This part of the guide will be dedicated to exploring the different answers to a very common question: How can I save on prescription drugs?



As everything else in our site this is a work in progress and member participation is most welcome. Please post your suggestions, comments, tips, links...



The first things that comes to mind when trying to reduce prescription drug cost are:



1. Use less prescription drugs, do not use so many prescription drugs



2. Splitting pills/tablets. In many cases, cutting higher dosage tablets in half can save 50 percent of the prescription cost. Some brands cost the same per pill even if the medication contained in each pill is different. Most pharmacies sell pill splitters or tablet cutters. Note that not all tablets can be safely cut in half. You will have to do a bit of research.



3. Buy smart, buy the same for less

3.A. Start early! Your quest for savings should start with your physician. Ask how much the prescription will cost you. Mention you are on a tight budget. If you can't afford what the physician wants to prescribe insist on something else, ask for a cheaper alternative. Also keep in mind that physicians receive a lot free samples and do not mind giving them away. If you ask for free samples you will most likely get them, (this does not usually apply for controlled substances).

3.B. Compare prices. Do a bit of research.

Drugbuyers.com can help you in a number of ways with this. We have a drug list that allows you to Compare Prices, our free area features two forums called "Who Offers It? How Much?" and "Who offers it? How much? W/UPDATES" that will help you find who offers a particular prescription drug for less, and our feedback and questions and answers forums are loaded with info. Try our search feature to locate all posts related to the med or topic that interests you.



3.A. Replace brand names for generics or other brand names that cost less

3.B. Domestic mail order pharmacies and online pharmacies.

3.C. Use Canadian, Mexican, and other foreign pharmacies

3.D. Use DrugBuyers.Com VIP Discounts, discount cards, senior discounts, veteran discounts, coupons, and other discounts



4. Patient assistance programs

Check our suggested links Links to information on how to obtain free meds

DB Thank you for the Free medicine links! I know people who can put these links to work today! Great resorce to have access to>>>>>>>>>NEON

Please use yahoo search (not google)...

Quote:

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3.A. Start early! Your quest for savings should start with your physician. Ask how much the prescription will cost you. Mention you are on a tight budget. If you can't afford what the physician wants to prescribe insist on something else, ask for a cheaper alternative. Also keep in mind that physicians receive a lot free samples and do not mind giving them away. If you ask for free samples you will most likely get them, (this does not usually apply for controlled substances).

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I just wanted to add that this is VERY TRUE and should help if a person will just ask their doctor...before I got my insurance,my doctor would write for the cheapest meds he could think of..(i.e.the cheapest antibiotics,ect)..and I was able to call him and ask for his samples of stuff if I couldn't get my meds or if I was running low and he would leave a bag of free pills to pick up at the front desk.He was always pretty good about letting me have the samples,I would leave there with a 14 day supply of free antibiotics and that was a lifesaver.I am sure if people just ask and make their doctor aware that price is a concern,they will give them out.(that's what they're there for)
Another way is to call around local pharmacies....I found out that a local mom and pop place was cheaper on one of my meds than my co-pay at the others...so it pays to call around.
I am THE bargain hunter..so this thread is a great help.Thanks DB.
Kam

To the administrator; I am completely surprised that you advise people to cut their pills in half. Most of the time there is a reason, chemical in nature, that could be very dangerous for certain meds to be split. Sometimes it could be a time release, and others, the chemical reaction is different. When I have cut my pills in half, and take the whole thing instead of half,their pain control doesn't last as long & I have noticed that the medicine is much stronger when I don't cut it in half. I have gotten sick when cutting certain meds in half. I'm not a chemist by no means, but I have studied & researched a little bit on this subject.JMHO, vixxen

Admin does actually state, "Note that not all tablets can be safely cut in half. You will have to do a bit of research."

If in doubt about cutting pills, ask your doctor. I cut several of my prescriptions in half, and some of them were to get my thyroid meds at the right level, so they had to be cut. My paroxetine can be titrated down until I am off. My doctor okayed it. Even my ambien can be cut in half. If in doubt, just ask your doctor. The control release ones cannot, like Metform or Ambien CR. If it is a drug you can cut, opt up for the higher dosage. It's only a few dollars more and it will definitely get you through two months, like ambien, paroxetine, many statins.

great ideas.....keep them coming

As far as generics go, Most WalMarts now offer $4 prescription on quite a few generic meds. When I was prescribed an anti-imflammatory the doc told me to fill it at Walmart because it would only be $4. Elsewhere it would be over $100 for the brand and almost $30 for generic.

