Note: Always speak to your doctor about any medications. This information is not intended to replace your primary physician's recommendation.
You may find yourself between a rock and a hard place if the last doctor appointment revealed a high blood pressure problem that requires medicine you can't afford. While you know that the diagnosis won't go away if you deny it, ignorance seems to be the easiest option. Not only were you pronounced broken but must somehow pay for the maintenance medicine. Either your insurance stinks, or, worse, you are self-employed.
My mother recently paid $300 for generic pain medicine, working out to something like $15 per pill. The debate over our broken, insurance heavy system of healthcare aside, you still need those monthly meds. Until barriers to affordable care are broken down, here are a few tips to keep you in decent health.
1. Stay as healthy as possible.
We like to recycle multiple stories about an active, health-conscious runner who drops dead during a marathon. All that healthiness lead to his untimely demise. This might have happened a couple of times, but the truth is thousands of healthy runners are in much better shape than we are. It makes us feel superior to demean that fact by finding anomalies. I don't run, but I can walk, swim, lift weights, and cycle to stay in shape. Before resorting to medicine (or while you take it, if you must) strive to eat as many natural, homemade foods as possible and exercise. Your type 2 diabetes diagnosis may just be a result of poor lifestyle choices.
2. Ask for generic drugs.
They have the same effects as their name-brand counterpart. No, they are not inferior-just cheaper. The newer, more cutting edge drugs typically aren't offered in a generic, so you will pay more for experimental or new-to-the-market prescriptions. BlueCross BlueShield reported a $2.5 billion savings since clients have used more generic varieties.
3. Use mail order, when possible.
For illnesses that need immediate treatment this isn't an option, but if you take maintenance medicine get connected with an online provider. Try RegenRx http://www.regencerx.com/prescriptions/mailOrder/ or Express Scripts http://www.express-scripts.com/ for delivery options. When ordering a 90-day supply (or bulk ordering) you can reap additional savings.
4. Check pharmacy price comparisons.
It remains a mystery to me that the price of a drug fluctuates as much as $150 between pharmacies. Not all stores are created equal-simply because you find a cheap prescription for your antibiotic at Walmart doesn't mean CVS won't have a better deal on your pain medicine. Call ahead and make sure the pharmacy has your insurance information.
5. Use combination medicines.
If you have a host of maladies, see if any medicine can do double duty for half the cost. Diseases like hypertension and diabetes are treated in tandem; many companies manufacture drugs that treat more than one symptom. Interestingly enough, some of these options are even cheaper than meds that treat just one illness.
6. Pharmaceutical discounts.
A largely unknown benefit to consumers is the "scholarship drug" program given by many manufacturers. Customers send in documentation of household income directly to the company and, if they qualify for an assistance program, the manufacturer reduces their drug cost. Although this option takes longer to process, it is well worth completing the documentation.
Continue to research new drugs being introduced to the market and don't be shy to speak candidly with your physician about drug costs. Many doctors are given gobs of free samples that they can hand out to folks in tight situations.
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(For more savings tips, check out FreeShippping.org's "Go Frugal" blog at http://www.freeshipping.org/blog/)
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(c) 2009, www.freeshipping.org
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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