Medications can be very expensive and with the recession of the economy, many of us cannot afford to pay such high prices for prescription costs. Worse of all, many people do not have adequate health care coverage that pays for prescriptions if they have coverage at all. So what do you do when your doctor puts you on medications that you need to take? Here are some tips to help you out in paying medication prescription costs.
First off, you should try applying for Medical Assistance to see if you qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid often covers prescription costs for those who take a life sustaining medication, make too little or no money to cover prescription medications, or have become unemployed due to layoffs. Even if you think you won’t qualify for Medical Assistance, you should apply. The income limits allow for people to make some money in order to receive Medicaid and the Medicaid program also uses certain deductions to help people get eligibility. Talk to your local Department of Public Welfare office for more information or for Medicaid information by state online. See also the the link in the resource list below for information on Medicaid.
Wal-Mart offers a great prescription program in which certain medications are only $4-$5 depending on the state you live. Wal-mart also offers a $4 prescription plan for many over-the-counter medications. And now, they have a 90-day $10 prescription program to helps those who have trouble covering medication costs. What’s nice about Wal-Mart is that you can drop off your medication prescriptions, shop for your grocery and personal needs, and come back later to get your prescriptions when they are finished. There is no insurance required for these medication prescription plans. Simply speak to a Wal-Mart pharmacist or see the link in the resource list below for more information.
Check out online pharmaceutical sites to get discount or free prescriptions through medication companies. Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfeizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and AstraZeneca (to name a few) offer coupons for discount medications and paperwork on their site to fill out for free medication with a prescription. Take a look at the medications you have and find out who manufacturers them. This information should be right on the medication bottle. Look up the pharmaceutical company’s information online and either get a phone number or an email to find out more information about free and discount prescription medications through these manufacturers. Also, your pharmacy may be able to help you locate this information or have coupons available. For a list of the 50 largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, see resource list below.
Helpful Links:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=546834
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pharmaceutical_companies