran out of room in the place you designated just for your medications? That's what happened to me. It seemed that every time I went to the doctor they were giving me another medication. I would have one medication for my problem then another to counter act the side effects of the first one and it wasn't long before the cost of all these medications and supplements were affecting my pocketbook. I not only ran out of room in the kitchen cabinet, I started to run out of money at the end of the month. Looking back over the years, what I spent in co-payments for my medications was well over $150. I know that to most people that doesn't sound like much but when you are on a fixed income and have other debt to pay off, it comes down to whether or not to buy your medications or food, both are needed to sustain life when you have a chronic illness.

In order to save money most people will go as far as to use pill-splitting, which means that they buy pills with double the prescribed dose (this often cost a little more than pills of lesser strength) and then they will split the pills in half. Now, this doesn't work for all pills, and if you split pills that aren't designed to be split, you can end up with a dose that is either too high or too low. Then you have those people, about one in ten give or take a few, who will skip their doses all together, increasing the risk that they will get sicker.

There are some people who buy their medications from foreign Internet pharmacies, Canada comes to mind (not all prices are lower than U. S. prices). There are however a few states in the U. S., Minnesota and Wisconsin included, that have gone as far as to set up programs to help the people living in those states buy lower-cost medications from Canada and have vetted and approved a few Canadian Internet pharmacies. The problem with importing medicines from other countries is that it's illegal under the Federal Law. It's also a bit risky, because when you buy from those overseas Internet sites, you could very well end up with fake, tainted, or ineffective medicines.

There are other ways that are simpler and legal to cut your medicine costs. Here are 9 of those ways:

One of the very first things you can and should do is to talk to your doctor. Let him know your financial situation and he may know if there are any free clinics in your area or places where you can get inexpensive medicines. Or he/she may be able to give you samples, and while samples only last so long, you might want to ask if there is some way you can possibly cut out some of your medications or at least cut back on the dosage. To help your doctor decide whether this would be feasible, you will want to keep track of any changes in how you feel after you have started a new medicine. By keeping a list of the medications you're taking, prescription, over-the-counter and supplements, will help the doctor to see if there are any unnecessary medications because it's doing the same thing another medication is doing. Besides, the doctor will be able to spot any other problems with medicines interacting as well.

Now days there are many medications that have a generic form or non-brand versions that are very inexpensive compared to the name brands. A pharmaceutical company has an exclusive number of years to make money on a patented drug before it is opened to other companies ability to manufacture a generic version of it, and there are several widely used drugs that have come off their patent or at least soon will be. A generic version of a drug is suppose to have the same active ingredients as the brand-name version, and like the brand-named versions, it has to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The reason I say that the generics are suppose to have the same active ingredients as the brand-name is that I have had a generic form of a brand-name drug that didn't work as well as another generic form of the same brand-name but came from a different pharmacy. When I asked the pharmacist about it I was told that different drug companies use different forms of the active ingredients. Some will use a generic form of the brand-name drug as their active ingredient. Even if you have insurance that covers your prescriptions you can still save money by using generics. Why is that? The co-pays are often lower than for the brand-name. There will be some medicines that can not be safely substituted for, such as anticoagulants.

Just because a newer drug comes out doesn't make it better. The newer versions of old medicines already on the market are usually more expensive and just because it is a newer version of an old drug doesn't make it more effective. A newer version of an old drug can mean that there are improvements that have been made to the old drug. Improvements doesn't mean that it is better, it could mean that the only difference is that it can be taken once a day instead of several times a day.

If you have health insurance, more than likely your insurance company offers mail order. Mail order can be both convenient and save you money on your co-pays. Buying a 90 day supply of a drug by mail order can be, at least most of the time, cheaper then buying a 30 day supply. You will be paying one co-payment instead of three not to mention that you will save on gas because you're not driving to the pharmacy every month to pick up your medications. Mail order can be done over the phone or on the Internet and all you have to do is ask your doctor to write a prescription for a 90 day supply of any drug you take on a daily basis. When you call you will give the prescription number and a payment method and that's it. I've tried this method because at the time my pain levels were so bad I just wasn't able to drive to the pharmacy. When my prescription came in the mail, the bottle was broken and the pills were all over the inside. After that I didn't do it again. My pharmacist had me bring the bottle in because she said the tablets were contaminated and that I shouldn't take them.
There are many pharmaceutical companies who have programs to help you if you can't afford your prescribed medications. All you have to do is to call their toll-free number, or check the several Web sites that are set up to help you find patient assistance programs that you may be eligible for. When you apply for these programs, your income will be checked to see if you meet their criteria. There's a great deal of paperwork involved, but if your income is low enough, you could get a drastic reduced or even free medications. You also might want to visit you states health department and ask whether or not they have a pharmacy assistance program and to find out if you are eligible. Most of these programs do have an income requirements.
There are several useful Web sites for finding appropriate assistance programs and I will list those sites in the source box at the end of this article. On most of these sites you will have to complete a short questionnaire, and you'll be given a list of low-cost/free medicine programs you may be eligible for. Another site that is sponsored be the National Council on Aging and it helps people over 55 to connect with private and public medicine assistance programs.

