The high cost of medication...

I have written in the past about the high cost of medications, and here in the U.S. it is a well known problem. Even those of us with good coverage can pay ungodly amounts for some of those meds, especially if it is a medication for which there is no generic version. I currently have 3 levels of prescription coverage and rather then try to decipher them I generally just hope that what I am being prescribed is in the lowest bracket, which is $10 for me. The 3 levels I pay are $10, 25 & 40 dollars with very few of the meds falling in the lowest range for some reason.

Since I have a myriad of issues with the back and nerves I am currently on 7 different medications and depending on the doses and the way my prescriptions are written & changed month to month, I can spend about $225-250 a month for the medications.

The other day I received a letter from my insurance company letting me know they have a prescription program for people like myself who are on long term medications. The way it works is you get your prescriptions filled for 90 days at a whack and they have a set price for the medications. We went through the list of what I am on, the doses and how often I am taking them and developed a price list. It basically worked out to $280 for a 90 day supply of all my medications which is excellent. We noticed that they were charging me more for 2 of the meds then I was currently paying for them so if I leave those off and just buy them from the drug store it knocks it down to $240 for 90 days.

They told me to just bring the forms they sent me to the doctor, have him fill them out as well as include a handwritten prescription and Fed-Ex it to them. They did let me know that turn around time can be as long as 14 days if they are out, need to confirm with the doctor etc... so I should make sure I have enough medications on hand before sending the forms. Very good news for me, and especially for those who are in a financial crunch.

One of the toughest parts of having a long term illness or injury (chronic pain) is the costs of doctors visits and medications. In a month I will spend close to $300-350, with insurance. When I had a lapse in coverage it was a bit tougher as a doctors visit was $54 and that was without any testing or X-rays, which can be $500 a pop. When it came to prescriptions doctors would let me have as many samples as they could as I made sure they knew my financial situation.

Some great ways to save on the cost of meds is if you are in a budget crunch, let the doctor know you are. They are interested (ok, most of them are)in seeing you feeling better and being as comfortable as possible. If your doc is one of those that does not care, it's time to ease on down the road. You might also check out the local free clinic(s) as they may be able to offer you a discount card or even set you up to get your medications free from the companies that make them. They do this through a program very similar to the one at Needy Meds which also lists some programs run by state and local governments.

Being sick or injured is no fun, not being able to afford the needed tools to feel better or at least comfortable is worse. I just want you to know that there are some great tools out there. For me it is my insurance companies program and before that it was some of the programs run by the Sisters of the Catholic Charities, and while I am Catholic you do not have to be to receive help from them and they are not going to try to convert you if you do ask for help.