Tuesday, May 22, 2012

You Just Need to Know How to Bring Your Prescription Costs Down

If anyone in the world should be worried about their prescription costs, it should be Americans. Nowhere else do you see such a country of medicine lovers. According to the CDC, it isn't hard to find older Americans on five or six different pills at the same time. Five or six different medications - as soon as you read this, the figures begin rolling in your head. Pills can be priced exorbitantly. Even if you just buy one, they can really burn a hole in your pocket. What you do if you have to deal with four or five times the impact on your monthly budget?

When you don't have insurance, it can be very difficult. A lot of people do the one thing they can - they ration their medicines. If the Dr. asks them to take their pills three times a day, they cut it down to one time a day. They just have no choice - those prescription costs can be very high.

But really, there are far better ways to go about it. If you skimp on your prescription, you might end up sicker than you were to begin with. That would be a whole other source of prescription costs. Try these ways to bring your pharmacy expenses under control.

Most of us don't realize this, but doctors, with all their training, have all kinds of ways in which to rejig a prescription a little bit. They know of creative ways to give you the same kind of effect with cheaper options. All you need to do is to tell your doctor how you're kind of hard up, and he’ll completely understand.

In fact, he will positively pat your back for it. Because 20% of people who walk out his office door never go to the pharmacy at all. It drives doctors crazy that their patients won't confide in them. It's a great way you can rein in your prescription costs.

When you go to the doctor asking for a little prescription rejig, be sure to take your insurance companies formula along. This is a list of medications that the insurance company covers for. Ask your Dr. to give you a couple of choices from the formula so they can be sure you can get at least something. Again, your doctor is going to be happy that you are a serious patient who actually intends to take his medicines.

If you're really interested in saving on the cost of healthcare, you have to approach it as if you were approaching a business deal. That's what they do. You know how you have to negotiate with the hospital over your surgical bills, don't you? You even need to negotiate with your dentist. Well, there is another thing you need to do here to cut down on what your healthcare costs you. You need to shop around.

You need to look around because pharmacies, like supermarkets, charge their own prices for filling your prescription. You shouldn't be surprised if you find much cheaper prices in rundown neighborhoods.

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