We’ve all gone to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and the price was outrageous. There are simple ways to get the lowest price for your medication.
Yamel Irizarry, a pharmacy specialist with Kaiser Permanente, says the first step is to speak to your doctor.
“You want to talk to them about price, too, because if they are prescribing something and you get to the pharmacy and you can’t afford it, well, we have a big issue there," Irizary says.
Outside of speaking with your doctor, there are other ways to get the price of your medication lower.
Try price comparing. You might have a go to pharmacy to pick up your medication, but there could be another pharmacy that offers a lower price on that same medicine.
Coupons are another great option to try when getting that price down. Just like shopping for groceries, coupon apps are great for getting the best deal. Try downloading the app Good Rx. The app is free and you can save up to 80 percent on medications, often a better deal than using your insurance.
Irizarry says paying in cash instead of your co-pay can sometimes be as cheap as $4 for a prescription re-fill. Places like Walmart and Costco offer deals like that on a lot of generic drugs.
If couponing and price comparing aren’t your thing, you can simply ask your doctor to give you a bigger dose of your medication. However, that does mean you have to cut your medication in half at home, but it will allow your money to go farther because you’re not having to re-fill every month.
Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. Always ask the question, is this the lowest price possible for my medication this month?
