People who have health insurance often assume that their insurance company has behind the scenes worked out the best possible cost with the pharmacy. Many times this is not the case. In many situations I’ve seen customers pay a copay for their Rx that is more than even the regular cost. Unfortunately for the buyer, most of the time if you do not ask, the phar
macy is going to ask you for the copay amount, no matter what the price of the medication. Always ask first, in the event that regular price for the med is better. Sometimes its smart not to play by the book. Here’s a few more tips to save you on your prescriptions.
macy is going to ask you for the copay amount, no matter what the price of the medication. Always ask first, in the event that regular price for the med is better. Sometimes its smart not to play by the book. Here’s a few more tips to save you on your prescriptions.A Few Ideas
Patient Assistance Programs or a PAP. Many name brand medication manufactures have a system in place for lower income customers to get their medications at little or no expense. Go to your drugs website and search “PAP” in their search box. MedCard users can access the PAP assistance tool on the Member benefits page. You just need to login to your account, determine that your medications are on the Rx list and that your assets fall within the program guidelines. Enter all of your medications on the PAP page and you’ll get a response with all the documents needed to apply for Rx help in addition to instructions on applying.
NeedyMeds.org focuses on finding cost savings programs on both medications and health care. Their listing started fairly small but has grown significantly. Most deals are available to both the uninsured, under-insured and insured. They presently list over 1,600 discounts, rebates along with other offers. As stated earlier some of the best discounts you can get on a prescription are through a manufacture PAP. A lot of people, nonetheless, are not eligible for these programs because their earnings are too much or they have health insurance. Once they understood this they began to collect info on discount coupons, rebates and other programs. So if you don’t qualify for a PAP program you’ll want to check with these guys. Listings are posted by brands of medicine, including both over-the-counter and Rx only medications. The deals vary from printable discount coupons and rebates, cost benefits cards and free test samples.
Use BlinkHealth.com. I just tried this for a customer today and the price was about 8% higher than everyone else, so don’t assume because they saved you money on one drug that they’ll be the lowest cost on all drugs. For many drugs though blink has special contracts with pharmacies for a set price. Then you get your medication through their system, and go right to the pharmacy to pick it up. Blink includes a cut they get in the purchase price.
See if you can obtain a generic, or an over-the-counter version of the same medicine. Generics can cost a fraction of the brand. Guidelines govern whenever a brand might be manufactured as a generic; this could change the status of your present Rx, as well as its price. Numerous prescribed sinus meds recently have been transformed into over-the-counter equivalents. Why buy a Rx if you can get it over the counter?
See if you can obtain a generic, or an over-the-counter version of the same medicine. Generics can cost a fraction of the brand. Guidelines govern whenever a brand might be manufactured as a generic; this could change the status of your present Rx, as well as its price. Numerous prescribed sinus meds recently have been transformed into over-the-counter equivalents. Why buy a Rx if you can get it over the counter?
Try it Out
Try out an idea or two and tell us if they work for you. If you are looking to save money on your health insurance premiums as well contact me and let’s see how I can help you save more. If you have any other tricks or tips to save on Rx cost please leave your tip below and I may use it in my next blog post.