Today’s question is from Julia:
My husband just changed jobs and we found out the hard way that our new insurance has little to no prescription coverage. So I’m wondering, how do you save on monthly prescriptions without insurance? -Julia
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I would suggest looking into natural remedies as an option. A 1 lb bag of a useful herb or herb combination can cost as little as $10 and last a year, depending on usage.
For example, my husband got a cellulitus infection and instead of using antibiotics, he is using grapeseed extract and colloidal silver.
We just had the flu, and instead of using expensive cough syrups, we used chewable vitamin C taken with raw honey. It worked great.
blessings!
Stay away from retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. Sam’s Club usually has decent prices for people paying out of pocket and you don’t need a membership to get prescriptions filled. To get the best prices in your area be ready to call around and ask for the prices. Some stores have low prices for certain antibiotics. Also, make sure your doctors know about your situation.
Wow! That’s all I can say! I have insurance coverage but you guys gave such great advice that i think everyone could use! Might be a good idea to book mark this, just in case you ever need!
Costco and Sam’s Club have the least expensive prescriptions.
These are all great idea, but some may not be long-term solutions. If you haven’t already, please do check the new health insurance exchange in your state to see if you can find a better plan: http://www.healthcare.gov
I take Restasis for an eye condition. The company has a website to help with expenses. Unfortunately it is only set up to help with costs at a retail pharmacy, and the prescription insurance I have charges more after a prescription is purchased twice at retail. There is no generic for this medication, and a 90-day supply is over $150. I just have to budget for it.
CVS has a Health Savings Pass that you can sign up for. It costs $15 per year per person, it covers 90 day supplies of many of the maintenance medications for only $11.99. It will discount other quantities also.
They also price match cash prices to their local competitors (not the free or $4 ones as those are also a savings plan price) or some of the stores have discount cards that they will provide so they can get you the best price possible for the medication you are wanting to fill.
Just about all brand name drugs have coupons or discount cards available on the internet, that give you free or highly discounted prices. You just have to do some research.
Our Costco membership has paid for itself in what we’ve saved on our prescriptions this year. Switched from Walmart, who definitely does not have the best Rx prices for the uninsured. We have no prescription coverage and signed up for the discount Rx program at Costco to save more on top of their already discounted prices. Has been the best money saver this year for us.
When you drop off your prescriptions, ask the tech if they have any discount programs that you might be eligible for. This has saved me so much during the times when I didn’t have health insurance. Pharmacies usually have at least one discount program that they participate in. It never hurts to ask.
I work in local government and we belong to an organization called NACo (national association of counties). This organization offers a prescription discount card if your county is a member and participates in the program. It doesn’t cost the county or you anything. It’s just a card you present to participating pharmacies. We have a lot of pharmacies that participate and about 15 counties in our state participate. You can look up if your county participates in their website – search NACo prescription discount card. The website says you can save up to 75% but the average savings is 24%. I know neighboring areas belong to other similar programs. You may want to check to see if your area belongs to any prescription discount program.
Depending on the prescription, many companies offer a “discount card” that will take quite a lot off. I use this on 1 prescription for my son and 1 for myself. Ask your doctor or even look online at the manufacturer’s website as I have printed some from their site as well. Good luck!
Also you can ask your doctor to write the prescription for a double dose and cut them in half if this is possible
needymeds.org links any generic/brand-name drugs manufacturer to their PAP (patient assistance program) those with no insurance or who need assistance with co-pays should contact the PAP directly. Each company has their own rules for assistance, so you’ll need to look up each medicine you take and contact them individually.
this may have been mentioned:
ask your physician for samples
ask if there are any copay/rebate cards available for your medicine
go to the manufacturer’s website and look for coupons/rebate cards, etc
drug companies have patient assistance programs…look into those to see if you qualify
try to use generic if/when possible
try to stay healthy. good luck!
GoodRx has a website and also has an app that will search all the pharmacies for the best price. It will also give you links to the coupon needed to get that price. Always ask for the cash price from the pharmacist unless you have a great copay program. It just saved me $115 on one script because we also have a high deductible on our scripts.
I work in a Family Practice clinic and I can tell you our samples are limited for many drugs, especially the expensive ones. Once a medication has both a Trade and a generic form the samples pretty much stop coming in.
I will say to check with your insurance company. Often times a 30-day supply and a 90- day supply have the same deductible/cost. You need to know how your insurance coverage works so you can then inform your physician and they may be able to write accordingly. Not all meds can have more than 30-day supply written at one time though (by law). You can also check if the insurance company has a mail-order option. This will also lead to lower costs.
