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One of the most maddening parts of being on Medicare\u2014and there are plenty\u2014is figuring out how to get the best prices for your prescription drugs. If you think all you need to do is buy a Part D prescription drug plan<\/a>, think again.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can go to pharmacies that are right down the street from each other and get different prices on your prescription drugs,\u201d said Leigh Purvis, AARP\u2019s senior director for health care costs and access.<\/p>\n Cindy George, senior personal finance editor at GoodRx, a prescription discount card company, said: \u201cPeople are paying all kinds of prices for the same drug, with the same strength and dose every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet it\u2019s vitally important for Medicare beneficiaries to keep their prescription costs down.<\/p>\n At a time when U.S. drug prices are roughly twice as high<\/a> as in comparable countries, and 42% of people 65 and older take five or more prescriptions, a quarter of people that age report having difficulty affording prescriptions. A 2023 survey by the KFF health research firm found that 11% of Medicare beneficiaries delayed or went without their prescription drugs<\/a> in the previous year due to cost.<\/p>\n \u201cYou really have to do a lot of competitive shopping around,\u201d says Dr. Richard Sagall, president of Needy Meds, a nonprofit offering free information on prescription drug savings. \u201cBut if you\u2019re persistent, you can save thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n You need to compare prescription prices regularly, though, to ensure you\u2019ll get the lowest price every<\/em> time you order\u2014especially for expensive brand-name medications which can cost thousands of dollars; prices of generics may be 90% lower.<\/p>\n That\u2019s smart whether you have Traditional Medicare or a private insurer\u2019s Medicare Advantage plan that includes a Part D component. (If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different one or switch to Traditional Medicare during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period<\/a> ending March 31.)<\/p>\n The Medicare site\u2019s Plan Finder tool lets you compare how much you\u2019d pay for your prescriptions on Part D plans available where you live.<\/p>\n Bear in mind that a Part D plan might have a great price for one of your medications, but not another one. It might not even cover one or more of your prescriptions in its list of medications, known as a formulary. \u201cEvery Part D insurer charges different co-pays for different drugs and has different drugs on its formulary,\u201d said Diane Archer, president of Just Care USA, a digital hub for older Americans\u2019 health and money.<\/p>\n When paying for your prescriptions, \u201cyou can just use your Part D coverage, it\u2019s just that it might cost you a lot more than you should be paying,\u201d Archer noted.<\/p>\n See if its manufacturer offers a Patient Assistance Program (PAP) that could provide the medication for free, or at a dramatically reduced price, for a period of time. These pharmaceutical programs are offered for certain medications for people who qualify for financial assistance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pharma companies give away billions of dollars\u2019 worth of drugs every year\u201d through PAPs, said Sagall. \u201cWe encourage everyone to look there because some of the eligibility guidelines are pretty generous. I\u2019ve seen some for people whose income is 600 or 800 times the federal poverty level.\u201d (That translates to roughly $100,000.)<\/p>\n Patient Assistance Program guidelines can vary for different medications at the same company, so you\u2019ll want to check for a PAP for every pricey brand-name prescription you take.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s really a complicated system for people to navigate,\u201d said Purvis.<\/p>\n The NeedyMeds site tracks Patient Assistance Programs and has a free email alert service<\/a> to get PAP updates.<\/p>\n Thirteen states, mostly in the Northeast, have SPAPs that help pay prescription-drug related costs for people with limited financial resources through cost-sharing assistance and reductions in Part D premiums. Some pay for prescriptions that Medicare or your Part D plan won\u2019t cover.<\/p>\n The SPAP states are Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Most of them limit enrollment to lower-income people 65 and older, but the ceiling is much higher in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Wisconsin\u2019s SPAP is open to older state residents<\/a> with any income, according to James McSpadden, a senior policy advisor at AARP.<\/p>\n Nearly all the programs require beneficiaries to enroll in Medicare Part D plans; six are available only to residents in Medicare\u2019s low-income subsidy program.<\/p>\n If you live in a SPAP state, your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (also known as a SHIP) or state Department of Health can tell you whether you qualify and how to enroll. \u201cWe found that there are a lot more people who are probably eligible than are actually enrolled,\u201d said McSpadden.<\/p>\n With Extra Help<\/a>, your Part D premium and deductible are both $0 and you\u2019ll pay no more than $4.50 for each generic drug and a maximum of $11.20 for each brand-name drug. Once the total drug costs paid by you and your plan combined hit $8,000, you pay $0 for each covered medication.<\/p>\n The Extra Help eligibility limits have been raised for 2024. This year, the program is available to individual on Medicare with income under $22,590 and assets of less than $17,220 (not including your home, one car and furniture).<\/p>\n Major pharmacy chains such as CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens and Costco<\/a> Pharmacy offer free or inexpensive loyalty or rewards programs for members. Some of these companies also have premium versions that cost more but provide bigger savings.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t use your Part D prescription plan at Cuban\u2019s Cost Plus Drug Company, but the savings can be huge if your medication is offered.<\/p>\n Cost Plus sells and delivers prescriptions\u2014about 1,000 generics and 10 brand-name drugs\u2014at its cost plus 15% and the pharmacy fee, if there is one. For instance, Cost Plus charges $5.60 for a metformin tablet (a generic diabetes pill), vs. about $20 at other pharmacies. The generic for the cholesterol drug Zetia costs $6.80 per tablet, compared with roughly $113 at other pharmacies.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might look at what Costco charges online for its drugs you take and what Mark Cuban\u2019s Cost Plus pharmacy charges as a quick comparison against what your Part D drug plan charges,\u201d advised Archer.