Top takeaways:

• ALWAYS check the costs of your prescriptions
• Shop around!
• Look at generic options
• Check HSARx for name-brand options

So this week, I want to talk a little bit about prescriptions and their costs. What most people do not realize is that all pharmacies pay the same price for the medications that they give to you. But the pharmacies are not charging their customers the exact same prices as each other. This is why it is so always important to check the costs of your prescription, research the reasonable costs, and save money by doing so.

WAYS TO SAVE:

Shop around!

We have established that there very likely may be price differences from pharmacy to pharmacy. They are just like any other retailers, they place markups on their products. This means that whether you get your prescriptions from Walgreens, CVS, or a little mom-and-pop pharmacy, they all decide how much they’re going to charge for that medication.

Remember: This is for cash pricing. And it’s their price that they’re going to charge unless you have insurance that has a specific copay. Then, they will charge you just the copay, as long as your medications are covered.

**Sometimes the medication is actually cheaper elsewhere as cash pay than paying your co-pay! (free tip!)

This is why I tell people it’s important to shop around for their medication like you would for any other item you wish to buy. An option is to use GoodRx, which would help you find the best price for prescriptions by clipping their coupon. There is another option I have mentioned in previous blogs called HSARx (check below for more details).

Look at generic options

Another way to save money on your prescriptions is to shop around for generic brands. Check on the apps and ask for pricing of the generic options, both as cash pays or as copays from your insurance and compare. You’ll be surprised at the cheapest options!

There are some health insurance plans where the generic copays are quite high. I have found through experience that HSARx is going to beat those 44 out of 50 times; meaning you would use HSARx and your HSA as the method of payment, and not your insurance/copays.

Check HSARx for name-brand options

As mentioned above, I highly recommend HSARx as an option for prescription costs.

With HSARx, the price for prescriptions is the same at all pharmacies. You don’t have to clip a coupon, you don’t have to write drive around town to get your different medications filled like you might have to do with GoodRX.

So that’s why I like HSA RX better. You also won’t pay at the pharmacy. HSARx will bill your HSA card or the attached credit card debit card to your account. That’s why it’s important to know what the price is before you go, and make sure you’ve decided on the right prescription option to use HSARx with.

** Little promo: If you decide to go with HSARx.com, you can email or text me, and I’ll send you my personal link as the referring broker

Another reason I like HSARx is that it can help with name brands and expensive medication. But it’s still not as deep of savings as with the generics. You may find that sometimes, your health insurance is a better option depending on the plan. When I help people look for a plan, I always ask about their medications. Because if they take a designer drug, it’s going to be very expensive. Sometimes I would suggest for my clients to get a higher plan so that the copay is lower, to help with the costs of the medications. I do a cost analysis to see if it makes sense to pay a higher premium, versus what you would pay for the cost of the prescription using a lower plan. I do all the math on that for you.

Other money-saving tips for expensive brand-name medication:

• Ask the doctor for samples before you start using an expensive medication in case it is not right for you
• See if there is financial assistance from the manufacturer for a really expensive drug that there are limited options on
• Check for manufacturers’ coupons for expensive drugs

When looking to save on your prescriptions, remember, you have to do your due diligence and you have to be your own advocate. And please, please stop overpaying for your medication!