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Home > Smart Spending > Archives > 2009 > January > 12
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Prescription For Savings: Buying Meds In Bulk By Mail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Prescription in hand, I drove directly from the doctor’s office to the pharmacy. The three-month supply of drugs would cost me $173 and change.
I did not pout and I did not cry. I’m telling you why: My insurance provider’s buy-in-bulk, home delivery service.
Ninety days’ worth of medicine for 40 bucks — 20, if it’s generic. Better yet, delivered free to my mailbox.
Downsides? Well, you cannot turn around and file for insurance. That’s OK, since the savings usually are far greater with mail-order.
You’ll have to wait up to a week before the shipment arrives unless you pay $15, in my case, for overnight. So, make sure you don’t run dry before your meds are replenished.
And you must remember to request a prescription covering 90 days from your doc. That’s assuming you need to take the drug that long.
Does your insurer offer such a program?
If so, do you take advantage of it?
For more on filling your prescriptions at places other than your brick-and-mortar pharmacy, here are prices at various online pharmacies and the FDA’s advice on Internet drug purchases.
The vast differences in price bring a painful reminder of the obscene mark-ups on some meds. It’s enough to make you sick.
Knowing I can save big bucks on the mail-order option accelerates me down the road to recovery.
To fine ways to help make your way through a bumpy economy check out Your Money.
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