If you’ve ever tried to fill a prescription without insurance, you know just how expensive it can be. These 8 smart hacks will help you save some serious money.
If you have health insurance, filling a prescription will usually cost you next to nothing, if it costs you anything at all.
But filling a prescription without insurance is a much different story. Often times, people who don’t have health insurance can’t afford to pay for a prescription because of the astronomical prices attached to it.
And the prescription drug companies aren’t doing much to help these people. They actually just increased the price of most prescription drugs by more than 6 percent at the start of the year, which is bound to make life even more difficult on those who don’t have insurance.
Fortunately, there are some ways in which people can get a prescription without insurance–without spending an arm and a leg on it. Check out 8 smart hacks that can save you money while getting you the prescriptions you need.
- Ask Your Doctor For Prescription Drug Samples
Is your doctor prescribing you a medication that you’re only going to have to take for a week or two?
Rather than investing in an entire bottle of the prescription drug, ask your doctor if they have any samples of it available. Many doctors keep a steady supply of samples in their offices for their patients to try.
At the very least, using prescription drug samples before buying a prescription without insurance will let you test them out to see how they make you feel. You can avoid paying a king’s ransom for prescriptions only to find out that they don’t even work.
- Talk to Your Doctor About Prescribing You Generic Drugs
If your doctor isn’t able to provide you with prescription drug samples, your next course of action should be to ask if they can prescribe you generic drugs as opposed to name-brand ones. Generic drugs do the same thing name-brand ones do…at a fraction of the cost!
Most doctors are more than willing to work with their patients to find the right prescription options if they don’t have insurance. They can at least look to see if there are generics available that will save you a significant amount of money.
- Shop Around For Prescriptions at Different Pharmacies
Most people use the same pharmacy over and over again when obtaining prescription drugs. They don’t even think to use a different pharmacy because they’re under the assumption that all pharmacies charge the same prices.
This couldn’t be any further from the truth! Your pharmacy might charge $295 for a prescription while one down the street charges just $85 for the same exact prescription.
If you’re trying to obtain a prescription without insurance, try shopping around at different pharmacies to see which one gives you the best price. You’ll have to put in some time and effort, but it could pay off for you in a big way.
- Consider Ordering Prescriptions From an Online Pharmacy
One of the other things that a lot of people aren’t aware of is that they can order prescription drugs from an online pharmacy if they want.
You still need to have a proper prescription from your doctor to do it. You also need to provide the pharmacy with the necessary information for you to fill your prescription.
But by going this route and ordering prescriptions from an online Canadian pharmacy, you could potentially cut your prescription costs quite a bit. You can also order your prescriptions in bulk by doing this, which can also bring your costs way down.
- Obtain a Prescription Discount Card
There are a lot of different organizations that can equip you with a prescription discount card. For example, AAA has a prescription savings plan that they offer to their customers so that they can buy a prescription without insurance.
Check around to see which organizations in your area might offer prescription discount cards. Your pharmacy might even have discount cards available for those customers who don’t have health insurance.
- Look Around For Prescription Coupons
People use coupons to buy just about everything these days. From groceries to laptop computers, they wouldn’t think about walking up to a register to check out of a store without searching for coupons first.
You should take this same approach to buying prescription drugs. If you’re buying them without the assistance of a health insurance company, you should look around for any coupons that might exist before forking over your hard-earned money.
- Find a Patient Assistance Program Through a Pharmaceutical Company
Most pharmaceutical companies realize that the average person without insurance can’t afford to pay for their prescription drugs.
With that in mind, many of them have set up patient assistance programs that help low-income people get the prescriptions they need. See if the pharmaceutical company that produces the prescriptions you need has one of these programs in place.
It never hurts to apply for placement in a patient assistance program. The worst thing a pharmaceutical company will do is tell you that you don’t qualify for it. And in that case, you’ll still be able to use the other hacks you find here.
- Review Your Prescription Drug Regimen With Your Doctor Regularly
Are you paying for prescription drugs right now that you don’t technically even need anymore?
Maybe your doctor prescribed you drugs to help clear up an illness that has long disappeared. Or maybe they prescribed you drugs to help with a condition that has improved dramatically in recent months.
You should never, ever decide for yourself that you don’t need a prescription drug anymore. But you’re more than welcome to discuss it with your doctor to see if you really need to continue using a prescription that’s costing you a fortune every month.
Getting a Prescription Without Insurance Is Possible
Studies have shown that about 1 in 7 people choose not to fill the medications prescribed to them by a doctor due to cost.
If you’re one of these people, know that you can get a prescription without insurance to keep yourself healthy. Use the hacks here to cut your prescription costs while giving yourself access to the drugs you need to stay healthy.
Check out our blog for more tips on making your health a bigger priority in your life.
