Prescription drug costs continue to burden Americans, with billions of dollars spent each year on such drugs, and nearly one in four patients reporting difficulty affording their medications.
But according to Ruchi Talwar, MD of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, there are practical steps patients can take to ease the financial strain.
In addition to the well-known tactic of requesting a generic version of a drug, other tools can help you lower your drug costs. Some pharmacies offer coupons, and companies like GoodRx partner with local pharmacies to provide discounts on common drugs,” Talwar said. Online pharmacies like Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. can save you money as well, but Cuban’s company doesn’t accept many forms of insurance.
For Medicare members, there is the Medicare Part D Plan Finder, a tool available on the official Medicare website for choosing a private plan within Medicare Part D.
“Different plans have different co-pays for the same drugs,” she said. “This tool helps patients choose a plan that minimizes out-of-pocket expenses for their most expensive prescriptions.”
Even those with employer-sponsored insurance might benefit from comparing prices outside their coverage. “In some cases, it’s actually cheaper to pay out of pocket,” Talwar said.
It’s important, however, that patients do the math when considering paying out of pocket. Doing so will mean nothing the patient pays toward those prescriptions counts toward deductibles, etc., so it may be less expensive over time to go through insurance.
