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Friday July 30,2010

Prescription Drug Cards

by Linda J. Austin

Before I get started I want to pass along some info from readers:

You mentioned that you are allergic to Penicillin. So am I and I also have problems taking many meds. One thing that I have learned to do to protect myself is to take Benadryl with any new meds...sure does save a lot of misery if I turn out to be allergic. Just thought that I'd pass on this tip to you. Have a Happy Day...Nell

Arlene from Canada writes: Are you going to mention getting your drugs 'bubble packed?' That's what I do now. It's so simple. No counting. No confusion.

I know you've seen the cases where you can put all your medications for a week. This is something similar, except the druggist does it for you. Yes. There's an additional cost. I pay $25.00 a month for this service.

Taking 19 pills a day - it's convenient having the druggist pre-pack everything for me. I get a two-week supply at a time. They figure the dosages and divide the "card" into seven days and place the pills in "pockets" for each meal (or whatever) for the day.

It's a very safe way to have your medications - particularly for people who don't always remember what pills to take or when to take them. They're also great for travel. The technical name is "Compliance Pack."

Now, let's begin with a question. Have you seen advertisements about prescription cards? Some drug companies offer discount cards to seniors. For an in-depth look at these drug company programs read the NPR article Managing Prescription Drug Costs. This article is a year old, but the information is still timely.

I just discovered that Pfizer, a company offering the Pfizer Share Card, manufactures Lipitor, a drug that reduces cholesterol - a drug my husband takes. With the Pfizer Share Card, you pay only $15 for any Pfizer medication.

BUT this is not available to us. We are not on Medicare and our income is over $24,000 a year. For comparison, a 30-day supply of Lipitor costs about $100 depending on the dosage. Obviously the Pfizer Share Card could save some people a lot of money. If you want more info follow the link in the NPR article.

What about other prescription cards, cards available to anyone who wants to pay a monthly fee for one? Are they worth anything? Yes. With the RXDrugCard you can save up to 80% on your prescriptions and there are many participating pharmacies. If I had bought my last prescription with the RXDrugCard - the Levaquin that I was allergic to - I would have paid $87.40 instead of $101.36. I know this because there is a price lookup on the site. And the cost of the card? Single person - $4.50/month; Married or w/family $4.95/month. Check out the site - compare what you are paying for prescriptions with the prices listed. If I had purchased my Levaquin with a WELLAID Card, it would have cost $83.29.