Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs are expensive, copays aside. Even a small copay adds up over the course of a year. But are you getting your money's worth? Many retail outlets such as Wal-Mart are now offering a select group of medicines for only $4. You should always check each store's list because not all stores have the same list of medicines under the $4 promo. What is $4 at one store may be quite a lot more at another.

Another little known fact is that pharmacies will often charge you your copay amount even if your cost if you were paying cash would be significantly less. Many pharmacists just don't care that they are wasting your hard earned money by failing to give you the cheaper alternative. How to avoid this? Ask what the cash price would be when you drop off your prescription. If it is lower than your copay would be, don't have them process it through your insurance. How do I know this? A doctor in the family alerted me to this dirty little secret and I started paying attention to my pharmacy receipts. Sure enough, he was right. Many medications are dirt cheap -if only you know it. If you must pay cash for medications, do your homework and call around and ask what the price for the medication would be before you commit to filling or transferring a prescription.

Speaking of transfers, while most larger pharmacies would prefer that you not transfer your prescription, they do offer gift cards if you transfer your prescription to their pharmacy. If your prescription is with another pharmacy, the incentive to switch it could net you a $25-$30 reason to do so. Many stores honor competitor coupons, it doesn't hurt to ask. These coupons can be found in ads in various areas of the country and one is currently posted at the Riteaid.com site.

Finally, now that you have purchased your prescription, are you certain that you are not missing a refund or rebate offer? Please take a moment and read these two articles, the first regarding rebate offers available on allergy medications and the other relates to rebate offers available on GERD medications. One caveat here is that Zyrtec has discontinued its rewards program since Zyrtec is now available OTC. The main point here is to take the few minutes on your computer and Google search the name of your medication to be sure you aren't missing out on valuable offers and savings.