Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Getting low cost prescription help for the elderly

We hear stories every day about the elderly having to choose between buying groceries and their prescriptions. But, there is help out there!

This morning the Today Show (NBC) had a great segment with tips for saving on prescriptions. Here are 4 key tips:

  1. Shop around. One survey found a 300-400% difference in purchase price of a drug in a given area. Compare costs at all pharmacies in your area.
  2. Shop on-line. In another survey, buying from an online pharmacy instead of the brick and mortar store yields a big cost savings. (i.e., walmart.com, cvs.com)
  3. Consider alternative drug classes. Doctors sometimes prescribe the latest type of treatment (which often is the most expensive). Tell your doctor about your financial situation and ask your doctor to consider alternative classes of drugs
  4. Contact an assistance program for a single point of assistance
    1. Partnership for Assistance Program. https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php or call 1-888-477-2669. This program brings together pharmaceutical companies, doctors and patient advocacy groups to those who lack prescription coverage to get the medicines they need through public/private programs. This link explains how the program works, https://www.pparx.org/about.php
    2. For those with the greatest need and least financial resources, contact Free Medicine Program. http://freemedicine.com/ or call 1-573-996-3333. This link explains how the program works, http://www.freemedicinefoundation.com/how_it_works.html