While the last 30 months have been marked with a series of highs and lows in my recovery, one thing has remained constant -- my frequent visits to the drug store to fill my prescriptions. I have been on a steady steam of medication since I popped my first water pill in March 2005. It has been largely a pain to keep track of them all through the years, and I've collected enough bottles of medicine to run my own pharmacy.
But seriously, medicine expenses during and after your treatment can make you broke... even if you do have health insurance. Some of the drugs the doctors will put you on will not be covered initially by the insurance companies, and those that will may have larger co-pays. I spend over $100 in copays for my prescriptions (although that seems to be going down as I get off some of the medications).
There are ways that one can save on medication costs. First, always ask the doctor if there's a generic version of the drug you are prescribed. Although brand name drugs are said to be more effective than generics,
there is no conclusive evidence of this claim. You can check out
Consumer Reports' Best Buy Drugs website to determine which medicines are best for you. Also, you might be able to save on drug costs by
asking your doctor for a 90 or 120-day prescription instead of a 30-day prescription. For example, instead of getting a 30-day prescription of 20mg of Drug X, ask the doctor for a 40mg or 80mg prescription, and cut the pills.
So there's a few ways you can manage all of your prescriptions. Also, having a good filing system helps as well!
-Tony
Labels: drugs