The other thing you can do for medications which can be split in half is ask your doctor to write for a larger dose. Some insurance companies will charge the same copay for either dose, so you will save money by cutting the medication in half. NOT ALL MEDS CAN BE CUT IN HALF, so check with your doctor…don’t just assume or it may make matters worse, even dangerous. And, not all physicians will do this.
The last thing I can recommend is to keep track of how much medication you have on hand. If you utilize a mail-order pharmacy and you run out of the medication, having a script sent into a local pharmacy will be not only more costly, but it can play into how the mail-order pharmacy can refill your prescription. For mail-order pharmacies, request your refills when you have atleast 2 weeks of medication left.
while i know youre posting this in an honest effort to help someone in a tough time, however asking your doctor to write an rx for a larger dose and you cutting in half is unsafe and illegal. it is considered INSURANCE FRAUD. it still isnt a good idea even if you are paying cash prices though. what happens if you are prescribed 50mg of a blood pressure med, but youve been cutting it in half. you end up in the ER and you dont have your medication list with you. the ER calls your pharmacy and the pharmacy says that you’ve been taking 50mg per day (what your rx says), they forward this info to your ER doc who then ups the dose to 100mg since your blood pressure is high. since the dose was increased so greatly now you end up with low blood pressure. this goes the same for thyroid medications, depression meds, everything. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not jeopardize your health to save a few dollars.
I agree with the thought process, but it is only insurance fraud if the doctor writes to take 1 tablet a day and tells the patient to take 1/2 tablet a day. It is NOT insurance fraud IF the doctor writes the prescription for the exact directions that he wants the patient to take (and the pharmacy then should have the correct information and all will be well at the ER). Sometimes this does not save money because the insurance knows the correct day supply and adjusts the price accordingly (depending on how the insurance works). It would save money if, say you have a prescription for a $4/$10 generic and you do not run the prescription through insurance, but at that point you are saving $2/$5 dollars by halving a tablet and that price may not be worth the hassle and confusion.
It is not illegal if the sig on the script is written to take 1/2 tablet. As I stated in my original comment, some medications can not be cut in half.
A girlfriend of mine got the prescription card that walgreens offers and she can’t say enough great things about it. She doesn’t have insurance and there are 4 in her family that all take meds. Might be worth checking into if you have a walgreens near you.
There was a Dr. Oz segment was about getting free meds, here’s the link. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/how-get-free-prescription-meds
Just to add, the surprising thing about this free drug program discussed on Dr. Oz is that you didn’t have to be low income to qualify and most doctors aren’t aware of them. Here’s a typical guide on who qualifies.
You’re single and make between $25,00 and $45,000 a year.
You’re a couple making between $35,000 and $60,000.
You’re a family of four making $55,000 to $90,000.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/how-get-free-prescription-meds
Costco. Absolutely.
I was going to type up a long response and then figured it would just be easier to refer you to a blog post I did on this exact thing. 🙂
http://www.parents.com/blogs/thrifty-frugal-mom/2012/09/14/must-read/7-ways-to-save-on-prescription-drugs-even-if-you-have-insurance/
Hi…When I didn’t have prescription insurance I did a couple of things. 1) I talked to the doctor. I use very expensive inhalers and they would give me samples instead of having to by them myself 2) Talk to the pharmacy, I always go to Target because they are ridiculously helpful and if you tell them you don’t have insurance they have programs that somehow makes things cheaper 3) Call the rx company and talk to them. Sometimes they can help you.
I’m a critical care cardiac nurse and I send patients home who have no insurance, no prescription coverage, or bad prescription coverage all the time. There are three things you should do:
1. Explain the situation to your doctor/health care team. They will prescribe generics only. If the generic is still too expensive, ask for a different drug. They do not mind this, ALWAYS ask.
2. CALL AROUND. Within a two mile radius, I have seen the same drug for over $100 at one pharmacy and less than $20 at another. It’s ridiculous, but it’s true. Call the pharmacy and tell them you want to know the cash price for one month’s supply of “x” drug.
3. If you can only tolerate one particular drug within a class of drugs and it is too expensive for you, contact the manufacturer and they will send you paperwork to fill out so you can get the drug at a very reduced rate. The drug companies are required to have programs that help people. Listen closely to the drug commercials and you will hear that statement at the end of the “fine print”.
You CAN save money on prescriptions.
