If your family is trying to follow a budget, prescription medications can put a serious dent in your well-laid plans. Medication costs are on the rise, and many families are finding it difficult to keep up with the extra costs. Instead of skipping the prescription medications that you are your family require, find ways to save money where you can. Here are five easy steps to take if you are looking to save a bit of cash when it comes to your families prescription medication:
1.Carry Your Formulary
If you have medical insurance that includes prescription coverage, you undoubtedly were given a formulary by your insurance agent. These formularies typically list medications in groups, or tiers, and let you know how much you can expect to spend out-of-pocket for each one. Carry your formulary with you when you visit the doctor; he or she can look at your list and may be able to prescribe a cheaper medication for you.
2.Ask for Generic
While many doctors will automatically write a prescription for the generic version of a popular medication, some do not. When you are given your prescription, ask your physician if it is for a name-brand drug or for its generic equivalent. If your doctor hasn’t written your prescription for the generic version, ask that he or she change their order. Generic versions are almost always cheaper and, at some pharmacies, some generic versions of medication are free.
3.Call Around
Many people don’t realize that they can call pharmacies and ask for the price on prescription medications. Before you go to your favorite pharmacy to fill your prescription, call around and find out if another pharmacy offers a better price. In fact, you may not only find a better price on your medication, but incentives for switching your prescription to a particular pharmacy. You may even find that one or more pharmacies include the medication you need on their reduced price list, saving you more money than you thought possible.
4.Ask for Higher Dosages
Most patients never think to ask for a higher dosage, assuming that their doctor is prescribing exactly what they need. When it comes to saving money, it pays to ask your doctor if they can give you fewer pills at a higher dose. For instance, a prescription for two 100mg tablets per day can easily be changed into one-half of a 200mg tablet twice a day. If your doctor will write your prescription in this manner, you’ll need to purchase half of the pills and can save half of the money.
5.Discuss Alternatives
Patients should never neglect to discuss alternatives to expensive prescription medications with their doctor or pharmacist. For instance, you may be able to buy an over-the-counter medication for less money than its stronger, prescription counterpart. You may need to take more pills during the day, but spending hundreds of dollars that you don’t need to is often more difficult to swallow.
Don’t settle for high costs when it comes to your prescription medication. If anyone in your family is given a prescription, follow the five tips above to make sure that you are getting your medications for as cheaply as possible.