I would invite anyone to read "Is your pharmacy costing you too much?" A post I had made in Other Related Topics on this forum. I had copied & pasted the information from an email I got regarding the lowest costing chain pharmacies. There could be some information you didn't know that will end up saving you a LOT of money (not just a few bucks) next time you need a script refilled.

click to read

Since I am an AARP member I was told that I can save up to 53% on certain drugs, and even more if I use mail order. Well I signed up, they are with United Healthcare, and Express scripts is handling their mail order pharmacy. To those that are not over 50 count your blessings, and to those of us that has made it to 50 and over count our blessings too, although I live in a constant state of denial.
BTW: My doctor writes most of my prescriptions directing me to take 1/2 for cost effectiveness.

Isn't that the truth, though??? I can TOTALLY relate! Me? 50? Who? What? Check that date again, would you, please?

LMAO

Ibuprofen is a very effective analgesic providing remedy for many different kinds of pain. It’s not as hard on the liver as Tylenol although it does have the same possible side effects as Aspirin. I have found that using Ibuprofen in conjunction with hydrocodone allows me to take less hydro while achieving a similar level of relief. High dose brand name Ibuprofen products are available with prescriptions such as: Advil, Motrin, Medipren, Nuprin, PediaCare Fever, et. al.

The prescription brands such as the ones mentioned above usually contain about 400-800mg of Ibuprofen and can cost anywhere from $22 to $100 or more for 100 pills. OR, you can purchase generic Ibuprofen without a prescription at Wal-Mart or any discount pharmacy for a fraction of the cost.

The combined savings of using fewer hydro and buying generic Ibuprofen can really add up!

Thanks for sharing that info. I've used ibuprofen with the hydro and it has helped, like you stated. I didn't think about the cost savings, but you're correct.

I'd take ibuprofen more often if it didn't upset my stomach so much. It really is effective.

If you go into a UK pharmacy and ask for Zirtec, you will pay several pounds for it. If you ask for the cheapest cetirizine, it will cost you a few pennies. Yet so many people don't know, and I constantly hear people asking for brand names. Especially rubbishy branded cough medicines which make no pharmacological sense.

In the Eastern USL

Publix Pharmacies Launch Free Prescription drug Program in All Operating Areas


Aug. 6, 2007 — Beginning today, Publix Super Markets chainwide is offering a free prescription drug program at its 684 Publix Pharmacies for the following oral antibiotics
Amoxicillin
Cephalexin
Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (SMZ-TMP)
Ciprofloxacin (excluding ciprofloxacin XR)
Penicillin VK
Ampicillin and
Erythromycin (excluding Ery-Tab).

These antibiotics account for almost 50 percent of the generic, pediatric prescriptions filled at Publix. New or current customers simply need to provide their Publix pharmacist with their prescription, up to a 14-day supply, and it will be filled at no charge. Publix is not limiting the number of prescriptions customers may fill for free.

____________ SECONG NEW OFFER_______________

Meijer Pharmacy Free Antiotic Offer

The program covers leading, oral generic antibiotics with a special focus on the prescriptions most often filled for children. The following are FREE with your doctor's prescription, regardless of insurance or co-pay:

Amoxicillin
Cephalexin
SMZ-TMP
Ciprofloxacin
Ampicillin
Penicillin VK
Erythromycin

Prescription must be picked up at store in person. Maximum 14 day supply at normal oral dosages. Does not include extended release formulations. List may be subject to change. Not valid with any other offer.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One word on breaking tablets, it should only be considered if the tablet is scored from the manufacturer. When tablets are scored the manufacturer guarantees that equal amounds of the active ingredient, are actually in both halfs.

If you DO break an unscored tablet, the entire dose of medication may be all together in a small portion of the pill. One day you may get the full tablet dose and on day two, get nothing. Depending on the medication this can be a dangerous practice.

Some pills have an enteric coating, and they should never be broken or chewed. Sometimes the stomach acids can inactivate a medication, or a medication can also irritate the stomach. So, pills with an enteric coating are made to dissolve in the intestine. When you break it or chew it, you can end up getting none of the medication, or even creating gastric ulcers.

Most enteric coatings are shiny, smooth, or may appear like a gelatin layer. If unsure ask your pharmacist or check it online.

Also, Walgreens has a prescription savings program for people without insurance. They gave it to me for free and it's saved me bundles. It's called UNARX.

For example, one med I'm on would normally cost about 80 bucks, but with the UNARX at Walgreens, it's like 12 dollars.

I think you just have to ask for it and they'll give it to you.

Wow Leelee27 a blast from the past i haven't seen you around since svs was giving out 120 count without records.

Repteur....leelee's post is from 5/05...Just thought I would point that out.
Stevo

LoL thanks for pointing that out. Those were good days around here. I haven't seen her around in a long time.

Most major drug companies have programs to help people who can't afford their meds.

Parmer with a longtime customer of an online drugstore. The one I use offers a 10$ discount to the regular and 10$ off new users when the tell them that I referred them to their site.
to their site. They are extremely reliable, always next day shipment and low prices. I have been using them for the past year and NEVER had a problem. Email me at bet_u_don@yahoo.com and I will give you the info.

