When it comes to deciding on a strategy for paying as little as possible for your prescription medications, there are several tactics available to you. Because there are so many variables, including your age, the medication(s) you take, the state you live in, there is no one single solution for everyone.
However, there are a few common ways you can save money on your meds.
Insurance
Often, the first way that people think about when trying to save money on prescriptions is to get insurance. The truth is that insurance does help in some cases, and in other cases it may actually cost you more. It all depends on the type of plan you have, and the medication you require.
Insurance companies classify the different drugs into groups commonly known as tiers. Where a particular drug gets grouped is dependent primarily on the negotiations between the insurance company and the PBM (pharmacy benefit manager). From one year to the next, a drug may be classified differently. If your doctor prescribes you a drug that happens to be on one of the cheaper tiers, then you’re in luck. However, if the drug is on one of the more expensive drugs, you have a problem.
For example, some insurance plans have a very low deductible but a high co-pay.
Here’s a problem: the medication may not even BE on the formulary. This is common for some lifestyle drugs (e.g. viagra, cialis) or beauty products (e.g. Vaniqa)
Drug Cards
You have probably seen these drug cards. They arrive in your mailbox. They are handed out free at gas stations. But what are they, and do they work?
Generally yes they are legitimate. They are a tool of PBMs to get more orders through their network, because the more orders they have, the more bargaining power they have with manufacturers and other groups.
To use one of these drug cards, you take them to the pharmacy when you are making your purchase. The pharmacist will enter the numbers from the card into their system, and they will be given a price for the medication - usually an amount less than the retail pricing (but not always)
Prescription Coupons
There are a few different kinds of prescription coupons. Some prescription coupons are actually more like Drug Cards because they belong to a part of a PBM marketing program. You can tell this is case if there are terms like RxBIN and RxGRP on the coupon. Those are indicators of the particular PBM network that is promoting the card.
Other coupons come directly from the product’s manufacturer. They do this to entice customers to try their product. The coupons typically last for a set period of time; from a few months to a year. After that time passes, you will need to pay the full price, or find another way.
Cash coupons. Coupons like the ones on this site are for the cash paying customer, and the coupons directly affect the final price you will pay. Not everyone pays for their prescriptions with cash, but some do. Uninsured people do, and so do insured people because as we’ve mentioned, insurance isn’t always the best bet for every single medication. It may make sense to use insurance for some of your medications, and pay cash for others. If this is your situation, then try a cash coupon.
Shop Around
Even though prescription products are a commodity, they are all the same, they have different prices depending on which pharmacy you go to. There are many reasons for this, including the deal the pharmacy has with their PBM and manufacturers, and the other amounts they will charge to cover their overhead. But, you have the option of filling your prescription anywhere you would like, so call for pricing before making the trip.
Buy More At The Same Time
If you are taking so-called maintenance medications, where you take the same kind every day or week for a long period of time, you can (as long as your prescription allows it) fill up to three months at a time. This way you only pay one fill fee, and save yourself a couple trips to the pharmacy.
Choose Generic over Brand
If generics work for you, ask your doctor to prescribe generics over brand when it makes sense for them to do so. Generics are typically much cheaper to buy than brand.