No prescription drug coverage!

[blondietink]

As of January 1st, I have no prescription drug coverage for myself. DH and 2 DS's have both been switched to Medicare Part D (DS's are disabled and DH is retired). We dropped our private insurance as it was $275.00/month plus a 20% co-pay. Anyway, now I am looking to fill my generic medications, but cannot find any site where I can compare the cost of these drugs I take. All I can find is the cost within an insurance plan, which I don't have. I have checked out Wal-Mart's $4 drug list, and only one of my meds is on it. I just want to have an idea of how much these will cost me to refill. I used to have the 90 mail-order scripts with the old insurance, but can't do that anymore for obvious reasons. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[disneybound31]

How many rx's do you have? Do you have chronic health issues that require you to take these meds or are an of them optional?

 

[SYDCOLEMOM]

If you have a Sams Club or Costco near you check those places. You can price check on both of their websites. Some of my prescriptions are cheaper there than if use my insurance at Walgreens. Their retail price is cheaper than my copay ! also check to see if the manufacturers of any of your medications offer any kind of assistance programs or discount cards. One of my husbands diabetes medications has a $50 a month discount card I printed off the drug companies website. Another suggestion would be to talk to your doctor to see if their are cheaper alternatives to what you are currently taking, you might really be surprised. Good luck

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I agree witha PP who said look on the drug compnaies website. For instance I take Lunesta. My co-pay for it is $45 but if you go to Lunesta.com you can print off a paper card you use at the pharmacy to get the next year of co-pay free.

I have another brand name medication I take which the co-pay is $45 and I got another co-pay discount card for that drug.

Both the drugs I take have no generic. However if what you take has a generic, that is always going to be cheaper because the discount cards only take off up to $75 a month, and one of my brand name drugs is $700 a month. I don't know very many ppl that could afford that.

I use to use Rite AId's pharmacy but had so many issues with showing up for my prescriptions every month and the script not being filled because they were out of the drug and had to order some. After a few months of that crap I switched to a local pharmacy and told them of my issue with Rite Aid and they make sure they always have a stock of my drugs on hand so I only have to show up once a month.

I called around pharmacies one time trying to find the lowest price of a drug for my dad and shockingly enough, Kroger pharmacy was the cheapest on this particular drug. I never used Walmart because their pharmacy is always too busy and they herd ppl through there like cattle and it is always super busy.

Good luck finding a good cheap pharmacy. I would be screwed if I lost my prescription drug coverage.

 

[blondietink]

I take 3 generic drugs, none of which are optional. They are simvastatin 10 mg, ranitidine 300 mg, and omeprazole 20 mg. I used to get them all filled via mail order for the 90 day supply and would like to keep getting the scripts filled 90 days at a time if I can without prescription coverage. We live in a rural area and it is a drive to the nearest pharmacy.

 

[disneychrista]

Try CVS, RiteAid & Walgreens too, I think they both all have discounted generics. My daughter has to get one perscription at one place and the other an other because they don't have the discounted generic that she needs at both.

 

[sparklynails23]

Health Warehouse $3.50, $3.50, $12; 30 day supply-- cheap.

 

[North of Mouse]

I don't have prescription coverage at this time and my Dr. recently gave me a prescription for Celebrex (no generic) because even though it's a lot like ibruprophen, he said it was easier on the stomach. I went to get it filled (at Target, but probably would be the same at most pharmacys) and asked how much without ins. and they told me $276.00 for one month She actually said, "Are you ready for this"? I said, no thanks, will take my chances on Motrin. They are really out to stick it to those without prescription ins. who need the best rate the most

 

[Maryr1]

omeprazol 20 mg is over the counter now. I get it at BJ's-my dog is on it! I also use a local supermarket for some of my meds-they have a $4 list and I can fill 3 months at a time. Good luck!

 

[bearzabout]

I can find Omeprezole over the counter for as low as $14 for a 42 day supply at various places and stock up at that price. Retail price is higher. I always wait for a sale. Do you have a Rite Aid anywhere near you? They frequently have coupons for $14.99.

Ranitidine is similar to Omeprezole in treating GERD. Are you sure you need to take both? Up to 150mg pills are available over the counter. 65 pills of 150mg cost $4 at Walmart. Call your doctor and see if this drug may work for you.

I just went through this and found that I had to call various pharmacies to get prices. I've heard that places that have the $4 generics tend to be cheaper than those that don't. Try Walmart, Target, CVS and your local grocery stores. I've checked Costco and Sams and they were more expensive that other sources for what I take.

