Are you trying to save money on prescriptions? Looking for the best way to spend less on medications?
If you need any medications or prescriptions, either in the long-term or on a short-term basis, costs can be surprisingly difficult to handle. Fortunately, there are ways to cut down on costs and spend less on prescriptions as long as you know a few simple tips and tricks.
Here are 9 effective ways that you can save money on prescriptions.
1. Find an Assistance Program
The first thing you can do to save on prescriptions is to check if there are any assistance programs that can help. The government, non-profits, and even drug manufacturers sometimes have programs that are meant to help those who have low incomes or have trouble getting the medications they need.
It’s well worth asking your doctor if they know about any of these programs that you may qualify for or you can do your own research to find some to apply for. Doing so could save you quite a bit of money if you’re accepted to one of these programs.
2. Look For Manufacturer Rebates
Aside from the manufacturer assistance programs, some manufacturers will offer rebates for medications as well. Checking the manufacturer’s website or using Google to search for the medication’s name and for the term “rebates” can be helpful for finding these deals.
Using these manufacturer rebates could save you a lot of money, so it’s well worth searching to see if there are any available.
3. Choose Generic Drugs
Perhaps the most popular and effective way of paying less on prescriptions is to opt for generic options instead.
Generic drugs can be much cheaper than the name brand version but are just as effective. Some name-brand drugs may cost you hundreds of dollars while a generic will only cost you $10 or $15 for a month’s supply.
If your doctor hasn’t already looked into generic options for you, you’ll want to ask them whether there are any generics you can try for your prescription medication needs instead.
4. Compare Pharmacy Prices
If you’re trying to save money on prescriptions, then it’s well worth doing what you can to compare your options. Checking out different pharmacies can yield surprising results and you may find that some pharmacies in your area charge much less for the same drug.
To make this even easier, you can use an app such as GoodRX or RxSaver by Retailmenot to easily compare prices and find the very best option in your area.
5. Opt For Larger Stores
While you may prefer shopping at smaller pharmacies to get your prescriptions filled, sometimes going to a bigger chain store will end up saving you a lot of money.
Bigger grocery stores that have in-store pharmacies often have nice generic drugs you can get for low prices, sometimes for as low as $4 for 30 days. Some of these chains will even offer certain prescription drugs for free as a way to get people into their stores.
Buying these generic drugs can save you a lot of money, so it may be well worth doing your shopping at one of these stores instead of a smaller pharmacy.
6. Try an Online Canadian Pharmacy
If you’re living in the United States and you’re unsatisfied with the prescription prices in your area, you may want to start looking a bit further out. Shopping at an online Canadian pharmacy can be incredibly helpful for finding medications, and prices will often be much lower than what you’ll find south of the border.
However, be sure that you double-check the legitimacy of any online Canadian pharmacy. You may want to check with a pharmacy regulatory authority to make sure that the pharmacy you’re using is the real deal.
7. Ask For Bigger Doses
One way that you can save money on prescription drugs is to simply opt for getting bigger doses instead of smaller ones. Surprisingly getting a fewer number of small dose pills can often be cheaper than getting medications with smaller doses.
After getting medication with bigger doses, you can then easily split these pills with a pill splitter to take your normal dosage. Be sure to ask your doctor if there are bigger dose medications available and if this could work for you.
8. Buy a Larger Medication Supply
Similarly to the last point, you may simply want to get a larger supply of your needed prescription drug at once. Getting a bigger supply of your longer-term medications, in particular, can be helpful for lowering costs and helping you save money on your prescription needs.
By doing this, you’ll be able to make a copay every 3 months instead of every 1 month, and will usually end up spending less overall.
9. Update Your Medicare Plan
If you’re a recipient of Medicare then you may want to consider making updates to your plan. Medicare plans and medication coverings will change yearly and this means that copays and deductibles will change as well.
If Medicare plans have improved for meeting your needs, you may want to see what your options are for switching during the annual enrollment period.
Following These Strategies to Save Money On Prescriptions
If you want to save money on prescriptions, don’t lose hope. There are plenty of great routes you can take to save money on your medication needs and to take care of your health without spending an arm and a leg.
Looking for more life tips and guides? Explore our blog now to discover more practical advice and helpful information.