There are yet other Web sites that approach saving money a little differently. There are some websites that take a look at commonly prescribed drugs for 16 health conditions, gives a price range for each drug used to treat a particular condition, and then it compares the safety and effectiveness of those drugs. This way if you find a drug that compares with the one you're taking but it cost less, you will have the opportunity to ask your doctor about changing your prescription.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Web site is another site that compares medicine in the same category as the medicines you are taking but in a price range you can afford. It also digs deeper into the drug assistance programs, generic drugs and pill splitting. There is yet another site that will suggest alternative generic and brand-name drugs in the same category as the one you're taking, and then you can check with your doctor to see if there is a cheaper alternative. Also, once you know what medications you'll be taking, you'll be able to do some comparison shopping on destinationrx.com. They scan numerous online, mail-order, and retail pharmacies to find the lowest prices the drug is being offered for.

If you are thinking about buying you medications online because the prices are lower, then you will need to look the VIPPS seal of approval. VIPPS stands for Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site and assures you that the site you have decided to purchase your medications from is not a fly-by-night and disreputable and that it meets the standards set by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy for quality assurance, safety, and patient confidentiality. It is only U. S. pharmacies are eligible for a VIPPS seal.

You have different pharmacies who charge completely different amounts for the same drug, so it might be a good idea to call or visit three or four pharmacies in your area to compare their prices before you get your prescription filled. WalMart, Sam's Club, and Neighborhood Market Pharmacies will fill your 30-day prescription for many generic forms of the brand-named medications for only $4. Target also has the same type of program in many of their pharmacies. And then you have the discount cards that some stores and pharmacy chains offer, but if you shop around, you will probably get your drugs cheaper elsewhere without a discount card.

There are several states who have developed drug comparison Web sites. Usually these sites list the most commonly used drugs and compare their prices from most or all of the pharmacies in the state. You will want to use the site to compare prices at your local pharmacies. Just call your states government to see if they have a site like this.

Do you have a Medicare Part D prescription plan? It is just as important to shop around if you are enrolled or you're planning to enroll in Medicare Part D prescription plan. You have to think about the total price different plans pay for the drugs you take. The total price is how much you pay for a drug plus how much the plan pays. It is more likely that you'll be able to avoid the period after you and your plan together have spent a certain amount on your medications, $2,400 in 2007, if you can lower the total price for your meds. You will end up paying for all your drug costs yourself until your out-of-pocket expense for the year reaches your maximum and then your medicine costs will drop dramatically. You will want to ask you doctor to prescribe generics or at least the cheapest brand-name drugs. And if your Medicare Part D plan offers mail-order, then use it.

There are some pharmaceutical companies that will let people with Part D coverage enroll in their assistance programs. Call the company who your interested in acquiring your drugs from and ask them about their Medicare Part D policy. Remember, though that you will not be able to claim medications acquired through patient assistance programs towards your out-of-pocket maximum.

Many state pharmacy assistance programs are coordinated with Medicare Part D to lower your prescription cost for low-income people. You can contact your state health department to get details or go to Medicare's Web site listed in source box.

Public health officials believe that you can cut the cost of your medications by exercising. Actually, they are right. Regular physical activity can help in controlling you pain and help you to lose weight which by itself can cut arthritis pain because it takes some of the stress off your joints. If you have less pain, you might be able to stop taking some medicines, or at least cut the doses. There are programs that promote physical activity and weight reduction to reduce pain that are funded by The Centers for Disease Control. The YMCA and the Arthritis Foundation offer all kinds of exercise programs as well as some community centers.

You may want to consider switching doctors when all else fails. Your doctor doesn't have to be a rheumatologists either, he/she can be a pain specialist or even an internist. But, if you need a rheumatologist you can log onto the Arthritis Foundation Web site or the American College of Rheumatology and click on to the "Find a Member" tab.

Angela Carter is a 55 year old disabled women. Living in Savannah, GA and is the owner of Coastal Health Information Services, a health information gathering service. http://www.coastalhealthinfoservicedotcom.wordpress.com and http://chisarthritisinfo.blogspot.com

Angela Carter has been disabled since 1999 after surgery on her knee and diagnosed with Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatique, Restleg Syndrome, IBS, and HepC. She had total knee replacement in 2007 after the arthritis in her knee went unchecked for 10 years. In 2010 she was diagnosed with Sjogren's (show-grin's) syndrome and gout. She has never given in or quit living because of her disabilities, she has just had to reevaluate her activities.

Her articles have been published on EZine.com, Self-Growth.com, Article Base and her article "Resilience: Do You Have What It Takes To Bounce Back" was mentioned in The World Federation for Mental Health report on Oct. 10, 2010.

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