No matter your age, gender, Twilight team [Go Team Jacob] or overall health status, we will ALL require a medication prescription at some point in our lives. These medications can be CRAZY expensive! As a travel nurse, I sometimes temporarily lose my health insurance throughout the year when I take more than 24 days off between assignments or if I jump back and forth between the two companies I am signed on with. This has put me in a bind on several occasion when a prescription is required during these uninsured times, but for some people, being uninsured is the norm. In fact, 9% of adults in the United States are without healthcare insurance; this is approximately 28 million people!

Every single one of you is on some kind of budget and I can probably assume prescriptions are NOT what you want to spend your hard-earned money on. Follow along with me to check out 9 of the best tips and tricks to make sure you are paying bottom dollar for your medications!

1

Ask for generic!

When drugs are manufactured and sold for the first time in the US, they are patent protected and have exclusivity laws surrounding them; these will become the “Brand names” you likely will identify drugs by in the future [ex. Tylenol (brand name) vs. acetaminophen (generic name).] After these patent and exclusivity laws expire, other companies will release the exact same formula of medication for a majorly discounted price [on average around 85% cheaper!!].

How are they able to do this?? Partially, basic economic rules take over–by increasing the number of purchase options for consumers, cost of the product will be driven down. The biggest reason though is that these “copycat” companies are not required to repeat all of the human/animal testing regarding efficacy, safety, etc. that the pilot company had to complete. The generic drugs ARE, however, subjected to the same regulation standards as the brand name drugs and according to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), there is no difference between buying generic drugs vs buying brand name drugs…so save yourself some money and go generic!

2

Ask for a cheaper option!

If you have insurance, you will find that some drugs are covered more than others. Government programs like the VA are notorious for prescribing the cheapest medication options possible because they know that multiple drugs at varying price points can be used for the same ailment. For example, multiple antibiotics can be used to treat a urinary tract infection so if one is very pricey, ask if a less expensive option is available to you. Sometimes there is one specific drug that is deemed to be the best fit for your medical issue and your doctor is adamant you get that particular drug so this won’t be an option. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to ask!

3

Pay out of pocket cost!

For those with insurance, the idea of asking for a pharmacy to not bill their insurance sounds a little nuts, but hear me out! If you have insurance and fill a prescription at a pharmacy, you either pay a set copay and then your insurance company pays the rest OR your insurance company pays a certain percentage of the cost and you pay the rest. The less talked about option, however, is to ask to pay the out of pocket cost. Occasionally this will be less so look into it!

4

Buy in bulk!

Many times a 90 day prescription is much cheaper than a 30 day prescription so if this is a long-term medication, look into it!

5

Ask for samples!

Some doctors’ offices have samples sent to them from different drug manufacturers for promotional purposes that can be handed out to patients. Same with some pretty great coupons! Ask your physician [or nurse!] if they have any available!

6

Shop around!

Did you know the price of drugs are not the same at every pharmacy? There could be a HUGE price difference between a CVS on one corner and a Walgreens on another corner of the same block. Shop around before you simply go to the same pharmacy you’ve always gone to out of habit!

7

Location, location, location!

Did you know that drug prices MASSIVELY fluctuate based on geographical location? The #1 most expensive city to fill a prescription in is New York City which is 20% higher than the national average! Second place is San Francisco followed by Los Angeles (CA), San Diego (CA), Sacramento (CA), Philly (PA), Raleigh (NC), Birmingham (AL), Orlando (FL) and Cleveland (OH). As with everything in life, there is a flip side. The least expensive city to fill a prescription in is Columbus, OH which is 21% lower than the national average. Second place is Atlanta (GA) followed by Houston (TX), Dallas (TX), Denver (CO), Salt Lake City (UT), Indianapolis (IN), Washington DC [I’ve got an off-topic conspiracy theory about this…ask if interested!], Las Vegas (NV) and Tampa (FL).

8

Use online discount programs!

Some seriously AWESOME discount programs exist to help make prescriptions WAY more affordable!! One of my absolute favorites is www.goodrx.com which I have used multiple times to majorly lower prescription costs when I have been between insurance plans. Just go to the website, type in the name of the medication you have been prescribed and either print or download the coupon to your phone. It will literally list out the exact cost at every pharmacy that will accept the coupon for you. So easy and a HUGE money saver! Also try wellrx.com/discount-card and insiderx.com for a discount card you can take to any pharmacy for additional savings! These sites also help you look up the prices of medication at pharmacies in your area. If you want to see even more options, GOOGLE IT! Works every time.

9

Use in store discount programs!

Many large store chains offer incredible discount programs that too many people aren’t taking advantage of! These stores have TONS of discounted medications for all kinds of health issues including: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiac issues, psychiatric issues, low thyroid levels and even some supplements like folic acid!

Walmart offers a 30 day supply of these medications for $4 and a 90 day supply for $10. They also offer other meds at a STEEPLY discounted price. Target has the exact same offer but additionally has another list of more expensive medication for $9/30 day supply and $24/90 day supply. Rite Aid has a program that offers some medication at $9.99/30 day supply or $15.99/90 day supply. Look around! Costco and Sam’s Club are also options to explore. Click on the links above to check out each stores list!

You can even try out online pharmacies (healthwarehouse.com) which often offer discounted prices on many medications.

Discounted Travels <3