6 Ways to Reduce Your Personal Health Care and Prescription Costs

Although the economy is slowly recovering, the lack of job security and the instability of the markets and personal finances may still be hurting the financial future of many of us. So, many of us want to somehow save money. And what better place to save money than in the area that demands a large chunk of our income - healthcare. Although healthcare costs rise every year, and although copays for many of us are increasing without an end in sight, there are a few ways that you can easily reduce your healthcare spending, freeing up money that you can use for the other things on your list.

1.Evaluate your Insurance Plan Many people find out too late about the copay system and deductible system that their insurance plan is based on. Knowing ahead of time if you have a deductible (and exactly how much it is) can help you plan how to get to that magic number without breaking the bank. For example, if an individual's deductible is $200, knowing that in advance can help that person choose to fill the $60 and $170 prescriptions to achieve the deductible, instead of filling the $350 prescription and practically letting the insurance company escape a $150 tab.

2. Evaluate your medications Many doctors will prescribe newer medications that have only been on the market for a year or two for conditions like high blood pressure despite the fact that there are "older," but much cheaper medications that have the same therapeutic effect on the body as the newer brand names. This is a window of opportunity for savings. Talk to your doctor about switching to medications that treat the same condition for less. Those older medications that may cost less now are not only beneficial to your wallet, but are also beneficial to your health: medications that have been on the market for several years have shown the types of adverse reactions that they may cause, ones that may be too rare to appear in the laboratory during clinical trials. Sticking with drugs that millions have already taken can be a relief to many who worry about the types of medications they consume on a daily basis.

3. Talk to your doctor Physicians are people, too. If you mention to them your economic worries, they will work with you to come up with a way to reduce your costs, especially the costs of your medications. Your doctor can help you figure out which factors of your health you can work on that will reduce the chances of your condition worsening (thereby costing you more in office copays and drug copays). Also, many drug representatives stop by physicians' offices to promote their products and drop off savings cards for those medications. Ask your doctor if he has any savings cards or discount cards that he could give you. They vary from a "Free 30 Days Supply" voucher to "Pay No More Than $25 for..." cards. And many of those cards are good for refills, as well, so the savings add up quickly.

4. Talk to your local pharmacist Pharmacies are the hidden treasure chests of healthcare savings. Just like physicians' offices, pharmacies also see their share of drug representatives who bring savings cards. However, since pharmacists don't prescribe medications, these cards just end up sitting on the shelves next to the drugs that they are meant for. Ask your local pharmacist if he has any discount cards from the drug manufacturers - they will gladly get rid of the piles that collect dust on their shelves.

5. Savings Cards for the Uninsured Practically all retail pharmacies have drug discount cards available for free at their pharmacies that are meant for the millions of uninsured. What these cards do is allow you to get your drugs for a reduced out of pocket cost on many medications. The important thing to keep in mind that the card does not represent coverage of any sort, it is simply a discount card that may or may not cut the costs of certain medications. But they do help if you pay for prescriptions out of pocket and are just looking for some savings when you don't have coverage.

6. Drug Companies and their Aid Certain drug companies like GSK and AstraZeneca offer financial help to patients who use their products but may have a hard time affording them. For example, signing up for free on the GSK or AZ sites built for products like Advair (GSK) or Nexium (AZ) gives you access to savings coupons that you can print out or have sent to your email for "Free 7 Day Supply of Nexium" or "1 Free Advair Inhaler" covered by the manufacturer. The companies do this to increase the marketing and use of their products, but for the average person this may lead to some major savings. For an uninsured individual who was prescribed Advair, the out of pocket cost of 1 inhaler would be around $225. With a coupon from GSK, that cost for the month could go down to $0.