5 Tips To Save Money On Medications

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Many seniors find it difficult to finance everyday living expenses while paying for expensive medication. Even with insurance, some medications can take a chunk out of a senior's budget, leaving him or her to make difficult choices such as cutting back on money for food to pay other bills. However, there are some programs and resources in place that can help a senior to afford medication. Consider the following five tips to save money on medication.

Ask your health care provider for samples if the prescription is new. Sometimes a new medication may have side effects or may not work well in treating a condition. Whenever this happens, the medication usually sits in a medicine cabinet or is discarded, which is a total waste of money. Prescription-drug samples can help you save money while you determine if the medication is effective. If samples are not available, ask the health care provider if he or she can write a partial prescription, which can save some money if you find that the medication does not work as expected.

Talk with your health care provider about special discount cards that will reduce your copay. Some pharmaceutical companies now offer discount cards that will reduce the amount of the copay for brand-name drugs. This is to help brand-name drugs compete with generic drugs, which cost less. If the company offers a discount card there may be limitations since some insurance companies will not approve the use of a discount card with their plans. Generally, a patient must activate the discount card by telephone or online, and the pharmacy will contact the insurance company to verify that the card can be used.

Contact your local agency on aging or similar organization that provides services for older adults. These agencies do not usually pay for medications, but they do employ caseworkers or social workers who are familiar with special programs for older adults. They can inform you of whether there are programs at the state or local level that can provide some financial assistance for medications and help you complete the paperwork to get the process started.

Talk with your health care provider about whether a generic medication will work for you. In some cases generics work as well as over-the-counter medications. However, if your prescriber recommends a brand name drug, it may be because your body will respond better to that specific medication, so spending more for the drug can help your avoid medical issues that could cost you more in the long run.

Purchase a larger supply. Buying a 90-day supply of prescription medications may qualify you for a discount. Some pharmacies and insurance companies offer discounts to those that purchase medications in bulk. Consider using a locally-owned or family-owned pharmacy. They often have some flexibility in the prices they charge and may offer discounts for quantities for regular customers. Another strategy that may help double your supply of medication is pill splitting. If you take a medication that is 20 milligrams, a 40 milligram pill would provide two doses, and the cost may not be much more than the lower dose pills. It should be noted, however, that not all pills are suitable for splitting. Your health care provider will determine whether your pills are appropriate for splitting. Never split a pill without specific directions from your health care provider or pharmacist.

Compare Medicare Part D prescription plans and make changes during the open-enrollment period. By carefully looking at each plan's medication coverage, you might find a plan provides better prescription-drug coverage than your current plan.

It is possible to save money on medication. Think about trying some of these strategies that could help provide the finance you need get your medication.

Author Bio
Sarah Daren is a writer who creates informative articles relating to the field of health. In this article, she offers financial tips to individuals dealing with medical costs and aims to encourage further study through online masters of health law programs.

Understanding The Costs Associated With Heart Disease

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The costs of leading an unhealthy lifestyle have a substantial effect on your lifestyle costs in the future. Going without exercise and consuming foods that are considered to be traditionally unhealthy puts you at risk of developing heart disease and can leave you with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Making the choice to leave a healthy lifestyle is often difficult until your eyes have been opened to the possibilities of what being diagnosed with heart disease can potentially cost in the future. 

What are the potential costs of heart disease?

Doctors Visits and Procedures

Visits to the doctor, procedures and admission to hospital and medical facilities have the potential to cost upwards of several thousand dollars, for each trip to the center. Imaging procedures are costly and are often required multiple times through the course of a visit to a cardiac health center -- adding up significantly. 

Nutritionist Costs and Dietary Needs

Once patients have suffered a cardiac event, it's essential to take the right path when it comes to health and nutrition. Unfortunately, this can include added costs of physical training and therapy, healthy food that is suited to specialized diets and fitness club memberships. Taking the health seriously late in life is costly -- and not something that should be taken lightly. 

Health Insurance Premiums 

Health insurance premiums are based on the health and the history of the patient. Patients that have a poor health history will experience higher health insurance premiums than otherwise healthy patients. 
In some cases, patients searching for health insurance are denied because of the increased risk based on their previous history. In the case that there is no health insurance, one visit to a cardiac specialist can cost upwards of seven hundred dollars -- and that's without any imaging or studies being completed during the appointment. 

The Cost of Medication

In the case that you've suffered a cardiac event, it's likely that you're going to be on some sort of medication regimen. This daily regimen can cost several hundred dollars monthly -- as not all of the prescribed medications are covered by supplemental health insurance plans. 
Though there is help available for the costs of medication, it rarely covers the entire monthly amount, leaving patients short on medication or short on money. 
Sure, there are generic options that are available that can help to lower the price but the long term cost of medication to reduce the instance of developing further cardiac issues can be quite high. Many patients that are unable to work, have few other options, and have difficulty affording the required medication. 

Surgery

During the worst case scenario, patients that have experienced a cardiac event are likely going to require some sort of surgical intervention. This type of intervention is going to require consultations with physicians and cardiac specialists, admission into the hospital facility, tests, monitoring and medication in addition to the costs of the surgery. 
The entire cost of a cardiac surgery, depending on the circumstances, can be upwards of forty thousand dollars. For patients that require more than one surgery, the costs can be exponential and leave the patient without the funds in the budget to repay the debts that are owed to the hospital. 
Taking into account the finance related implications of heart disease is something that patients should consider before they reach that point. Making the effort to follow healthy eating guidelines, maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle and avoiding things that can increase the risk factor, like smoking, can help to reduce the chances that you're going to find yourself bankrupt, sick and in need of medical and surgical intervention.

Author Bio

Sarah Daren is a writer who creates informative articles relating to the field of health. In this article, she describes the costs associated with heart disease and aims to encourage further study through clinical laboratory science schools.