Prescriptions and visits to the pharmacy can leave even the most prepared patient reeling. The cost of medication has skyrocketed in recent years, leaving many in the United States to wonder how they are going to afford the lifesaving prescription drugs that their doctors have prescribed.
In the United States, the average consumer spends around $1,200 per year on prescription medication. That outgoing charge could be redirected into a yearly vacation, a home upgrade, or even into a savings account that would appreciate nicely as you think about the eventual retirement that you hope to enjoy in your later years. Prescription and pharmacy costs eat away at the spending power of American consumers, but we aren’t doomed to lose this battle every time.
Prescriptions simply don’t have to be exorbitantly expensive. In fact, there are a number of great ways to take advantage of savings programs without any hassle or fees to lock in reduced rates. With a little bit of reading, you can start saving big on the prescription medication that you need on a regular basis, with no strings attached.
Look to the generic label.
Generic prescription drugs are a Godsend for consumers. A generic drug “works in the same way and provides the same clinical benefit as the brand-name medicine,” according to the FDA. These medications do the exact same thing as the more expensive label because they are chemically the exact same formula and end product. Yet generic drugs cost a fraction of what a more expensive label would run you, and from the same pharmacy counter as well.
Buying generic is a great way to immediately begin saving on a wide variety of medications that your doctor may prescribe. From Amoxicillin (antibiotic used to treat a range of mild illnesses) to Zyrtec (an allergy medication), generic brands are a powerful means of slashing your essential drug costs at the pharmacy.
Use a prescription discount card to further mitigate ongoing charges.
While generics are a great way of initiating these savings, there are other way to lock in the lowest price on many generics and name-brand drugs. As well, there are a number of essential medications that do not yet boast a generic equivalent, meaning you’ll have to pay the full asking price for your medicine unless you’ve got another potent strategy for reducing these often astronomical costs. A free prescription savings card is the best way to rake in the savings during every trip to your local pharmacist.
Prescription savings programs are a great way to easily take advantage of the discounts that drug manufacturers and pharmacies all around the United States offer to those in the know. USA Rx offers a pharmacy discount program that’s easy to sign up for—with just an email address and a few minimally invasive personal details—and can get you saving on prescriptions immediately.
A discount individual membership gives you access to a network of price reductions that others aren’t taking advantage of out of sheer ignorance of the facts. By signing up with USA Rx, you gain leverage over the drug manufacturers. Because the organization has grown so rapidly, they hold significant negotiating power over those looking to set prices. Essentially, the way drug pricing works is through a continuing series of price targets. A manufacturer will negotiate with hospitals, pharmacies, insurance companies, and discount providers, settling on a different figure with each organization. The larger the community of consumers an organization represents, the greater the leverage they hold over sellers.
Simply signing up with a medication discount program unlocks these benefits—saving you as much as 75 percent off of some essential medications!