We have years of experience when it comes to finding the cheapest place to buy a prescription. We have found that no one can beat Walmart, Sam’s and Costco. You can always call the pharmacy and ask for prices. Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid and other pharmacy chains are usually higher. Always call first if you can to get the best price.
I have not tested this, but I heard several people talking this week about not having to pay anything to get an antibiotic prescription filled at Kroger. I don’t know if that was in conjunction with their insurance or if that was just the policy at Kroger.
It would be worth asking about if this is something you regularly need.
Our allergist office called one day out of the blue asking if I wanted a $50.00 coupon for my sons Epi-Pen, Of course I said yes and went by to pick it up. I would call your doctor’s office and ask about coupons they might have or contact the company directly if you have to have name brand and ask about discounts or coupons. For years the pharmacy we went to for my husbands inhaler applied a coupon to our account and then one day the price went up quite a bit. So after asking about the major price difference they said “o there was a coupon on your account, but now its expired”. I had no idea they gave us the coupon! It was a great blessing! All the best!
Costco has a discount program. I use the online pharmacy Costco has and they’ll ship for free too.
I ask my doctor for 90 days supply and then shop around. I ask my usual pharmacy to give me the cash only price. It was cheaper for me than using my insurance card! The other ones I get filled at Sams for $10.00 for a 3 month supply. Always insist on the generic of any drug that you can. Good luck!
Check out the website of your prescription, I use Relpax for migraines and they have a program that allows you to get a prescription filled every month for $10 instead of the $40 I pay with my insurance. I’ve found programs like this with other medications as well.
Wow! Lots of great info here. I think it’s a great idea to shop around if you have medications that you take regularly. We don’t have any that we take on a regular basis (thankfully) but we find, especially recently, that when the kids get sick we are at the pharmacy late at night after a long wait at our doctors office and the pharmacist is telling us either our insurance doesn’t cover that medication or our co-pay is $60-$200. By then the doctors office is closed and we are left with the dilemma of either spending another night with a very sick, hurting child or just going ahead and filling it. It happened twice in one week with 2 different kids and we decided that we’d just pay it rather than see the kids suffer another 12-24 hours without treatment. 🙁 Any suggestions of what to do in these instances??
Get a copy of the drug formulary from your insurance. Bring it with you to any doctor appointments so you can see if it will be covered before you get to the pharmacy. The forumulary will also tell you if it’s on a higher tier which will be a higher copay.
Publix also offers some blood pressure and diabetes medications for besides the more common antibiotics. I have a friend who just completed chemotherapy for breast cancer and one of her medications was going to cost over $300 a month. She found that by joining some kind of program at Walgreens that cost just $10 a year to join she can get the medication for $30 a month. It really does pay to shop around. Pharmacists also can give you a wealth of information.
I had this problem when I became insured after not having insurance for a year. During the uninsured year, Merck covered my migraine meds for free. When I got re-employed with a job that had insurance coverage, United Healthcare decided for me that I would only have a migraine 4 times a month. Well that didn’t work for me as I have chronic migraine and at the time needed 12 to 18 a month. So in a panic I found Pharmacy Checker through something I saw on AARP. They find the best prices for drugs worldwide online from reputable places. I went with Jan Drugs in Canada and my prescription actually came from India where Maxalt is allowed a generic option. I will admit at first I was afraid it wouldn’t work, but out of desperation I tried it and lo and behold it was as good as the brand name. I paid about 4.00 per pill instead of 33.00 and only once in that year I used them was there a problem where my order was lost. They paid for brand name to get me through the time period it would take to get the package that was lost which cost them quite a bit. They require a prescription just as they do in the states. Also Costco had very cheap options for generics and in FL you dont have to be a member to use the pharmacy. They were cheaper than Sam’s club for the generic Imitrex.
See if you can get better coverage once the government gets their stuff together.
My husband switched jobs last year, and our new insurance only covers 4 of my 18 migraine pills each month. Shopping around the local pharmacies only proved that it was going to cost me over $300/month for a GENERIC pain med! Insane! I did a ton of research and found HealthWarehouse.com. They only carry generics, so this doesn’t help you if your med only comes in name-brand or you can’t take the generic version for whatever reason. But my generic Imitrex now costs me approximately $40/month for all 18 of my pills. This pharmacy is in the U.S. and is VIPPS-certified. (You can go here to find VIPPS pharmacies: http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vipps/find-a-vipps-online-pharmacy)
I use SAMs club plus membership it has added Rx discounts.