Need alternative to ProServe/ProPatient/First Class and My Primary....

For various reasons, I'd like to find someone reliable and unrelated...I have NO idea where to post this, but while the service was great over all, I've had issues, and am at a complete loss where to start finding a 'new' reliable op.

Thanks so much for any other OP/OCS's that will treat me right...I'm happy to use Direct Scripts, but...just a diff service.

Please feel free to PM me.

And thank you for your support!

Hi everyone, wishing goodluck one and all of this community, have a nice day, thank u
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charles
Drug Addiction Treatment

they are the only ones that remember your birthday before anyone else does. http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/000202B4.gif

I been getting mailings from AARP lately. Is it worth it to join. I can't even get my kid to remember my birthday. Marlboro remembers every year and sends me a card and coupon for $10 off my next carton. Very nice of them.

Neatjeans how are you long time no talk http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/00020163.gif

I really, really miss you too. I am very well Dawn. What is happening with you dear. I am browsing around seeing what is happening. Trying to stay out of trouble but I can see that might be a problem now!!! Did you see Crystal? I know that plenty of trouble can be had in what I call "downstairs".

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I could take that several ways, but you said don't, so I won't. Yes, of course, back on subject, very, very sorry.

Anyone know where cheap drugs can be had?

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that is ehy the administrator said to first do your research before splitting the pills! hese days, most pills are scored which means you are able to break them in half, of course if it is a capsule or time released this is impossible; in that case, ask your dr for a higher dosage in some sort of tablet form so you can split in half, and they will last you so much longer! and always request generics! and call around to different pharmacies to see ehos is cheaper. good luck all!

Tarag.....Good Advice ....But You should really ask the Pharmacist .....They really have more knowledge about this then Dr's do.

Im a former Wal-Mart manager.

I know quite a bit about profit margins at major pharmacies WalGreens, Cost-C0, etc, etc..

Take this into consideration.. If you live in a small town with one Wal-Mart the price of almost all your medication can be as little as 2% or up to 50% higher, versus, a Wal-Mart in a larger city. WHY?? Competition.. People might think that Wal-Mart has uniformed prices for medications since its a publicly traded chain of stores(WRONG)!! Wal-Mart pharmacy and others will bend you over if there are no other pharmacies in the local area or if they are smaller mom~n~pop pharms.

I had seen price sheets for medications in one city versus another city that was only 20 miles away. OMG!! I was amazed that a topical medications could be $40 higher in our store. This was true for generics and non-generics.

Another kicker I learned as a manager, is that their optics department works in a very similar fashion. Some stores have free eye exams, some charge $20-40.. Then there are the differences in markup of prescription lenses, frames, contacts, etc. I'm not talking about a 5-10 dollar difference it could be 50-200 dollar difference.

Needless to say, now when I fill my prescriptions it is during a trip to the "big" city.

GoingUp?

Thank you for your perspective. I live in a relatively rural area. The Walmarts and Sam's Clubs have the same plan, same national list for generics - $4/month.

What you describe is a market economy. It costs more to have a store in Contra Costa county (CA) as opposed to Alameda (just a comparison). Prices reflect that. There is no way to change that in a capitalist economy.

Remember not all generics are $4 a month only a selective few.

The store Im speaking of is only a 15-20 minute drive to the "big" city.. I could understand if they had to truck the stuff another 500 miles, but that's not the case. No, the small town Im speaking of has lower property taxes, lower cost of land, utilities are cheaper, etc, etc.. So, the idea they have to charge more for being in a higher cost area is not the issue. Wal-Mart just has being a crook down to a science.

I wont even go into how I have seen them recycle meds from the dispensary bins that should have been returned to the manufacture or how they like to sell you WAYYYY out dated over the counter medications, chemicals, lotions, sunscreen, etc. Always look at the EXP date for over the counter anything at wal-mart!!! I would imagine the other big guys do it as well.

Even the Wal-Marts in our Capital city will have different prices and the eye care department will really reach into your pocket if they know there are no other eye exam locals or eye glass stores within just a few miles.

GoingUp?!

Thank you for your perspective. I will be looking out for expiration dates and asking more questions.

