If you want to have a fully stocked medicine cabinet and not have to pay full price when a need arises, you must buy beforehand. This can get costly and if you throw prescription medications into the mix, the price of staying well can really add up.
In this post, I want to share 10 ways to save on medications from OTC (Over The Counter) to vitamins to Scripts.
1. Coupons. This is one of the best ways to save when buying OTC medications, vitamins and even scripts. You can find OTC and Vitamin coupons in all sorts of places from printed coupons online to Sunday inserts. You can also find them as peelies on the actual product as I often do. For scripts. Ask your doctor for them or even contact the manufacturer themselves. Look in magazines as well.
2. Ask for samples. Pharmaceutical companies hire representatives to go to doctor’s offices to tell them about their newest drugs available. They often give samples to the doctors they see and the doctor is allowed to hand them out to patients he or she prescribes that drug to. All you need to do is ask.
3. Ask for generics. Most pharmacies will substitute generics, but some will only do it if you or your doctor asks. You can’t get generics for every drug, as new ones do not have that option yet, but you can ask for older drugs and ask to be put on a similar medication that has a generic. There are even some pharmacies that have special programs and offer a 30 day supply of these generic meds for under $5.
4. Buy vitamins in bulk offline. Just make sure you trust the source as many vitamins are poorly made and therefore poorly absorbed in your system.
5. Ask for a higher dose. As long as the pill can be split evenly, you can get a higher dose of a medication and simply split it in two. For instance, let’s say your doctor wants you to tale 50 mg of a certain pill every day. Ask for 100 mg pills and make on pill last two days or doses. Often times, a medication will cost the same per pill no matter what the dosage.
6. Ask the manufacturer about assistance programs they offer. Many of the big pharmaceutical companies offer programs for low income folks to get life saving medication free or at a reduced cost. Just a quick phone call can get you on the way to joining these programs.
7. Know what your drug coverage covers. If your doctor prescribes something that is not covered, ask for a similar medication to substitutes. Also, some companies will cover a limited number of vitamins and even OTC medications.
8. Do your homework and shop around. Prescription medication can vary greatly in cost from one pharmacy to the next. The same goes for vitamins and OTC drugs. Look for sales in drug store flyers and stock up when there is a good sale.
9. Don’t try to save a buck by shopping for prescription medications online. While you may save cash, they may be unregulated and even illegal drugs sold through these places and it is never a good deal if something could make you very ill.
10. Generics are a good idea with OTC medications as well. You can often get them at dollar stores and big box stores. The savings are crazy good on these and you don’t have to worry they will not work as well because they are generic. By law, they are required to contain the same levels of active ingredients as name brand counterparts. Just make sure to see how many dosages are in a package to be sure you are getting a good buy.