Kyle Geissler talks with Janesville Gazette reporter Gina Duwe about options for saving money on prescription drugs.
JANESVILLE — Rock County has helped residents save about 22 percent on more than 10,000 prescriptions in the last year.
The health department a year ago began offering the Rock County Prescription Discount Card in the face of rising health care costs. It has averaged about $10.50 in savings per prescription, said Dr. Joseph Schurhammer, health officer at the health department.
The card is free and doesn’t require patients to fill out any forms.
“The great thing about it is it’s simple to use,” Schurhammer said.
The card can be used only when insurance does not cover a prescription.
The discount program is just one of several available in Rock County.
But before checking into them, make safety the No. 1 goal, local pharmacists said. Be sure to tell them and physicians about all medications taken.
Residents can save on prescriptions in other ways. Experts offered these tips:
-- Shop around. While having all your prescriptions at one pharmacy is the safest for your health, shopping around for each prescription is the best for savings, said pharmacist Mark Johnson, owner of Kealey Pharmacy in Janesville.
“Maintenance medicines”—drugs you take regularly for things such as high blood pressure—are priced competitively, so call around for the best deal, he said.
-- Use discounted generic drug programs. Stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Logli offer $4 generic programs for 30-day supplies.
Instead of paying a $10 co-pay for one drug, switching to a pharmacy that offers the $4 program could save $72 annually for one prescription.
-- Better utilize generics. If your doctor writes a prescription for a brand-name drug, ask if a generic can be used.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity to better utilize generic drugs,” said Dr. Don Janczak, director of pharmacy with Mercy Health System. “I think that we as practitioners and patients need to not be afraid of the generics.”
“We all tend to think, ‘This is what my doctor prescribed,’” Johnson said. “We don’t tend to question it.”
-- Split pills. Many medications cost the same no matter what the size, so it might be cheaper to buy a 20-milligram tablet and split it in two rather than buying a 10-milligram tablet, he said.
Johnson doesn’t recommend splitting pills more than once, though.
Ask your pharmacist about inexpensive pill-splitting devices and whether it is safe to split a given product.
-- Request preferred brand-name drugs. Ask your doctor to prescribe a drug on the list of preferred drugs if a generic is not available, suggests The Alliance, an employer owned and directed not-for-profit cooperative.
Preferred brand-name products are likely to have lower costs or higher degrees of effectiveness, or both. Non-preferred drugs involve co-payments that can be substantial.
-- Know your insurance plan. While plans vary, some offer ways to receive discounts, for example, by ordering through the mail.
Mail-order drugs almost always save money, Johnson said.
The deal often is three months for the price of two, he said.
-- Be cautious about buying through the Internet.
Janczak advises to “absolutely not” buy medications online.
“How do you know it’s fake or legit? You don’t know,” he said.
And you probably won’t find any savings if you’re buying through a legitimate U.S. pharmacy online, Johnson said.
A legitimate U.S. online pharmacy has to abide by the same regulations as a store, including providing consultation about medications, Johnson said. Internet pharmacies outside the country aren’t regulated and have no reason to be legitimate, he said.
But Johnson realizes some people still will choose the cheapest option, and he recommends buying from the Canadian system as opposed to any other foreign country.
Canada is almost as highly regulated as the United States, he said.
-- Ask your physician about patient assistance programs.
Drug companies sponsor programs for patients who are uninsured or on medical assistance, so ask your health care provider about financial assistance programs.
-- Check out discount cards for the uninsured and others who meet eligibility requirements. Such cards include FamilyWize through the United Way of North Rock County and national programs such as Together RX Access.
-- Focus on prevention. Vaccines are important in the fight against eradicating and preventing diseases, Janczak said.
Flu vaccines, he said, are a good example of one preventative for adults and children.
-- Consider lifestyle changes to reduce the amount of medications taken.
“You don’t always have to have a drug. Sometimes you can help control health without medications,” Janczak said.
Many patients on the borderline for medications to treat cholesterol or hypertension could control their conditions by making therapeutic lifestyle changes, he said.
“Watch diet, exercise, eat healthy,” he said. “Often times if you do that, you don’t need the medication.”
-- Follow all instructions and keep your providers informed.
While you might have save money by shopping around or cutting corners in how you take your medication, you could quickly lose those savings by ending up in the hospital, Johnson said.
Recent studies show up to 12 percent of hospital emergency room visits are a result of a drug-related complication, Janczak said. Up to 68 percent of those visits are preventable, he said.
He recommends taking all your medications to a doctor visit to ensure a drug isn’t prescribed that will react with one already being taken.
DISCOUNT CARD
The Rock County Prescription Discount Card is available at the Rock County Health Department, 3328 N. Highway 51, Janesville, and at a number of locations across the county. For a listing, visit www.co.rock.wi.us/Dept/Health/Health.htm or call the health department at (608) 757-5440.