Our parents (and we, ourselves) often take
what the doctor prescribes without question and we end up being shocked at the price of the drug. We shouldn't be
embarrassed to ask our doctor questions about the costs of prescribed mediction, as well as medical tests. Our
doctors may not keep up with the costs of these, or he may assume our insurance company will take care of the added cost;
if this is the case, we need to educate our doctors!
Ways to save money on prescription drugs.
(Sorry.
I forgot to copy the source of these tips. pg)
1.
Tell your doctor you can't afford the drugs he's prescribing.
According to the Consumer Reports survey, only 4 percent of those polled said they'd had a conversation with their
doctors about the cost of a drug. You shouldn't hesitate to talk to your doctor about prices; these days, many people can't
afford the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs.
"There's
such an embarrassment level," Rodman said. "They stop taking the drugs, and they never tell me why."
2. Ask your doctor whether there's a generic that would work just
as well.
It's amazing how much money you can
save with this one little question. For example, if your doctor prescribes Lunesta, a sleeping pill, you could end up paying
about $93 for 15 doses. Switch to zolpidem, which is the generic form of Ambien, and you'll pay $33 for the same number of
doses, according to Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.
To make it really easy, bring in a list of the $4
generics sold at your local pharmacy and hand it to your doctor. If there isn't a generic that will work for your particular
problem, ask whether there might be a less-expensive brand name available. Santa suggests wording it like this: "Can
you tell me about other options that would cost me less?"
3. Ask the pharmacist for less-expensive alternatives.
If you didn't get a good answer from your doctor, ask your pharmacist whether there's a less-expensive drug in the
same class as the one your doctor prescribed.
4. Use
mail order.
You'll save money. Of course, this won't
work when you need medicines immediately (for example, antibiotics for an infection), but mail order often works well for
medicines you need to take long-term.
5. Find a prescription
assistance program.
There are several out there to
help people who can't afford their prescription drugs. Consumer Reports has advice on choosing a prescription assistance plan.
6. Be suspicious of free samples.
Samples are indeed enticing. But what a lot of people don't know is that samples are often for the most expensive
drugs on the market. Although the samples will help you out for a month or two, after that, you'll have to start forking over
the big bucks by yourself. For more information, see http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/24/ep.samples/index.html.
7. Don't push for what you see on TV.
Just as samples are often for the pricey drugs, TV commercials are also often for
pricey drugs -- and drugs that don't necessarily work any better than cheaper alternatives. If you ask for what you see on
TV, there's a chance your doctor might prescribe it -- and you'll get sticker shock at the pharmacy.
8. Split drugs with caution.
Sometimes you really can save money by asking your doctor to prescribe a double dosage of a drug and then splitting
the pills in half. But there are safe and unsafe ways to split drugs, and some drugs should never be split at all. See Consumer Report's guidance on splitting drugs below this article.
There's a flip side to this. Let's say you're taking 10mg of a drug, and it's not
working, so your doctor ups your dose to 20 mg. Don't take two of the 10mg pills, warns Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical
officer at Medco, a prescription drug insurance company. That'll end up costing you money, because you'll go through your
drugs twice as fast. "Instead, ask for a single pill that has the higher strength," Epstein advised.
9. If you don't have insurance, shop around.
Pharmacies sometimes charge very different prices for the same drugs. In fact, Consumer Reports found that prices
for the same bottle of pills can vary by more than $100.
10. Ask for a review.
You may be taking medicines you don't need, especially if you see a variety of doctors who don't talk to one another
about what they're prescribing. "Bring your drugs in to one doctor and say, 'Do I need to be taking all these?' "
Epstein said.
