Tip 253- At the Corner of Nifty and Thrifty
Here are two ways to refill a prescription:
- wait in line at the pharmacy for 15 minutes behind the guy with a raging cold and the sweet little old lady who can’t seem to get her credit card to work. Repeat every 30 days.
- use your insurer’s mail order program. You’ll get a 90 day refill conveniently delivered to your home. And, you’ll save money. Say, for example, your brand name medication has a $40 co-pay. At the pharmacy, you’d spend $120 (3X $40) for a 90 day supply. Most mail order plans charge you 2.5X the retail co-pay, in this case $ 100.
The phone number for your mail order program is on your health insurance ID card. Typically, you can call 24/7. (Just like your pharmacy, right?)
One more quick thought.
Generic co-pays are usually half those for brand name drugs. In my example above, the annualized cost of the brand name drug at the pharmacy would be $480; for a generic drug bought through the mail order program, $200.
Spend the savings on a health club membership. Your mail order drug plan has freed up some time to actually use it!