Prescriptions savings

Thanks to Sarah at Pocketbook Pearls for this guest post.

Prescriptions drugs can be expensive.  Whether its copays for your monthly maintenance prescription, or the occasional anti-biotic, there are a lot of ways I have found to save on your prescription costs!  The first way is to look into the different plans many pharmacy’s have to offer.  They have what most of them categorize as generic savings and I’ve come across three different kinds so far.

Pharmacies such as Target, Fred Meyer, and Walmart simply offer hundreds of generic drugs for $4 for 30 days supply.  $10 for a 90 days supply.

Rite Aid is an example of a pharmacy that offers a free drug savings card.  You can stop inside and fill out the required form.  They will then enter your information into the computer and they cover almost all drugs in some manner.  They offer 30 days supply of generics for $8.99, 90 days supply for $15.99 and 20% discount many Brand Name drugs.  The card doesn’t expire and there is no fee.

Walgreen’s offers a Prescriptions Savings Club.  Its a $20 a year plan for an individual ($35 a year for a family) and they will enroll you in-store (or you can enroll yourself on-line) and you can use it the same day.  It will include hundreds of generic drugs priced at $9.99 for a 30 days supply or $12.00 for a 90 days supply.  It will also help you save different amounts on many Brand Name drugs as well.  There is an eligibility requirement – you are not eligible if you have federally funded insurance such as welfare insurance, Tri-Care, or any part of a Medicare Plan.

One of my favorite perks about this plan, is when you get your club card in the mail, you can receive 10% bonus back on all Walgreen’s Brand products you buy in the store.  You present your card when you check out, they will swipe it through the register, and a bonus equal to 10% of what your spending on Walgreen’s brand product’s will be added the card so you can use it towards your next purchase.

Another way to save is through coupons, vouchers, and samples.  These are great when you are on a prescription that is only available in Brand Name.  Coupons and vouchers can often be found searching on-line, asking at your Dr.’s office, or sometimes even in the newspaper.  You can present it to your pharmacy when you drop your prescription off, and they will go through the process of submitting it.  These coupons and vouchers can range from a free fills to assisting on copays.  Sometimes they can even be used more than once.

Occasionally you can get free samples of your medication at your Dr’s office.  This can really come in handy if your insurance requires more paperwork to be filled out by your Dr. before they will even consider assisting on the drug’s cost.  It doesn’t hurt to ask your Dr. about this when you’re discussing your medications.

Many drug manufacturers have begun to offer assistance to patients more and more on their prescription costs.  Sometimes, even when you have insurance, your copay may be extremely high.  Find out who is manufacturing the prescription, and contact them to see if they have any assistance programs available.  Perhaps you may want to search the company on-line to find out their contact information.  Write them a letter or give them a call if they have a contact number available, and see if they offer any of these programs.  This goes for your diabetes testing supplies too.  Some manufacturers even help patients on paying for their glucose monitors!

There are a lot of programs for savings cards you can find on-line.  Do some searching around, and always thoroughly check a program out before you sign-up, but many times they can be great ways to save some money.  You usually can’t use them doubled with your insurance savings, but if you don’t have insurance, they may be a good option for you.  Here on A Thrifty Mom, she has posted about some prescriptions savings cards you might want to look into to.

These are just some of the tips I’ve come across.  It may be worth your while to look into a few of them and see if there are any savings available for you in your own prescription costs.  Good luck!