Yes, Walmart is a "affordable" store but I can see that you truly understand from location to location they are going to set their prices as they see fit . It is the old and tried rule of supply and demand. It is really unfair that if you live in a rural area vs. an urban area that the prices should be so much different, hell this should'nt be expected from a chainstore! Unfortunately, it does, because we live in a Capitalistic country which basically means everyone is out for themselves regardless of what their advertising campain regards as a "Guarantee" for meds costing less than 5 bucks. Like other members posted, this means "maintenance meds" ( ie: blood pressure, thyroid, cholesterol meds ect). Asking the question of where to find affordable meds in ths country is practically an oxymoron, because there is nothing affordable when you get down to it. I have insurance and can barely afford to pay the co-pay, seniors on medicare have to struggle to meet their health needs, and basically you have to either be a minor or unemployed to recieve medicaid ( I make too much w/ gross wages at 12,000 a year.) We are the only "progressive" country in the world that has either no or little regulations regarding medical care and pharmacuticals; that is why the U.S. is so high in everthing medically related even in comparion to countries with a higher standard of living! So, if you're looking for cheaper meds, I hope you like cold weather because the closest place for a discount is probably Cananda

great thread

Heading to the "big" city, when doing my shopping. This is turely valueable information that can save you a big chunk of change!

This gets posted a lot, but it is a very good way to save cash on prescriptions if you have no insurance, or do not want to use your insurance for whatever reason.

http://www2.caremark.com/naco/

Go to this website. Click on the right side for "Participating Counties". If your County (in the USA) is one that has participating pharmacies, then you can either print the card off on a 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. Or, there is also a shortcut that lists where you can pick a card up at.

There is NO sign up. NO forms to fill out. NOTHING.

I got the card at the local public library, and went to Walmart to fill my scrp of 120 count 10/325's. My last prescription was 90 10/325. Cost me just under $70.00. WITH the card, it was just under $40.00 for 120 10/325.

Nice advices thank you.

I have found that if you contact the manufacturer and request coupons to be used on next refill that some will mail a coupon. For example I was scripted Kadian (sp?) strong, time released narcotic. When I filled the script was over $60. After I called the maker of this drug I received a certificate in the mail for $30 off next script.
Also ask your pharmacist If you
could purchase half the script today and the remainder in 2 weeks, this has worked for me in the past and allowed to pay for drug with one paycheck and the remainder of the drug with the next paycheck.

GREAT idea - thanks so much, all these years and i've never asked that....

Thanks for the coupon tip. However, I thought certain drugs you couldnt purchase in smaller-then-prescribed increments.
I was on Concerta for awhile before I got put on adderrall, and the concerta, even with my awesome insurance, was $90 a month. I asked one day if I could just buy half until I got paid, and they said that I could not do that with concerta.
I have done it before with other expensive meds though (like skelaxin)

When the pharmacy gets a script they have to enter it in their system as written by the doc. When pharmacy puts rx claim through insurance the script is priced out to how much your co pay will be. The insurance company can't give ok for 1/2 a fill, they price out the whole 30 days. The pharmacy fills it.

It is up to the pharmacys discretion to let you pick up and pay for only 1/2 of script today and the rest later. If the pharmacy let's you pay for only 1/2 then it's like the pharmacy is giving you credit for the rest of the script until you pick it up and pay.
If for example you never went back for the other 1/2 of the script then the pharmacy would be out that money because they can't put the meds that were filled for you back into their stock. After so long they would have to through the pills away.

I have a pharmacy that wil let me do this but I have been with them for a long time.

makes total sense. thanks for that!

On some meds too, one can purchase a months' supply which is really 2 months worth. Meaning pills that can be broken in half.

Say you need 5mg of some med, your doc would prescribe 10mg.

My doc does this for some of her patients. She is very aware of financial limitations.

There is a website called www.freedrugcard.com and all you have to do is fill out your name and email address and print out the card. they used to have two, one was the freedrug card, the other was a UNA rx card, and with the UNA rx card, it saves a lot of money, 120 norco 10/325's are 28.55 and 120 hydrocodone 10/500 is only 23 and some change. Just to let you know, hope this can help someone out

Definitley go with the discount drug cards! They can shave a good chunk of change off of expensive prescriptions.

The one I went with was UnaRx Card http://unarxcard.com/index.php

I posted in another thread somewhere what my savings were. In my case it was a last minute thought that saved my bacon.

The costs of my prescriptions were supposed to be handled by my no-fault coverage (which has now run out). There was an issue with the company that does the billing - something about a piece of paperwork not being received my one of my doctors or something along those lines.

To make a long story short, they would not cover any more scripts till this issue was taken care of. I could have contacted my attorney and got this mess sorted out, but at this time my pain level on a 0-10 scale was a 15 - waiting was not an option.

It didn't help that my pain physician only prescribed name brand meds, but that is a whole different story.

I had a friend print out the card for me and he met me at the pharmacy with it. When everything was all said and done, Close to $400 in medications was reduced down to just under $300.

Still too much to pay when my no-fault was supposed to be covering it, but made it a bit easier to swallow. Then just went and handed the bill to my attorney.

That card was a life saver. Since being discharged, I haven't worked because I was going to school. Now I've had to take a LOA from school and can't work (even though I desperately want to). Needless to say money is VERY tight, so every dollar saved helps alot.