If you have mental health medications, look for a QOL pharmacy. They specialize in those meds (though they are full service). My meds cost 1/9 of Walgreens prices. It’s a good idea to fill all your scripts at one pharmacy for safety reasons though.
Go to PharmacyCard.org. You can print a discount card for free and it offers discounts on all types of prescription meds. Our insurance wasn’t going to cover our youngest child because of an error and during the appeals process, we used the Pharmacy Card and saved a significant amount. You can type in specific meds on the website to see the specific discounts. You present it at your pharmacy… and for those of you that have prescription insurance, sometimes this discount is greater.
I am a hospital Social Worker and help people with this every day. Needymeds.com has assistance program applications for many brand name meds. Also, if your city has a Dispensary of Hope (http://www.dispensaryofhope.org/find-meds), they are a site where meds are donated by manufacturers and will give uninsured patients lower cost and often free samples if they have them. They can also connect you to assistance programs to get meds for a year (i.e. insulin). Of course, shopping off of Walmart/ Kroger $4 list can help. Publix offers many free medications as well (http://www.publix.com/pharmacy/Free-Medications.do). Hope this helps!
I use goodrx and it will find you the lowest prices at various pharmacies and give you a coupon if necessary to use for the discount. Very good pricing.
For certain prescriptions, you can contact the pharmaceutical company and see if they have a discount program.
For name brand scripts, check http://www.needymeds.org to see if the pharmaceutical company offers a Patient Assistance Program for which you may qualify.
Take Wal-Mart’s $4 rx list to doctor visits when going at random b/c someone is ill (like if your kiddo has an ear ache they can get a cheap $4 antibiotic, not a brand only $100 one) or if it is an expensive maintenance drug, blood pressure, thyroid, etc. you can ask you doctor to switch your meds to something less expensive that will perform similarly. Also ask for free samples from doctors and for coupons for the drug prescribed. They will bill the coupon at the pharmacy like an insurance card and they will usually pick up the remainder of the co-pay expense, making it $0 or close to that.
Wal-Mart will also price match cash price prescriptions with other local pharmacies in their district.
When I lost my insurance I shopped around and though Target and Walmart have $4 rx they were limited and not the type I needed. Costco was dramatically, over 50%, less expensive than everywhere else, especially places like CVS/Walgreens and you don’t need to be a member to go there for rx. As it turns out though by being a member you do get a slight discount. I added it up and with my yearly savings it was only going to cost me $15 for a membership, so I ended up adding that as well.
For a time one rx was cheaper at a independent pharmacy, but when prices went up to the same as Costco I switched it to there.
Note, I’m speaking to generics…I haven’t found any very good price breaks on name brand items that don’t have a generic counterpart.
I forgot to add Coscto has a great tool where you can check prices online and it gives you both name/generic at the same time. These prices are non-membership prices. Plus yes, often 90 day supplies are less.
http://www2.costco.com/Pharmacy/DrugInformation.aspx?p=1
1. Ask your doctor for a prescription for generics.
2. Order through mail for a 90 day supply for a bulk discount.
3. Fill at a warehouse club (you don’t need to be a member) for discount cash pricing.
4. Ask your doctor for samples.
5. Sometimes sample packages come with a coupon or rebate offer.
6. Contact the pharmaceutical company to see if they have any discounts for medications you’ll be taking for a long time.
First, talk to the doctor about the medication. Make sure the physician is aware that you do not have prescription insurance. They prescribe a different medication that will do the same thing, but is cheaper. Or they may give you some samples.
Do you have the Target Red Debit card? They have some sort of program, but I’m not very familiar with it.
Sometimes buying a 60 or 90 day supply is cheaper than 30 days.
Is the med something that can be bought OTC? Like an allergy pill? For instance, my son’s NP ordered Loratadine 10 mg daily. With our insurance, the pharmacy charged $16 for 30 pills. I found 10o pills on Amazon for $12.50. 3 months for a smaller price.
I’ve found goodrx.com, needymeds.org, and pparx.org to be helpful for discount programs and finding the best pricing. Also check each medication manufacturer’s website or call them about prescription assistance programs.
Excellent advice, Annie. I would second this.
Thanks, just found one rx at Goodrx that’s less than Costco, one was quite a bit more, but the one that was less was by a good margin, not sure if these prices stay the same for all refills, but good to know – and that it pays to shop around for each rx.
