Recently I studied reducing costs of doctor visits. Four ways to save on medications became a major focus.
Dollar Pills
The search for medications that do the job, but do not sport prices larger than my mortgage, often plagues us. ‘Night itching’ drives me crazy. It begins with a tiny, almost imperceptible itch on the arm or leg. I scratch and it moves. The itch becomes bigger, meaner and before I know it, I am literally tearing my skin off, trying to stop it. I am one of the unfortunates with psoriasis under the skin. Itching usually begins at night, just as my eyes close. It is maddening.
How to stop it? Simply by taking a 24-hour relief tablet every day, without fail. Choosing a brand that finally worked proved a test for Hercules, but one finally did the job. The allergy relief tablets cost $23.99 for thirty tablets! Nearly thirty precious dollars seldom available in my tight budget.
What is the Cost Solution?
Happily, one day while searching for a particular anti-inflammatory pill, I literally fell over it, when I tripped on a box of them laying on the floor. Reaching to pick it up, my eyes went wide, and my jaw dropped. The price on the box, a tiny one dollar, must be a mistake, I thought.
At the counter, clutching my prize to my chest, I whispered to the cashier, “Did you know these anti-inflammatory bottles are marked for only a dollar?”
She laughed. She’s a friend, so she can do that.
“All of that brand is listed at a dollar.”
“Do they make allergy tablets?”
“I believe they do. Let’s check.” She walked from behind the counter to the allergy pill section. “Yes, they do. Twenty-four-hour variety and twelve- or four-hour types. What do you need?”
Before accepting on faith that those pills might be exact matches for the one I took, I read each word against the big-name brand. Perfection!
Dear Readers, I acted like today’s hoarders for a moment, clearing the shelves until my friend assured me they restocked every week. Blushing with embarrassment, I took two bottles of headache remedy and three of the long-lasting allergy pills. Praying they worked, I left with a worried smile on my face.
Suffice it to say, the one-dollar pills react exactly as the $6.30 headache tabs or the $23.99 allergy pills!
Having looked at big chain pharmacies, nothing matches this brand on price. Here is the brand I found. Check store brands and if your store doesn’t have something as good for as little, well, you really should live in my town! (Or order online.)
The FIRST of four ways to save on medications brightened the rest of my day. It also pushed me into finding additional savings.
Saving on Medications
Although it is wonderful to save on over-the-counter medications, it is often the prescriptions that empty our wallets. Sometimes no matter how well we managed in the past when paying for prescriptions, the good doctors eventually hand out one or two our insurance does not cover. So what savings choices does a person have on those medications?
Additional Prescription Insurance
For those of us fortunate enough to have savings or retirement checks, along with our Social Security, additional insurance may be the key. When my brother became ill with kidney disease, he had Medicare and nothing else. His medications ran much more than Medicare paid, so we searched for prescription insurance. After checking out several, he opted for Humana. The cost each month ran $15. Immediately, that insurance paid for itself several times over. With the exception of one short-lived ridiculously priced medicine, most ran no more than one or two dollars. Yet even at a low price, insurance may be out of our reach, if we subsist on little more than our monthly Social Security checks. What is the answer in that case?
Patient Assist Programs
Never give up without calling the drug companies manufacturing the medication or checking their websites. People who fall within a certain range of income, are considered, on a case by case basis, for receiving the prescriptions at little or no attached cost. The primary goal is providing free or low cost medications. However, sometimes emergency prescriptions may also be provided. While most of the aid is income based, often individuals without full health insurance coverage qualify. This is done to allow easier access for prescription and over-the-counter medications.
For additional information on all of these programs, check this site.
Non-Pharmaceutical Company Medication Resources
Some groups provide money for medications that, even by selling your house, you normally might not afford. As mentioned above, my brother received one of those out-of-reach prescriptions. Had he absolutely needed that one above all others, he might have paid for one month’s worth, IF he sold everything he owned. The price tag was $76,000 for one month’s dosages.
The doctor knew of a group willing to pay for the drug. When contacted, they agreed to cover the prescription for Jimmy. Before he took the first dose, but after picking it up, the doctor called to switch to another drug that cost all of $25 a month, accomplishing the same thing! The pharmacy refused to take the expensive drug back. The company that paid the bill went out of business within two weeks. Had my brother been forced to stay on that drug, he simply could not have done so.
Programs are available in four categories: 1) Patient Assistance; 2) Drug Abuse; 3) Prescription Assistance; 4) Applying for Medical Assistance
Ask For Medication Samples From the Doctor
During my earlier years, doctors handed out samples of prescriptions, especially if the patient had no hope of paying on his own. He handed out whatever the pharmaceutical companies sent freely. Today, that is seldom the case. Patients must ask if samples are available. For short-term medications, this is a huge savings. When dosing with a drug is a long-term thing, every time you run low, check with the doctor to see if he will offer additional samples. Be prepared if the doctor declines. Pharmaceutical companies are cutting back on the number of samples they give doctors. And some physicians refuse the samples from the companies.
Never give up on getting medications you need. Help is available. Research may turn up the best way to afford your prescriptions.