Simple Ways to Save Hundreds of Dollars on Prescriptions

Some days you may feel like you can’t afford your own health, especially when it comes to the cost of prescription medications.

When you stop by the pharmacy to pick up your medications, you probably pull out your insurance card first.

But a new study has found that may not be the best way to save money.

Kevin Day agrees. He is an independent pharmacist and manages his family’s Pharmacie du Jour.

He hates seeing patients overpay just because their insurance company has set a high price.

“As pharmacists, we are beholden to these contracts that call for charging a patient what the insurance company tells us to charge,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.”

Day says before you pull out that insurance card, talk to your pharmacist to see if paying out-of-pocket might be a better deal.

“People are being charged more and their insurance company is asking them to pay more than they could pay if they paid out of pocket,” he said.

Dr. Varun Vaidya, a pharmacy professor at the University of Toledo, conducted a study that found Americans could have saved billions of dollars by taking a few extra steps.

“We’ve had cases where patients find out that, all of a sudden, their regular medications, which they use for their chronic illnesses, cost hundreds of dollars a month,” he said.

Before you just pay for it, he says, “put the name of these drugs on a price comparison website like GoodRX, and do that comparison exactly like we do to buy a plane ticket.”

Simple Ways to Save Hundreds of Dollars

The University of Toledo study found:

• Amazon Prime pharmacy discounts reportedly saved patients $969 million.
• GoodRX would have saved $1.8 billion.

Doug Hirsch co-founded GoodRX after a frustrating experience filling a prescription.

“I went into the pharmacy,” he told us. “They did this thing with the computer and they said $500, and no one told me.”

To avoid such a situation, go to GoodRX.com and type in the name of your medication.

It will find the cheapest options closest to you.

“We’re just trying to make it easy,” he said. “Health care shouldn’t be this hard.”

Alternatively, you can now check out Amazon Prime’s online pharmacy to see if buying online could save you time and money.

Don’t forget local pharmacies

Prefer to stick to your local pharmacy?

Get to know your local pharmacist: Kevin Day says he’s happy to recommend other medications to help you save money.

“Symbacort costs me almost $500,” he said, “but this generic costs me about $200.”

Day says if you have a working relationship with your local pharmacist, they may be able to find you savings offers like that, without giving all of your personal information to Amazon, GoodRX, or other websites.

Either way, you don’t waste your money,

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