Four or Ten Dollar Prescription Program

Submitted by georgiana on Sat, 02/21/2009 - 06:00.

I was talking to a friend the other day, about the cost of health care, and was startled to discover my friend knew nothing about the four or ten dollar prescription programs available through several retailers. (How could any friend of mine not know? Apparently I had failed to pass on valuable information. I felt terrible.)

Here's how it works: quite a few generic medications are available for four dollars per month, or if you get them filled in ninety day increments, ten dollars for three months. For instance there is a medication on the list that I take that has a ten dollar per month copay if I buy it through my health insurance at my regular pharmacy. If I buy it at Target, or Walmart, or Sams Club, or any of the others that have this program, and pay cash, I pay four dollars per month. Or I can ask my doctor to write my prescription for a ninety day supply and pay ten dollars, saving a total of twenty dollars over the course of three months. Which may not sound like much but it adds up, especially if you have to take more than one medication or need it for more than one member of the family.

You can find a list of these common drugs at the retailers' websites. If your pharmacy doesn’t have this program ask them if they'll match the price you could get somewhere else. If you're a good customer your pharmacy may be willing to dicker.