Prescription for Well-Being

Splitting Pills to Save Money... But Ask Your Doctor First!

Splitting pills can be a good option to save money, but check with your doctor first – not all pills can be split. Here’s a story about how Mrs. H saved money by splitting pills.

Mrs. H was prescribed 40 mg Lipitor to control her cholesterol. She was spending $115 a month -and was having trouble affording this cost. So, she started skipping days to make her supply last longer. She discovered that even though she was skipping days, she was still feeling fine. Of course, you all know from my previous post that this is a dangerous practice.

Sure enough, at her next visit to her doctor she discovered her cholesterol levels were getting worse – even though she felt fine. Drugs like Lipitor may not make you feel any different, but they are important medications that help you live longer.

A lot of people don’t realize this, but many drugs cost the same regardless of dose. So 40mg of Lipitor might cost the same at 80mg, even those 80mg is twice as strong. That’s why pill splitting can be a money-saving option for some people… but always ask your doctor first!

Mrs. H’s physician prescribed her an 80mg dose of Lipitor, and Mrs. H bought a $5.00 pill splitter from the local drug store and began cutting the 80mg tablet of Lipitor in half. This was a savings of 50% – and a much better, safer option than skipping treatments. But I’ll say it again –don’t ever split pills without first consulting your doctor!

Considering A Generic to Save Money

Here’s another story about a patient who was able to save money – this time, by considering a generic alternative to his current medication.

Mr. H is taking Lipitor for his high cholesterol. He researched generics to find out if a generic for Lipitor was available. Unfortunately, there is no generic for Lipitor.

But by digging a little deeper online, Mr. H was able to find another option. At the dose of Lipitor Mr. H is taking, there are five other medications in the same category of drugs for treating high cholesterol. Three of these drugs (Zocor, Pravachol, and Mevacor), have a generic available. Mr. H printed out the results of his search and took it to his doctor. Mr. H’s physician switched him to the generic version of Zocor (called simvastatin). It ended up saving him $670 per year – a savings of over 50%!

Switching Prescriptions to Save Money

I once had a patient who was taking her prescription medication only half as often as prescribed in order to save money for food. When I discovered her strategy, I knew our healthcare system needed improvement.  My patient and I worked through several options that would allow her to afford her medication. In researching the options available to my patient, I realized that there are cost-saving options for almost all the popular medications on the market.

I thought it would be helpful to share some specific patient stories to highlight various methods I’ve used to save money for my patients.  Mr. L’s story is just one of those.

Mr. L was recently prescribed the sleep medicine Lunesta. He currently spends $300 per month on his prescriptions. Lunesta would increase this to more than $425 per month. Through www.drx.com, he discovered there was a drug called Rozerem that produced similar results as Lunesta, but was less expensive. His doctor gladly changed his prescription from Lunesta to Rozerem. The doctor explained to Mr. L that 90% of his patients are part of an insurance program that prefers Lunesta, so he got in the habit of giving this drug to everyone who needed help sleeping.

Mr. L switched brand name medications and saved $30 per month – a total $360 per year.