How can you lower your medicine costs?

Trying to make some changes in your lifestyle might help reduce your need for medicines. Many chronic illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and low back pain, require fewer medicines if you can increase your activity level, lose weight, and improve your diet. Also, counseling, support groups, and other therapies may help with illnesses such as depression.

How can you save money on prescriptions?

Generic medicines are less expensive copies of brand-name medicines. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you can take a generic equivalent for the brand-name medicine that you take now. Generic equivalents are made according to the same strict U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards as brand-name drugs and therefore have the same quality, strength, purity, and stability as their more expensive counterparts.

Unfortunately, generic equivalents are not available for every brand-name medicine. If there is not an equivalent, ask your doctor if there is a similar medicine in the same class that may be less expensive or that has a generic equivalent. For example, Flomax, which is used to treat an enlarged prostate, is a relatively expensive medicine that does not have a generic equivalent. But another medicine that also is used for enlarged prostate, Hytrin, does have a less expensive generic equivalent.

Always shop around for the best deal on medicines. The retail cost can vary widely from pharmacy to pharmacy. While finding a good deal is important, it's also important that your pharmacist (or pharmacists) knows your medical history, including all the drugs-both prescription and over-the-counter (nonprescription), as well as dietary supplements and herbs-you take, even if they are not dispensed at that particular pharmacy. That way he or she can provide valuable advice about any potential for drug interactions, side effects, or other problems.

Also, compare costs of buying medicines online. Some large drugstore chains have Web sites that offer savings. See a complete list of Web sites on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) site at www.nabp.net/index.html?target=/vipps/consumer/search.asp&. Look for Web sites that display the NABP VIPPS (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) seal, which means they have met state and federal requirements.

Pill splitting is another strategy that can help you save money without losing drug effectiveness or safety. Some tablets are available at double the dose and at the same or almost the same cost as lower doses. By splitting the larger dose, you can essentially get two doses for the price of one. But many medicines should not be split, including timed-release pills and capsules. The chart below lists 10 commonly prescribed medicines that researchers have determined can be split safely and effectively with significant cost savings.¹