Save Money on Drugs

How do you save money on prescription medications?

There are quite a few ways. Many maintenance meds are available by mailorder in 90 day supplies. You can purchase meds at warehouse clubs such as Costco or Sam's (membership not required).

If you have health insurance all the top carriers have negotiated wholesale pricing for their policyholders.

You can purchase from other countries such as Canada or Israel. We have links to patient assistance programs as well as two top international pharmacy's at Patient Charity.

You can sign up for Rx discount cards but those are almost always a waste of money. You certainly don't need them if you have health insurance and you don't need them if you shop wisely. Most of the time a wise shopper can buy the same medication for less than the pricing available through the card.

And then there are generics . . .

But don't stop there. Several places such as Wal-Mart, Kmart and Kroger have $4 generic plans but that only covers some 300 medications.

There are THOUSANDS of older brand name drugs that are THERAPEUTIC EQUIVALENT'S to the newer, higher priced medication so often pushed by drug companies and doctors.

Therapeutic equivalents include generics AND brand name drugs that have been proven to be just as effective in most cases as higher priced drugs. You can find a list of therapeutic equivalents by visiting this FDA site.

You may also want to ask your doctor, pharmacist or carrier to suggest lower cost alternatives.

Every dollar you do not spend is a dollar saved in your pocket.