April 05, 2019
Opportunities to save money exist all around us. Retailers fill your mailbox with sales flyers, offer store loyalty programs, and send you off with coupons to save even more on your next visit. Unfortunately, saving money on your prescriptions can seem a lot more difficult. The good news? There are plenty of ways to lower the costs of your meds if you know where to look for savings. Here’s how:
Switching to generics is my go-to suggestion for anyone who wants to lower the cost of their prescriptions — and it’s usually the easiest and most straightforward thing to do.
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about all the prescriptions you take and
discuss if lower-cost generic versions of your medications could be right
for you.
• For prescriptions that do not have generic versions, ask if there are
lower-cost therapeutic alternatives available.
You can see how much you could save by referring to your health plan’s drug-pricing tool to compare costs for generic, brand-name versions, and therapeutic alternatives. Independence Blue Cross embers can find the drug pricing tool on ibx.com.
In addition to mail-order pharmacies, some health plans work with certain area pharmacies to offer lower costs to their plan members. At Independence, these are called Preferred Pharmacies, and members can get a three-month supply of formulary tier 1 or tier 2 drugs for the price of a two-month copay. Learn more about our network pharmacies.
The cost of everyday maintenance medications can add up quickly but using a mail-order pharmacy can help manage expenses.
Mail-order pharmacies typically offer 90-day prescriptions for the price of 60-days, and they’ll deliver your prescriptions right to your door! This buy two, get one free deal can reduce your costs by a third and is worth looking into. Find out if your plan offers mail order. If they do, talk to your doctor about whether it’s right for you.
Anyone with a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D) who has limited resources and income may also be able to get Extra Help from Medicare as well as help from their State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program to pay for the costs related to their medications, including monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription copays.
It may take some legwork on your part to take advantage of these Part D prescription savings, but it will be worth it in the end. If you’d like some help, you can call your health plan, your State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program, or Medicare.
This article was previously published on IBX Insights.
I manage aspects of Independence’s Medicare Part D benefit and support clinical and quality improvement efforts. My goal is to help enhance the health and well-being of the communities that Independence serves.
