More ways to lower your health care costs.
I’m starting to get to that age where the need for medication is beginning to creep up on me. And I’m starting to notice just how much prescriptions and medications can quickly add up and infringe on our carefully structured budget.
10 Ways To Cut Costs On Prescription Medication
When you’re young, your budget for health-related items tends to be quite low; your expenses usually relate to diet, exercise and the occasional visit to the physician. But over time, medical matters start adding up.
A few years ago, I was combating a mystery condition that cost me upwards of $275 a month from prescriptions and doctor’s visits. To this day, I have never found a diagnosis, but luckily, a lifestyle change seems to have vanquished my physical symptoms (could it have been stress?). Back then, I definitely could have used a few tips to manage my costs. For those who continue to live with the need for ongoing medication, here are some suggestions to control your budget. Here’s my countdown to cheaper medicine!
10. Ask your doctor for options. Generic medications are considered by the medical community to be as effective as brand name alternatives.
9. Order prescriptions by mail. Mail order prescriptions can be relatively cheaper than those picked up in your pharmacy.
8. Keep fit with diet and exercise. Remember that an ounce of prevention is always the better deal. Check out these affordable ways to stay healthy and these cheap ways to exercise!
7. Buy generic or over the counter if it’s possible.
6. Buy in bulk if you’ve got an ongoing need for a specific medication. It may cost less at some places like at shopping clubs.
5. Should you cheat? Some people suggest splitting pills or taking medication less frequently. But this would entail altering the suggested dosage. Check with your physician before attempting this strategy: make doubly sure that you aren’t tampering with your medication’s potency or that you aren’t making it less effective.
4. Buy the same medication abroad. Some countries have the same drug products at less cost.
3. Use your health savings account at work in an optimal fashion. Check with your HR department about how to best use the health benefits you have.
2. Comparison shop and keep your eye out for discounts.
1. Use Medtipster! I just stumbled onto this cool new tool which I’m introducing below.
Get A Cheap Prescription and Discount Medication Using Medtipster
Medtipster has a really great premise, and so far, I found the features very helpful. The success of the site will hinge upon the quality and quantity of data it’s got in its database. If you need to do some basic research on a particular drug or prescription, then this is a good place to start. Here’s what Medtipster will try to give you:
- It will identify discount generic programs for the prescribed drugs you need. Many programs offer discounted prices at $4 or less.
- It will specify which pharmacies in your local area carry discount programs, along with prices/costs.
- Not all drugs can be found at discount, but the site will notify you when discounts become available or if there are other options you can consider.
Here are a few snapshots I took when I searched for the drug “Synthroid” (a thyroid medication) in my local area:
Search Results
Pharmacy Locations for Discount Programs
Other interesting features and notes about Medtipster:
- You can use the site to search for pharmacies in your area that offer shots, immunizations, health screenings and mini-clinics.
- The site promises to incorporate non-pharmacy locations in the future.
- You can reach a registered pharmacist on call for Q & A via email or phone (on a given schedule). Her name is “PharmaSueAnn”.
- There is a medical tips section as well as a forum.
Medtipster certainly looks like a promising resource for those of us having to deal with prescriptions. Hope you can share with us how well (or not) this tool works out for you!
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Great suggestions especially with the rising cost of medicare.
Check with your doctor to see if the medication you are taking is cheaper with higher dose pills.
Sometimes a 20mg tablets is priced less per mg than a 10mg pill.
Say you need a 10mg tablet. In such cases a physician will often allow you to use a pill cutter to cut a 20 mg the tablets in half saving you money.
“A few years ago, I was combating a mystery condition that cost me upwards of $275 a month from prescriptions and doctor’s visits.”
Sounds like my life story. It’s amazing how long it takes before a doctor suggests, “Maybe you’re allergic to wheat.”
I’d never heard of Medtipster until now. Looks pretty neat. 🙂
Mike,
Oh my! That was one of the things that may actually be triggering the strange symptoms. Gluten…. I felt better when I eliminated it, but I also think that stress was a huge part of the equation. These days, I can tolerate gluten in small amounts, though I think I should really swear off it completely. Talk about tough! But yes, 2 or 3 years of this nonsense and finally I tossed the doctors, went more holistic, tweaked the diet a bit and well… left the rat race for now. 😉
Prescription meds is one of the biggest rip-offs you can imagine. I’ve sourced alternatives for my elderly parents, and they are saving a lot of hard earned pension cash that way!
great advice.. I think saving is a habit and every penny saved on these things do add up in the end…Thanks for the nice article.
Medtipster is a great website, I was not aware that such a website exists. I have bookmarked it and will use it from time to time.
Thanks for sharing MedTipster.
I like that they recommend therapeutic alternatives. I tried to get my primary care doctor to consider prescribing drugs that effectively treated my asthma when I was a kid. I figured generic alternatives would certainly be available by now. She insisted that the name brand medication, for which there is no generic alternative, is the most effective. But if I wanted to discuss alternative forms of treatment, I’d have to make another appointment with her. I passed and went to see a specialist.
After inquiring about cost effective treatment options, my allergist informed me that she’d provide me with free samples if I just asked and they were available. I like free.
As indicated in point 6, you can save money by increasing the amount of medication prescribed. I have my doctor prescribe me a 90-day supply of medicine. Under my drug plan, the co-pay for 30-day meds is $20, but only $40 for 90-day meds.
By: Goran Web Design
“Prescription meds is one of the biggest rip-offs you can imagine. I’ve sourced alternatives for my elderly parents, and they are saving a lot of hard earned pension cash that way!”
Prescription drugs are made that way because of the strong side effects it may cause, worse is the adverse effect. Take Roaccutane as sample, its an effective tx for acne and oily skin. With majority of the teen population experiencing acne, will opt for this effective drug no matter what it takes. But it can cause a lot of side effects. That is why you need a prescription for it.
Thanks for the advice, as an independent business person, I pay for all my medication through my HSA, but it is a cash expense, and any savings help.