Tips For Saving Money On Your Next Prescription

Healthcare costs are increasing five times faster than the rate of inflation. As a result, the uninsured and underinsured can't afford the care they need; employers keep pushing more of the costs on to their employees; and taxpayer-funded government programs are taking a financial hit. The single biggest factor that's driving the increase in healthcare costs is the price of prescription drugs.
CoPIRG is working to bring down the high cost of prescription drugs. In the meantime, here are some tips to save money on your next prescription:

• Beware of brand name generics.
A testimony to the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical industry is the emergence of “brand name generics,” generic equivalents of popular brand name drugs made by companies that spend money on advertising to distinguish their products from other generic versions. One of the drugs included in our survey, Levoxyl, is a brand name generic version of another drug in our survey, Synthroid. Both are top sellers, and both are priced higher than equally effective generic versions. See the price comparisons for Synthroid below. The prices represent the cost of a one month’s supply (30 tablets); we used Walgreen’s website price for 100 tablets to calculate the cost of a month’s supply.

*prices downloaded from www.walgreens.com on October 5, 2004.

• Always ask if there is a generic version of your prescription.
Ask your doctor or your pharmacist for a generic version of your prescription medication or do some research by looking at an online drugstore. Generic drugs are much cheaper than their brand name counterparts. For example, the price of the most popular brand of birth control in America, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, is much higher than its generic equivalent, Tri-nessa. On the Walgreen’s website, a month’s supply of Ortho Tri-Cyclen costs $41.99. The generic version, Tri-Nessa, costs only $29.99—nearly 30% less.

• Be sure to tell your doctor if you are not able to afford the medication that he or she prescribed you.
If a doctor writes you a prescription, he or she expects that you will fill it and take it as directed. Your doctor might have free samples available or might be able to prescribe a different medication that is less expensive.

• Shop around; use the phone and the Internet to look for lower drug prices.
Ask a pharmacist for advice on how to save money on your prescriptions; they might know of discount programs for which you might be eligible. Certain websites also can help consumers compare prices from multiple Internet pharmacies, such as www.pricegrabber.com and www.destinationrx.com. (See tip below about using safe Internet pharmacies.)

• Find out if you qualify for state government assistance programs, such as PACE and PACENET.
Pennsylvania’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) and PACENET are insurance programs for low-income seniors to help them afford their prescriptions. If you are over 65 and make less than $14,500 as an individual or $17,700 as a married couple you may qualify for comprehensive prescription coverage through PACE. If you’re over 65 and make between $14,500 and $23,500 as an individual or between $17,700 and $31,500, you may qualify for assistance from PACENET, which includes a deductible and slightly higher co-payment. To enroll, visit https://pacecares.fhsc.com/ or call 1-800-225-7223 to request that an enrollment form be mailed to you.

• Be careful when purchasing your prescriptions on the Internet.
Many websites appear legitimate but actually sell counterfeit and unsafe products. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy developed the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program to certify pharmacies that meet licensing requirements for their state, as well as for each state to which they dispense pharmaceuticals. For more information on VIPPS, visit http://vipps.nabp.net/.

In general, be sure that any Internet pharmacy is licensed by a government authority. Also, never use an Internet pharmacy that does not require a hard copy (faxed or mailed) of your doctor’s prescription. Always look for the online pharmacy’s address; if the website does not disclose any address or phone number, it is probably not a legitimate business.

• Only import prescription drugs from pharmacies certified by the country in which they are based.
Several states have set up websites to help their residents import drugs from certified Canadian pharmacies. These websites are generally open to people living outside of the state. The state of Minnesota, for example, maintains www.MinnesotaRxConnect.com to help consumers price Canadian drugs. The Minnesota State Department of Health visited and approved each of the pharmacies included on its website. Another website, www.pharmacychecker.com, is a free service that allows consumers to compare drug prices at a variety of Internet sites. It has rated 44 online pharmacies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere.

• Get Involved.
While these tips can help you lower the cost of your prescriptions, more needs to be done to lower the high cost of medications in the United States. Be active on consumer issues like this by visiting www.copirg.org, or call 303-573-7474.

Questions to Ask Your Health Care Provider:

• Is this drug more effective than an older, cheaper drug because it is prescribed at a higher dosage? If so, would the older, cheaper drug be as effective if it were given at an equivalent dose?
Sometimes the best course is simply to increase the dose of an older drug. New drugs are not necessarily better than old ones, and the older the drug, the better its safety record is likely to be.

• Are the benefits worth the side effects, the expense, and the risk of interaction with other drugs I take?
Every drug has side effects, and the side effects and associated risks may outweigh the benefits of taking a new prescription.