All you coupon clippers out there take notice: there are now coupons for prescription drugs. They have been out there but no one wants you to know how to get coupons on prescription drugs. The battle raging between the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry has so far produced only the insured as casualties. Pharmaceutical companies, though, have launched a plan to help them and they are fighting tooth and nail for it. That’s refreshing, isn’t it?
What Coupons?
Have you heard TV and radio commercials for a prescription drug? After the list of side effects (if you can hear that fast), the announcer goes on to say that if you can’t afford your medicine the pharmaceutical company may be able to help. This is called direct-to-consumer marketing.
The reason for this tactic is the rising cost of prescription drugs. Doctors, patients and insurance companies are alarmed at the rising costs, so they turn to cheaper generic equivalents of the meds. Of course, this means the pharmaceutical companies are missing out.
Coupons are the answer. For the uninsured or those who can no longer afford the high co-pays for prescription drugs, the pharmaceutical companies came up with coupons. Sometimes there will be a free trial offer or the-first-one-is-free type campaign. This, however, doesn’t help the patient with no insurance or one who can’t pay the co-pay once the trial is over. Coupons help.
The Insurance Attitude
The insurance companies pay the lion’s share of the cost of prescription drugs for the insured. As the prices of those drugs rise, so do insurance premiums. Generic drugs are one answer, but even those can’t help the uninsured or those who can’t pay increasing co-pays. The insured generally fails to take prescribed medications according to instructions in the hope of making them last until the next paycheck so they can (maybe) afford another prescription. This, of course, makes the insured sicker, requiring a visit to the doctor and more medication he can’t afford. Yet insurance premiums don’t come down.
How the Insured Wins the Battle
The pharmaceutical companies tell patients how to get coupons on prescription drugs so doctors will still order from them. If the pharmaceutical company can keep a patient on his medications, affordably, then they can help the patient get well and stay that way. The insurance companies shouldn’t be whining about that, because they won’t have to pay out as much as often.
Pharmaceutical companies recognize there are many people out of work as well as the many that are uninsured. Their sales representatives give doctors co-pay cards and coupons for their patients. The companies will offer any assistance they can to help people afford their medications. For example, many articles on the subject use Lipitor, a high cholesterol medication, as an example. The copay with the coupon is $4 per month, as opposed to $18 for its generic equivalent.
How to Get Coupons on Prescription Drugs
The uninsured and the under-insured can Google that phrase and come up with nearly one million sites either describing the battle or offering ammunition. The pharmaceutical companies, themselves, will be the first to tell patients how to get coupons on prescription drugs. Others will, too, such as:
- Mysavings.com
- Internetdrugcoupons.com
- Coupondoc.com
- Medicationcoupons.com
The economy is still on the south side of healthy and, unfortunately, the same may be said of too many people. Costs of health care are rising. Too many people are unemployed and uninsured. In a situation this desperate, someone is trying to help these people. If people clip coupons for their groceries, an evening at the movies, a meal at a restaurant, automotive supplies and hundreds of other things, why can’t they clip coupons for prescription meds? It’s all about remaining healthy enough to clip those coupons.
About this Angie’s List Expert: Cary Byrd is the president and founder of eDrugSearch.com. Based in San Antonio, eDrugSearch.com is a free cost comparison engine that helps consumers get safe access to affordable medications and advocates licensed online pharmacies as a widely accepted alternative.
The AARP Bulletin recently recommended two sites for prescription drug coupons: OptimizeRx.com and InternetDrugCoupons.com.
Both of these sites’ seek out temporary price breaks from drug makers, as well as other discounts, and can save you up to 40 percent off the retail price of brand-name drugs. Keep in mind that the coupons offered through these sites generally cannot be used in combination with Medicare, and often have other restrictions.
The problem we found with drug vouchers and prescription drug coupons is they’re reasonable to use for free refills or to defray co-payments for prescription drugs that you’re already taking … But seemingly sweet deals might cost far more in the long run if they keep you on newer, high-priced brand-name drugs rather than generic or lower-cost medications that are equally effective…
The prescription drug coupons are no match for the prices at eDrugSearch.com, of course — but for those occasions when you are picking up drugs at the corner drugstore, they can make the financial burden a little less onerous. On average Americans save 72% on their brand name drugs using eDrugSearch.com and also significantly reduce the costs on higher priced generic drugs.
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Cary Byrd, President of eDrugSearch.com