Great advice Annie, I second this as well. I work at one of the best cancer hospitals in the country and my job is to help people with prescription costs. I use needymeds regularly and give out their drug discount card to help with common generics often (it can be used on any prescriptions but it’s not going to offer much of a discount on expensive specialty medications). If you don’t have rx coverage, definitely print out or order their discount card!
I’ve never called them but know that you can call their number if you have questions navigating their site.
I know the coupons in Coupons.com for Rx work for some things. My mom was without insurance for about a year and she would use those coupons for her medication. It gave her pretty good discounts.
In our area Costco has the best prices. Call around to see which pharmacies offer the best price.
Some stores like Publix have a discount Rx program if you don’t have insurance coverage. We have saved a good bit getting stuff filled through it. Target may do the same. Publix also does the free common antibiotics like ammoxicillin, and Target either does them free or super cheap.
I work at an independent pharmacy and we actually have the lowest prices within 50 miles. We competitively price medications and strive to get customers in because we take the time to make sure they are getting the correct therapy rather than “just slapping a label on”, we get to know you personally. This helps us find cheaper alternatives. Also 90 day supplies are cheaper than monthly co-pays, typically. Independents also don’t have to follow a strict pricing schedule, so you may be able to get price-match for medications that are on the $4 list. Keep in mind that the $4 list is possible because these chains raise the prices of other medications, so shop around!
Thanks for writing what I was going to say.Our independent drug store helped us big time when my husband was unemployed.Sadly before We moved the last 3 months I had to get mail order for insurance to cover my blood pressure medicine.We still dropped off one time orders.
I only have prescription coverage when I hit my $4,000 deductible/$6,000 out of pocket costs. Fortuanetly my family is rarely sick with no big medical problems so we rarely have to get prescriptions but when we do I shop around, I know with bigger prescriptions I hear club pharmacies such as SAM’s and Costco have pretty good prices, when Im sick I know I can get free antibiotics at Meijers since they dont offer $4 generics but when i need something a little more and Meijers doesnt offer it for free I look at $4 generics at Krogers, Meijers also use idk if they still do offer free maternity vitamins as well. When i do get precriptions at Kroger I use my plus card to help save on gas so it may not give me instant savings but it does help later at the pump. Anytime we are written precriptions we ask if there is a generic if theres no generic we do our research and (i know our doctor hates us for this) but we go back to the drawing board with the doctor and asked why did you prescribe this? We cant afford this $300 but heres a competitor thats only $50 can you prescribe this and they usually do. ( i hate doing that my husband is more brave at doing that) Also Im currently prego with my second but after my first I had to think of birth control costs, 6 weeks after my first child instead of shelling out monthly payments I made the decision while my deductible and out of pockets costs were met to get Mirena IUD It cost $1,200 but because i met my deductible I didnt get a bill for it and saved me from out of pocket birth control costs month to month. ( i know mirena is not for all its defitanly a huge decision to make but i felt at the time it was best option cost wise)
Again my insurance doesnt have a good prscription because I have high decutible, but also I tax my taxes and put it in my HSA account and anytime I need something I use my HSA to get me through. I love HSA!
I guarantee your doctor doesn’t hate you for asking about generics and asking him/her to prescribe lower cost medications. I worked as a pharmacy technician all through college, and we called doctor offices all the time to ask them to change the prescription to a lower priced alternative. Insurance plans all prefer different brands, and there’s really no way for a doctor to keep track of the preferred drugs for each company. If anything, I would think your doctor would be glad that you’re being proactive and saving their office from a call later on to change a prescription.
We had a doctor who was very upset that we brought our insurance company’s list of covered medications and Wal-Matt’s $4 generics. He felt that it interfered with patient care. Personally, I did not agree with his opinion and needed affordable medication. I continued to advocate for what was best for me and he grudgingly prescribed from the list. I am paying for a service so as long as I am respectful, I am not concerned with how my doctor feels about it.
Our Dr. Have that list and will willingly work off of it. It is unfortunate your Dr. was so grumpy about it. There is the odd time that after trialing the generic you may need to switch to Trade Name med. most manufacturers have coupons, samples or programs to help.
Walmart and some grocery stores have $4 prescriptions. I have used it for antibiotics, but I am not sure what else they offer at that price.
We use CVS – and the Meijer coupon for $20.00 off your next purchase – CVS takes other store coupons and then we get a $20.00 gift card to use on our next prescription or purchase.
I use BidRX.com and the prices are always really reasonable! It’s a site where you start an “auction” for the prescription you need and pharmacies around the country bid on it.