You or someone in your family may have a condition that requires medication to manage, but prescription medications can be incredibly expensive. In some cases, households are not able to keep up with the costs of the medications required to control their medical needs.

According to research from the CDC, approximately 1 in 10 Americans failed to take medications as prescribed by their physician due to prohibitively high prescription costs.

Fortunately, there are ways to decrease the price of your prescription medications, including joining a Christian health share program with prescription benefits, which can help keep medical and Rx expenses more manageable and consistent.

Cost-Cutting Strategy #1: Go Generic

There are plenty of brand names in medication with which consumers are familiar. However, there are also generic medications available that you might want to consider instead. Both brand name products and generic brands are essentially the same, but brand name products tend to be higher in price.

While generic drugs may have different fillers compared to brand name products they must still have the same active ingredients and must still pass the FDA’s standards of quality and strength. That means that brand name medications are not necessarily better than generic ones. However, they do often differ in price. You can save quite a bit of money by opting for generic medications.

Cost-Cutting Strategy #2: Enroll in a Prescription Assistance Program

You may be able to save some money on your medicines by tapping into a prescription assistance program (PAP) that is offered by many pharmaceutical companies to both uninsured or under-insured patients. The prescription medications that are eligible for PAPs are typically quite expensive, so pharmaceutical firms make use of these programs to make their products more accessible to the public.

Cost-Cutting Strategy #3: Compare Prescription Drug Prices at Different Pharmacies

You may find that different pharmacies charge slightly different prices for the same product. It might be worth your time to comparison shop for your medication from one pharmacy to another to find where the lowest price is. In some cases, you might find a huge difference in price. Even if the difference is only a couple of dollars, that can really add up over time as you fill prescriptions, especially if you find a better price on maintenance drugs.

Cost-Cutting Strategy #4. Consider Ordering Prescription Drugs From an Online Pharmacy

Online shopping makes just about every consumer product available over the internet, including medications. Online pharmacies are becoming increasingly popular among consumers who are looking for a more convenient and affordable way to get their hands on the medication they need. Not only can medications be delivered right to your front door, but you may also find them to be cheaper than the products you’d find at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy.

Cost-Cutting Strategy #5. Become a Member of a Health Share Program

Members of  health care sharing programs have plenty of perks, including more affordable expenses associated with medical care. As a member, you can share the cost of medical care for other members while also having access to the membership’s pool of funds to share the cost of your own eligible medical needs. Depending on the  health share program you choose, that may include certain prescription medications.

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