Getting Medication Cheaper

[Chu Gai]

The prescription plan my wife and I have only covers diabetes and cancer type drugs. We could have chosen the option that was more inclusive but that comes at a whopping increase in price. Nonetheless, we do have some prescriptions which aren't covered under our plan. While paying list price means we're still saving money by not opting for the all inclusive prescription coverage plan, the less I can pay the better. As an example, my wife takes Latanoprost eye drops to deal with ncreases pressure in her eyes which could lead to glaucoma.

Her first prescription cost about $50 so I started looking around for better pricing. I came across the website GoodRX.com. You type in what you're taking and they spit out a list of places and prices where you can get it. Along with that, if you need a voucher, membership, etc. they tell you that. You can print the stuff out and even get their 'insurance card' sent to you. It's worked out well. For my wife's Latanoprost I paid a lttle under $17, a $33 savings. Not too shabby. Not the cheapest but close enough. After all, you have to balance distance, convenience and all that.

Well, this morning I came across another option that may even be better - BlinkHealth.com. The NY Times has reviewed them favorably. The way they seem to work is you you pay them for your prescription(s). You then get some sort of printable thing that you bring to your pharmacy where they fill it and your cost is zero. They have an app and I'll be giving them a shot next time.

 

[Swerd]

Chu – Interesting thread. Keep us informed with what you learn.

With buying prescription drugs, it's a jungle out there. Big pharma and big insurance are dukeing it out, while us little guys (the buyers) can get trampled in the melee.

FWIW, latanoprost (aka Xalatan made by Pfizer) has been available as a generic since the patent expired in 2011. (I also use it daily. Wikipedia says it has annual sales of $1.6 billion per year.) Using a widely sold generic drug as an example to compare costs from different companies, may be useful only for other generic drugs. The price comparisons may be very different for non-generic drugs.

 

[Chu Gai]

I suspect you're right, Swerd and I'm sure you've seen that just because a drug is generic doesn't translate to it being inexpensive. If you don't mind saying, what are you paying for Latanoprost?

 

[Swerd]

My health insurance covers it. If I recall, I pay a $15 copay.

 

[j_garcia]

Mexico

 

[Chu Gai]

That's fairly close to what my wife pays without health insurance. That's not to say we don't have health insurance though but the approach we took keeps our premiums fairly low. Try working out your payments on those two websites to compare.

 

[Swerd]

I can mail order prescriptions through Express Scripts. From them I get a ~90 day supply, and pay the copay every time I order or reorder. Express Scripts seems to work best for standing prescriptions of a drug that gets used daily.

I have a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan through my employer, and BCBS has MANY different options. Because of the wide varieties of coverage (in plan vs. out of plan) deductible costs, doctor visit copay, prescription copay, etc., it gets extremely difficult to compare costs directly. It's as if this was done deliberately to confuse people. Kind of like cell phone plans.

 

[Chu Gai]

I can mail order prescriptions through Express Scripts. From them I get a ~90 day supply, and pay the copay every time I order or reorder. Express Scripts seems to work best for standing prescriptions of a drug that gets used daily.

I have a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan through my employer, and BCBS has MANY different options. Because of the wide varieties of coverage (in plan vs. out of plan) deductible costs, doctor visit copay, prescription copay, etc., it gets extremely difficult to compare costs directly. It's as if this was done deliberately to confuse people. Kind of like cell phone plans.

We have Blue Cross/GHI with Express Scripts handling the meds. Her eye drops last her about 6 weeks and based on her visits to the opthamologist ($15 copay), her pressure is virtually normal. I use Express Scripts mail order for my diabetes supplies.

Hopefully the two links I gave in my first post might help someone here to save a few dollars which they can then piss away on something else.

 

[markw]

I have Humana and it's about $15/month and is great for my tier one and two drugs. Zero co-pay, but once you get off that, it's a jungle. I needed Nexium and they wanted somewhere around $250/90 days but found it from a Canadian firm (Canadadrugs.com) for about $90/90 days.

 

[Chu Gai]

Couldn't use Prilosec or Protonix?

 

[Swerd]

… Her (latanoprost) eye drops last her about 6 weeks and based on her visits to the opthamologist ($15 copay), her pressure is virtually normal.

It also works well for me. The trouble with glaucoma is that those eye drops can work for years and then stop working without any symptoms other than elevated eye pressure. I've been seeing the same eye doctor 4 times a year for well over 20 years. In fact I have an appointment tomorrow. (Note to self: Bring sunglasses. This visit involves full dilation.)

Diabetes also requires constant monitoring, but is probably a lot tougher to deal with than glaucoma. I'm glad I know little about it.

 

[Chu Gai]

Seems to be quite a few products out there for alleviating pressure not to mention other approaches that are more drastic. The abnormality was spotted by a routine visit to the eye doctor who picked it up during the eye exam using some kind of gizmo (not sure if was using AudioQuest cables though). So she'll be going on a regular basis to get monitored and we'll take it from there. How long does your bottle last and do you refrigerate it?

 

[markw]

Couldn't use Prilosec or Protonix?

the 24 mg stuff works but I need to take two at a clip. Ultimately it's using esomeprazole (or however it's spelled) 40 mg, which is the dosage the doc recommended.

the good news is that since my operation, I no longer need it. so, my five drugs now cost $0.00, thanks to Humana.

plus, you gotta keep in mind that if the medical equipment doesn't use expensive cables, the results are questionable.

 

[Swerd]

… the good news is that since my operation, I no longer need it. so, my five drugs now cost $0.00, thanks to Humana.

You paid with other types of currency. Nice to know (at least) one good outcome of all that.

 

[Swerd]

Seems to be quite a few products out there for alleviating pressure not to mention other approaches that are more drastic. The abnormality was spotted by a routine visit to the eye doctor who picked it up during the eye exam using some kind of gizmo (not sure if was using AudioQuest cables though). So she'll be going on a regular basis to get monitored and we'll take it from there. How long does your bottle last and do you refrigerate it?

There seems to be a hierarchy for those different types of glaucoma eye drops. For a number of years I used a drug called Timolol. When it stopped working I switched to Timolol plus Dorzolamide (tastes nasty), and now for a number of years Latanoprost. See the Glaucoma article on Wikipedia for the long version.

I store unopened bottles of Latanoprost in the refrigerator. The open bottle, I keep at room temperature in the bathroom. I think I get 2-3 weeks per bottle, but I'm not certain of that. When I get a refill, they send 3 (or is it 4) bottles. In the summer they pack it in an insulated cooler with ice packs. But in the winter, just a plastic envelope.

Your wife will become expert at putting eye drops in her eyes without spilling a drop.

I get these tests done:
Intraocular pressure (4 times yearly) – there are 2 types of gizmos for this, both work.
Direct examination of the optic nerve (once yearly)
Visual field test (once yearly) – you first loose peripheral vision with glaucoma. Consider this a functional map of the retina.
HRT (Heidelberg retinal tomography) scan uses red laser light to scan the interior of the eye and construct a 3D physical map of the retina (once yearly).

Eventually, when I get cataracts, I'll also have the glaucoma surgery that improves the eyeball plumbing.