With the ongoing rising prices of everything, medicines prices also have taken a hit. Now even life-saving drugs are so expensive that you might consider selling your house to buy medicine. But with every problem comes a solution. In the case of expensive medicines, the solution is called a prescription drug coupon or Pharmacy discount coupon. These coupons help to lower the actual cost that the patient pays while buying from a pharmacy.
Often these coupons have a specific validity period such as 90-day prescriptions and sometimes these coupons are exclusive for a discount on a single prescription drug. Nonetheless, these coupons will help a lot in cutting the cost of the medicines.
If you have medical insurance or looking into private medical insurance make sure you have access to such coupons as these can reduce the cost of non-covered drugs up to 80% of the actual price and also help with getting medicines with insurance restrictions like quantity limits.
How to Use Prescription Coupons
Manufacturer saving cards and pharmacy discount coupons can be quite confusing to use if it is your first time using them. We have compiled a few suggestions as to how you can use such coupons.
1. Ask for Cheaper Alternatives
First, start by asking your doctor if there is a cheaper alternative to the drug prescribed to you. For example, if you have high cholesterol and you are prescribed Crestor, you can switch to Lipitor or Zocor as Crestor costs more than 170$ while Lipitor costs a mere 9$. But make sure to buy the alternative medicines only if prescribed by the doctor.
2. Wait for the Insurance Company to Process Your Card
If you have medical insurance, make sure to find out what your co-pay will by asking the pharmacy to process your prescription through the insurance company. Keep in mind to wait a few minutes after giving your prescription to the pharmacy to find out how much it will cost after the discounts and if there are any issues to be resolved before you make the payment.
3. Read the Details
Some coupons are specific to one particular drug or drug made by a certain pharmaceutical company. These are called manufacturer coupons. These coupons require activation before you can use them. Some insurance companies even send these coupons to you for marketing purposes. So know before what you are getting into. If you have medical insurance, your insurer could cover the difference in cost rather than the manufacturer of the coupon.
4. Discount Coupons Can Vary
Different coupons offer different discounts. Pharmacies give a wide variety of discount coupons and present you with the one that offers the biggest discount. But prices change more often. So check back whenever refilling your prescription that whether your coupon is still valid and if it is giving the most discount or not. You may always switch to other discount coupons.
