Are There Ways to Save Money on Medications?

As a heart failure patient, I have watched my medical expenses boom. It stinks and can truly drain a budget. What I spend a year on pharmaceuticals is insane. Is there a way to get cheaper medications? A few options I have found are below. I will use Losartan as my comparison prescription.

Looking for ways to save money on medications for heart failure

Online pharmacies

There are many options for online pharmacies. These are the traditional model but without the brick and mortar. You have to transfer your prescriptions then they will ship to you. The ones I saw shipped for free. I saw that Amazon has an online pharmacy, so let's use that as an example! When I went on the site I first had to go through the entire registration process. This is a major negative to me because a) I find it intrusive when I am simply trying to get an idea of prices and b) majorly cumbersome. It seems that Amazon is not an actual pharmacy; you still have to connect it with a pharmacy. The plus, however, is that the prescriptions are delivered right to your door. That being said, most of the chain pharmacies have a delivery option. For instance, my regular pharmacy (Rite Aid) advertises delivery. I have utilized it and it worked, but they had limited delivery times. However, this article focuses on cost savings not necessarily convenience.

Once I was 10+ minutes in (and after I gave them my personal information and contact information), I could start comparing prices! For a 30 days supply, Losartan is $8.60. The benefit to this is, like a traditional pharmacy, I think they accept every prescription. So, if you are more concerned about convenience over price, sticking with a traditional pharmacy guarantees you 'one-stop shopping.'

Pharmacy comparison tools

GoodRX is a website that allows you to price shop over pharmacies in your area. When I went to GoodRX and typed in Losartan, I got a few one-time offers from pharmacies that were between $6.00 and $8.00 for a 30-day supply, then prices ranging from $14.00 (Costco) and $27.30 (CVS).

Cost Plus Drugs

This option remained my lowest price option, with caveats. Cost Plus Drugs was founded by billionaire Mark Cuban and offers refreshing transparency on drug prices. My understanding is that their goal is to offer the lowest price drugs for all Americans, knowing the huge burden that the high cost of drugs has for both people and employers as premium prices are driven up. From a cost standpoint, it is very clear; they charge 15% plus the pharmacy. As a comparison, a 30-day supply of Losartan is $4.50. It was also super easy to access this information - literally one click. You also do not have to sign up for the service to obtain medicine prices. I also did not have to input insurance information. Lastly, their pharmacy partner is Truepill. Like Amazon, they are not a pharmacy provider. Like Amazon, medications are shipped to the door.

For me, the MAJOR plus to this company is that they do not take insurance. It is worth repeating - THEY DO NOT TAKE INSURANCE. And, as quoted, you are not paying out the wazoo if you are uninsured.

The process appears pretty straightforward. You sign up, ask your doctors to send their prescriptions to Cost Plus Drugs and the medicine arrives at your door. One negative is that not all medications are covered by Cost Plus Drugs. For instance, not all of mine were. However, as stated, it is VERY easy to find out what is covered and at what price. It is literally one click from the home page.

Any helpful tips from the community?

I hope this information can be helpful to start your own research on possible ways to save money on your medications!

Has anyone here used an online pharmacy, or looked up the prices of their heart failure medications to compare them?