How to afford your meds and support your health

The cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. can be enough to make you sick.

What you pay varies enormously depending on the drug, the pharmacy, your insurance plan and your deductible, among many other factors. A drug that may have been cheap or at least affordable the last time you filled it could be far more expensive or not covered at all the next time.

Often, people have no idea what a prescription will cost until they get to the pharmacy counter, says Leigh Purvis, director of health care costs and access for AARP’s Public Policy Institute.

Still, finding a way to afford your meds is important. People who don’t take medicine as prescribed because of the cost could wind up sicker — or dead.

“What is a potentially relatively small problem today, like high cholesterol, could turn into a much bigger problem like a heart attack down the road if you don’t treat it,” Purvis says.

CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AND INSURANCE PLAN

Your doctors may not know what your medications cost you, since they’re dealing with dozens of insurance plans with different formularies, or lists of drugs, and how they’re covered, Purvis explains. In addition, insurers may strike deals with certain pharmacies, so a drug that costs $60 at one could cost $160 at another.

If affording a drug is a challenge, your physician may be able to suggest alternatives, such as a generic or a different type of medication. Two other questions you can ask: whether a medication you’ve been taking for a while is still necessary and what lifestyle changes might reduce or eliminate the need for prescriptions.