I've found that some mail order places are 40% more than Target so be careful to check all sources before deciding what to do.

 

[bumbershoot]

drugstore.com has prices easily viewable.

 

[jen22984]

I take OTC ranitidine from Walmart. The one I take is 150 mg and is $4 for 65 tablets and I take 2 tablets a day. Not sure if they have an OTC 300mg one though.

 

[rentayenta]

I haven't a clue what you're on but https://www.patientservicesinc.org/ is an amazing non-profit that helps with certain medications. Without insurance and PSI my daughter's Increlex would cost almost $100,000 per year.

 

[mrspaha]

You can call any pharmacy and ask them specifically for your medications what their price is. At the same time, ask them if there is a discount if your get a 3-month supply at a time.

BTW, something I recently learned was that you do not have to be a member at Costco to have prescriptions filled there, and one of my neighbors told me that for her specific medications Costco was considerably cheaper than other places.

Something too you might want to consider if Target has good prices for you, if you have one of their credit or debit cards, they have a program where after a certain number of prescriptions, you get a % off coupon for any Target purchase. Might be a nice savings if you're a big Target shopper.

 

[j's m]

K mart has simvastatin on their $ 5 drug list.

Also check your local supermarkets, our ShopRite has a $ 4 list.

Our drug plan is 15 for generics, so I always try to switch around for the cheap ones instead.

 

[mom2maggie]

You can call any pharmacy and ask them specifically for your medications what their price is. At the same time, ask them if there is a discount if your get a 3-month supply at a time.

BTW, something I recently learned was that you do not have to be a member at Costco to have prescriptions filled there, and one of my neighbors told me that for her specific medications Costco was considerably cheaper than other places.

Something too you might want to consider if Target has good prices for you, if you have one of their credit or debit cards, they have a program where after a certain number of prescriptions, you get a % off coupon for any Target purchase. Might be a nice savings if you're a big Target shopper.

The 5% off coupon is after 5 prescription fills, and can be used in conjunction with your normal 5% off for using your Target red card - which makes it a full 10% off your entire order (including groceries, etc. not just prescriptions).

 

[blondietink]

Yes, I have to take both stomach meds ... ulcers, GERD and I had to have my esophagus stretched not too long ago. I do not take both meds at the same time, but one before breakfast and the other before bed. Anyway, we do not have any Costco around here .... probably not within an 8 hour drive. The closest thing we have to a big box is Wal-Mart which is 1/2 hour away. We do belong to Sam's club which is an hour away. That's why I liked the mail order system when we did have the insurance as I didn't have to spend the money on gas and the time driving all over the place searching for the cheapest medications.

 

[Green Tea]

Why did you drop your private insurance if your medicines alone are more than the insurance premium was and you have health problems?

 

[blondietink]

No, my medications are not more than the cost of the private insurance. They are fairly cheap generics. I know I can get at least one of them for $10 for a 90 day supply. I just want to find out the cheapest place to get them. It would be nice if there was a website where you could find out the prices of medications at various stores so you could compare instead of calling each individual pharmacy separately. The lists of $4 generics are published online, but there is no link to the prices of the medications not on the $4 lists.

We were paying over $500 per month total (prescription plan and co-pays)for the whole family. On a fixed income, that is a lot of money. 3 of us now qualify for Medicare Part D. When we figured the insurance per month and co-pays under Part D, we ended up saving hundreds of dollars per month, even with me purchasing my medications with cash.

 

[daughtersrus]

I take 3 generic drugs, none of which are optional. They are simvastatin 10 mg, ranitidine 300 mg, and omeprazole 20 mg. I used to get them all filled via mail order for the 90 day supply and would like to keep getting the scripts filled 90 days at a time if I can without prescription coverage. We live in a rural area and it is a drive to the nearest pharmacy.

I did a quick search and came up with this site. http://www.healthwarehouse.com/omeprazole-20mg-capsules-generic-prilosec.html

http://www.healthwarehouse.com/ranitidine-300mg-tablets.html

http://www.healthwarehouse.com/simvastatin-10mg-tablets.html

I have never ordered from here but the prices seem pretty cheap. DD takes omeprazole 10mg and DH takes simvastatin 80mg and these prices are cheaper than our co-pays with insurance. I'm not sure how to check to see which online mail order companies are legit or not.

Also, Target has a program like WalMart. http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/page.jsp?title=pharmacy_generic_drugs_alphabetical#secO

Our local pharmacy (Jewel/Osco) will price match drugs. That may be an option for you as well.