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve likely seen TV commercials for free or inexpensive cards like SingleCare or Good Rx and possibly wondered whether they\u2019re worth the trouble.<\/p>\n Actually, these cards, also available as downloadable apps, can save you as much as 80% on some prescriptions, especially generics. Sometimes, they also have special money-saving deals on particular prescriptions and medical aids. For instance, GoodRx\u2019s partnership with continuous glucose monitor maker Dexcom means its card can save $200 a month on Dexcom\u2019s G6 system.<\/p>\n \u201cDiscount card programs can really help you cover those medications that aren\u2019t covered through Medicare,\u201d said Ramzi Yacoub, chief pharmacy officer at RxSense and SingleCare.<\/p>\n But there are nearly a dozen pharmacy discount cards and, based on review sites like Payingforseniorcare.com<\/a> and Seniorliving.org<\/a>, none always offer the biggest savings for users for all their prescriptions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe discount you get depends on the pharmacy,\u201d said Sagall. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a $100+ difference between local pharmacies.\u201d<\/p>\n When you use a discount card, you\u2019re buying medications with cash and not <\/em>using your Part D plan\u2019s insurance. That means whatever you pay with one of the cards won\u2019t reduce your Part D deductible and may not count towards your out-of-pocket limit, said Purvis.<\/p>\n The cards are typically accepted at major chain drugstore outlets and many local pharmacies; their costlier premium versions typically offer bigger discounts but at fewer drugstores than their free cards.<\/p>\n However, each discount card has its own list of medications than qualify, participating drugstores and assorted benefits, such as price alerts when a prescription\u2019s price has dropped significantly. Some cards have home delivery; others don\u2019t.<\/p>\n Their discounts can be volatile, too. So, the savings you get with a card one month at a particular pharmacy may be lower, or nonexistent, when it\u2019s time for a refill. \u201cThe best deal today may not be the best deal next month,\u201d said Sagall.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s best to always compare the card\u2019s current price with your Part D plan\u2019s price before buying a prescription.<\/p>\n You\u2019re allowed to do this for personal use but you\u2019ll want to take care that the pharmacy is reputable.<\/p>\n One way to avoid risks is by using the Pharmacychecker site<\/a>, which verifies and monitors credentials of international online pharmacies and compares their prices. The 24-year-old site claims patients who compare prices globally before buying prescriptions often save 70% to 90% or thousands of dollars a year.<\/p>\n Nervous about buying prescriptions from outside the U.S.?<\/p>\n Archer\u2019s take: \u201cMany of the drugs we take are manufactured in India and China, so when you\u2019re importing drugs from abroad, you\u2019re often importing them from the same factories that are manufacturing drugs here. If you buy from verified pharmacies abroad listed on Pharmacychecker.com, you should not encounter any risks.\u201d<\/p>\n If all of this sounds overwhelming, you might want assistance from a human.<\/p>\n Your state\u2019s SHIP plan has Medicare experts who dispense objective, free advice over the phone. You won\u2019t be told which Part D plan or discount card to get, but you could learn how to make that decision yourself.<\/p>\n Your pharmacist can also lead you to the biggest savings on your medications.<\/p>\n Until 2018, pharmacists were prohibited from voluntarily telling customers they could save on prescriptions by buying with cash rather than insurance. Today, pharmacists can often tell you whether you\u2019ll save more using your Part D plan or not and their computers may reveal which discount card would give you the largest price break on the prescription you need.<\/p>\n \u201cAsk whether there\u2019s a coupon available for that drug at a lower price than your Part D co-pay,\u201d said Archer.<\/p>\n Medicare beneficiaries taking eight or more Part D medications for chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression, heart failure and depression may also qualify for the program\u2019s free Medication Therapy Management, offered by all Part D plans. It lets you have one-on-one consultations with pharmacists to go over all your medications and see if there are lower-cost alternatives.<\/p>\n \u201cMedication Therapy Management lets a pharmacist look holistically at all the prescriptions someone takes,\u201d said McSpadden.<\/p>\n You can get help applying for a Patient Assistance Program through the NeedyMeds site\u2019s directory of free advisors, typically offered by your local Area Agency on Aging or your state or county health department.<\/p>\n Needy Meds also has a toll-free number you can call weekdays to speak with one of its helpline representatives: 800-503-6897.<\/p>\n Sometimes, you can also save on prescriptions depending on the dosage and quantity you buy. \u201cA five-milligram pill may be cheaper than splitting a 10-milligram pill and sometimes the 10-milligram is cheaper,\u201d said Sagall.<\/p>\n You may get a price break by buying a three-month or six-month supply of a medication rather than one month. Walmart\u2019s prescription program provides a 90-day supply of certain generics for $10 a month, for instance.<\/p>\n You could also save by getting prescriptions through your Part D insurer\u2019s mail-order plan, though mail-order isn\u2019t necessarily less expensive than in-person (plus there\u2019ll be a delay in receiving what you need).<\/p>\n Prescription-drug savings will get easier in 2025 and subsequent years.<\/p>\n\nWhere to find prescription savings on Medicare<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Start by finding the best Medicare Part D plan for the prescriptions you take<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Get assistance with an expensive, brand-name prescription drug<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Apply to your State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) for older adults if there is one and you qualify<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sign up for Medicare\u2019s low-income subsidy program known as Extra Help, if you qualify<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Look into discount programs from pharmaceutical chains and disruptor from Mark Cuban<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Get a pharmacy discount card (or more than one)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Consider buying medications from a licensed online pharmacy in another country<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Where to get help on prescription-savings questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A few final money-saving tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n