November Edition

HealthEquity Member Newsletter

Maximize Your HSA: Saving Money on Prescriptions

Prescription drugs are the highest rising cost in health care today. This newsletter will give you some tips on how to get the medications you need, without breaking the bank! The simple strategies below could literally save you thousands of dollars a year.

Use Your Health Plan Discounts: Your health plan doesn't just negotiate discounted rates for visits to medical providers, they also negotiate discounted rates for medications. Don't forget to show your pharmacist your health plan membership card or discount prescription drug card to receive these extra savings.

Use Generic Medications: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that generic drugs save consumers $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies! Generics typically have the same chemical formula as their branded counterparts, but can cost a lot less. They are the same in quality, strength, purity and dosage. Ask your doctor if your medication has a generic equivalent. In many states, your doctor must authorize the pharmacy to give you a generic instead of the brand name prescription. For more information about generics, go to MyHealthEquity.com.*

Investigate Alternate Medications: In addition to generic medications, ask your physician about alternative medications in the same category as your prescribed medication. Medications in the same category provide similar results when treating a specific condition, but may contain different active ingredients and have different side effects. In many cases, you will find that an alternate medication is equally effective in treating your condition. Looking into alternate medications widens your cost savings options for prescriptions. More information about alternate prescriptions is available at MyHealthEquity.com. We suggest you discuss the information you find online with your physician.

Split Pills: Many medications are “flat priced” across different dosages. This means that larger dosages cost the same as smaller dosages. By cutting a larger dosage pill in half, you may save up to fifty percent on your costs. Always use a pill splitter to cut the pills. These can be obtained for a few dollars at almost any drug store or pharmacy. Splitting pills is not precise, and you will never get exactly 50 percent of the pill. You should always consult a doctor before engaging in pill splitting.

Shop Around: Not all pharmacies charge the same price for medications. Discount stores like Wal-Mart and Costco often charge significantly less than chain pharmacies (you do not need to be a Costco member to shop at their pharmacy). Before you go into a pharmacy, make sure you know what the average cost of your medication is (MyHealthEquity.com can help you find this information). Some pharmacies will price match if you know what your medicine should cost.

Mail Order 90 Day Supplies: If you take maintenance or ongoing medications, consider ordering your supply in 90-day quantities. This can be less expensive than purchasing a supply month by month. Check with your health plan to see if this option is available to you. Many health plans have mail ordering services on their websites that allow you to order three month supplies at a discounted rate.

Information is the key to beating high prescription drug costs. MyHealthEquity.com can help you find the right information you need to know if there are generic or alternative options for your medications. If you have any questions about how to save money on your prescriptions, please call our 24-hour member service team at 866-346-5800.

Cost Savings Tip of the Month

Wal-Mart and Target have recently introduced a program to offer over 300 commonly used prescription drugs at $4.00 for a 30-day supply. Anyone who uses a Wal-Mart or Target pharmacy qualifies for this discounted price. Some of the medications on these lists are sold for over ten times as much at other pharmacies! Check out the lists to see how much money you might save.

Click Here to View Wal-Mart’s List of $4 Prescriptions

Click Here to View Target’s List of $4 Prescriptions

Helpful Links

Generic Drug Approvals
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Didn’t see a generic for one of your medications at MyHealthEquity.com? Don’t give up hope. The FDA approves new generics every month as patent protection on brand name drugs expire. To see the FDA’s list of newly approved generics, click here.

Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Do you still have questions about the safety of generic drugs, how they are made, and why they cost less than brand name medications? The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research provides a question and answers page to answer all of your concerns. Click here to go to their site.

Buying Medicine and Medical Products over the Internet
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
As you shop around for the best prices, you may find the internet to be a good resource for discount pricing on your medications. Your health plan may offer you links to some of these stores. While there are many great legitimate groups doing business on the internet, other fraudulent sites have popped up as well. To read what the FDA says about protecting yourself from unscrupulous internet stores, click here. To read the FDA’s list of Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ click here.