Top 17 Ways to Cut Your Prescription Drug Costs

Written by Gary Nave


1. You May Qualify for a Free Drug program.

·There are over 1,100 drugs that are made by 100 manufacturers who have free drug programs. Most major drug companies provide free medications, but rarely, if ever publicize their programs. An estimated two billion dollars of free medication is given away annually.

·Larry’s father has prostate cancer and takes Casodex every day, which costs $300 a month inrepparttar US, and $180 from Mexico. He sent his father’s information to see if he qualified. He recently found out his father did qualify to receiverepparttar 114662 drug free. Larry just happened to see a small article buried insiderepparttar 114663 newspaper. He never knew these programs existed.

·A complete list of drugs and manufacturers’ programs is available. For more information visit: http://www.institutedc.org

2. Get a Pharmacy Discount Card for Free.

·AdvanceRx offers a free discount card to anyone that saves 13%-25% and covers all drugs dispensed at a pharmacy. For details, call 1-800-ADVANCE (238-2623) or www.advancerx.com.

·There are five free discount cards for Senior citizens. The discount cards cover over 200 popular medications.

3. Save Up to 93% by Asking for a Generic

·Use generics whenever they are available. Both brand name and generic drugs containrepparttar 114664 same active ingredients, arerepparttar 114665 same in strength and dosage, meetrepparttar 114666 same government quality control standards.

·According to Mark Erblat, Pharmacy Director and owner of Rx For You, cost savings on brand name vs. generic will vary from drug to drug and pharmacy to pharmacy but can be significant. For instance:

·Prozac brand 20mg, 100 tablets cost $280.19 and generic sells for $29.99 (Savings 89%)

·Vasotec brand 5mg, 100 tablets costs $103.59 and generic sells for $18.19 (Savings 82%)

·Zantac brand 150mg 100 tablets costs $173.39 and generic sells for $10.99 (Savings 93%)

·Zestril brand 10mg 100 tablets costs $96.29 and generic sells for $39.99 (Savings 58%)

4. Veterans Now Qualify for More Benefits.

·Recent laws have changed that grant veterans medical benefits for certain illnesses like diabetes and hypertension, providedrepparttar 114667 veteran is subject to qualifying conditions like agent orange exposure.

·See if you qualify for benefits by checking withrepparttar 114668 Veteran’s Administration.

5. Cut Your Costs in Half… by Using a Pill Splitter.

·Most pharmacies should stock pill splitters. Sometimes, medications can be broken in half and save you 50%. The reason is because several pharmaceutical manufacturers price some of their medicationsrepparttar 114669 same for all strengths.

·Lipitor is essentiallyrepparttar 114670 same price for all strengths. It is possible to save as much as $100 on a one month supply of Lipitor just by gettingrepparttar 114671 larger strength and cutting in half. Ask your pharmacist.

·This method may not be appropriate for all medications and could be dangerous if used withrepparttar 114672 wrong medication.

·Begin by asking your doctor or pharmacist if your medication is available in a dose double your normal dosage (ex, if you usually take a 20 mg. pill, is a 40 mg. pill available?). If it is, ask whether there would be any problems with splittingrepparttar 114673 tablets or capsules.

·Now, do a cost comparison betweenrepparttar 114674 two dosages. Ifrepparttar 114675 higher dose is less than doublerepparttar 114676 cost for your regular dose then you will be saving money by having your doctor prescriberepparttar 114677 higher dose and then splitting it. Cost savings is typically 32% to 50%.

.Viagra is another medication that lends itself to being split in half or quarters to save 50% to 75% depending uponrepparttar 114678 dosage required. The average Viagra user who uses two doses per week can save over $400.00 per year.

·This method is not appropriate for all medications. Check with your pharmacist. Some easily split medications include: Ambien, Aricept, Buspar, Effexor, Lipitor, Luvox, Paxil, Remeron, Risperidal, Seroquel, Serzone, Viagra, Zoloft, Zyprexa. (Ask your pharmacist about others)

6. Save by Buying a 90 vs. 30-Day Supply.

·Most pharmacies have higher savings on a longer days supply. In addition, when it comes to people who have insurance prescription coverage, there may be other savings by getting a larger day supply.

·For instance, if you have a $10 co-pay,repparttar 114679 insurance company will let you get only a 30 days supply in general for that $10. A 90-day supply bought with out insurance may only cost you $18.

·This would be much cheaper than paying $10 per month ($30 for 90 days). It would also save you two trips torepparttar 114680 pharmacy.

7. Ask for an Older Medication That is as Effective.

·Many pharmacists agree, that antibiotics are probablyrepparttar 114681 most over prescribed, or incorrectly prescribed medications. Often,repparttar 114682 physician will prescribe a newer antibiotic that has been promoted as more effective. What this really means is that it is considerably more expensive.

·The newer antibiotics are often no more effective thanrepparttar 114683 older antibiotics. However, they are new and covered by patent protection. Therefore,repparttar 114684 newer medication is more effective in ensuring a nice profit forrepparttar 114685 drug manufacturer for many years.

·Since many generics are made inrepparttar 114686 same factory asrepparttar 114687 brand name ones, make sure you ask your doctor for a generic antibiotic. A great generic broad- spectrum antibiotic costs 80% less than a new antibiotic. In dollars, it costs you $20 instead of $100.

8. Over-the-Counter Drugs May be as Effective asrepparttar 114688 Prescription Drug.

Ultra Pure Drinking Water -Is it healthy ?

Written by Pauline Robinson


Overrepparttar past decade,repparttar 114661 popularity of bottled water has increased substantially in North America(1). Sales of bottled waters have increased by 400%, and 1 in 5 households now use bottled drinking water (2). Annual per capita consumption has risen from less than 8 gallons in 1991 (1,2) to 12.7 gallons in 1997 (Arthur von Wiesenberger, personal communication). Since bottled water is beginning to assume a prominent place inrepparttar 114662 North American diet, its health effects require evaluation. It is more important to remove any harmful pollutants from your water than to save beneficial minerals in it.

Drinking water produced by distillation alone is not free of all potential pollutants, regardless ofrepparttar 114663 brand of distiller; drinking water produced byrepparttar 114664 combination of any distiller plus an adequate filter will insurerepparttar 114665 purest drinking water but without minerals. Also because ofrepparttar 114666 lack of mineralsrepparttar 114667 pH of this water will drop and become more acidic on standing.

Ultra Pure water produced by Reverse osmosis sytems that have a UV light added are good and have a few electrolites in it. The pH will drop as this water has no buffering capacity also.

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