Saving on prescription drugs

If the cost of prescription drugs is taking a big bite out of your budget, don't do without - follow this advice for reducing what you pay for your pills: Ask your doctor for free samples whenever she prescribes a prescrip- tion drug for you or someone in your family. Ask your doctor if a generic or less-expensive alternative to a drug is available. Many newer drugs are more expensive than their older equiva- lents, but they're not necessarily better.

Buy 90-day supplies of drugs when you order, to save on the dispensing fee that many pharmacies charge each time they fill a prescription. Talk with your doctor about prescribing a higher dose of the pill you normally take, and use a pill splitter to split it in half. You pay for fewer refills this way. However, your doctor should have the final say on whether this is a good option for your particular medication. Shop around before you get a prescription filled. You may be surprised by the range in prices from drugstore to drugstore.

Purchase prescription drugs from an online pharmacy - one licensed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy through its VIPPS program. (The VIPPS seal of approval will be prominently displayed on the site.) Go to www·nabp·net for a list of the online pharmacies it has licensed. Reputable online pharmacies include www·costco·com, www·drugstore·com, and www·familymeds·com·

If you take medications regularly, buy in bulk from a mail-order pharmacy. Find out if you qualify for a drug-assistance program. Some programs are income based, but others, like Merck's, offer prescription drug dis- counts to consumers who are uninsured, regardless of their incomes. Partnership for Prescription Assistance at www·pparx·org offers an online databank of drug-assistance programs.

Drug discount cards tend to be bad deals, in part because they have so many restrictions. For example, you may not be able to use your card to buy generic drugs or buy drugs online, or you may be able to use it only at cer- tain pharmacies.