Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Faith and Finance

Home
Evangelical
Business, Finance and Religion
5 Ways to Save Money on Prescription Medications

5 Ways to Save Money on Prescription Medications

Last updated on: March 27, 2013 at 10:00 am by Kevin

5 Ways to Save Money on Prescription Medications 2013-03-27T10:00:16-05:00 Kevin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Healthcare costs are rising across the board, but one area that seems to be outpacing the rest is prescription medications. It isn’t just that prices are rising, it’s also that there are more medications for more illnesses, being prescribed more frequently.

How do you save money on prescription medications while still taking the very best care of your health?

1. Buy generic whenever possible.

Generic prescriptions are almost always less expensive than brand names. Most times, prescribing doctors will indicate that pharmacists provide generic where available, but that’s not always the case. Make it a practice that any time you’re given a prescription by a doctor, that you specifically ask him or her for generic alternatives.

Not only can the savings on the price of the generic drug be cheaper, but many health insurance companies require a smaller co-payment on generics than they do on brand names. If you’re on any kind of ongoing drug therapies, using generics instead of brand names can save you several hundred dollars per year. And as the years pass, the savings can really add up.

2. Get free samples from your doctor.

Doctors often get free samples of various prescription drugs from the manufacturers of those medications as an inducement for the doctor to prescribe them. Some doctors will give these to their patients voluntarily, but it never hurts to ask.

Anytime you get a prescription order from a doctor, ask if you can be started out with free samples. If you can get enough to cover the first month, you’ll save at least that much. If you can ask for free samples anytime you need a prescription, you’ll save that much more.

3. Buy in larger quantities.

Typically when doctors prescribe medications they’ll do so in 30-day increments. There are certain medications which by law cannot be prescribed for longer periods, but most medications don’t come under that restriction.

You can often save significant money by buying prescriptions in quantities of 90 days supply or greater. The reason is that you are buying in bulk. The more of anything that you buy, the less expensive it typically is on a per unit basis. Sure, you’ll be spending more money up front for the larger supply, but the savings on a per month basis can be significant.

You should try to get larger supplies anytime the option is available, and the prices are clearly lower.

4. Try mail order sources.

Many insurance companies offer a mail order prescription alternative, and some will even try to promote this method of ordering medications. Mail order providers offer less expensive prescriptions because they operate out of central facilities dispersing large quantities of medications. Most prescriptions are purchased at large chain retail pharmacies that have hundreds or thousands of outlets that add to the cost of prescriptions. Mail order providers don’t have a large distribution chain, and can pass the savings on to their customers.

Even if your health insurance provider doesn’t promote using a mail-order source, ask if the option is available. Insurance companies will typically work with a very small number of mail order pharmacies, and may only work with one. But the savings that you can get are significant, in addition to the fact that the health insurance company may offer an even lower co-pay if you purchase through the mail order option.

5. Improve your condition!

There are certain diseases and ailments that are completely beyond human control. But most have to do with lifestyle, and that’s something that you have control over. If you can improve the state of your health, you may be able to reduce or even eliminate your dependence on prescription medications. That will save you more money than any other effort you can make.

Hypertension, diabetes, many forms of heart disease, and many degenerative diseases are either caused or accelerated by poor lifestyle habits. You can decrease your chance of contracting any of these ailments simply by giving up cigarette smoking, cutting back on alcohol consumption, eating less, exercising more, controlling your weight and avoiding dangerous activities.

The payoff can be permanently lower healthcare expenses, including the many high cost prescription drug therapies.

If you’re on long-term prescription therapies, what are you doing to control the cost? Leave a comment!

Saving

healthcare

prescription medication

prescriptions

Save Money

ways to save money

Previous Post

March 20, 2013

How to Give Amongst So Many Opportunities

Next Post

April 3, 2013 How to Push Past Procrastination With Proper Planning

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category ALL Bible and Money Biblical Perspective Book Reviews Budgeting Business Corner Churches and Pastors Debt Encouraging Scriptures Entrepreneurship Faith and Economics Family and Money General Personal Finance Giving Inspirational Quotes Investing Making Money Other Personal Finance Retirement Reviews Round Up Saving Self-Improvement Taxes Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 November 2016 October 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years from Abraham to Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

2000 years 2500 years 1500 years 1000 years