Cholesterol Lowering Medicines' (Statin) Prices Got You Beat? Some money saving tips.
High price of statin drugs is one of the commonest frustrations of my patients with heart problems. The statins are a commonly used group of medicines used to lower cholesterol. Zocor, Lipitor, Crestor, Pravachol and Lovastatin are some of the statins available. Here are some tips on saving money on statins:
1. For the first time, three statins, Lovastatin, Pravastatin (marketed under name Pravachol) and Simvastatin ( marketed as Zocor) are available in generic form now. Request your health provider to prescribe generic statins.
2. All generics are not priced the same. Shop around, and buy the least expensive one. The more expensive medicine is not necessarily the better medicine.
3. Just because a particular pharmacy gave you the best price for one medicine does not mean all the medicines in that pharmacy are best-priced. Shop around for each individual drug that you may have to take on a regular basis.
4. Do not hesitate to ask your health provider for drug samples. Also, ask for any drug assistance programs that they may know of. Your doctor's medical assistant or nurse can be your best resource in this regard.
5. Don't get swayed by an article or advertisement into hopping from one statin to another.
6. If you are charged considerably more for one statin than the other, consider changing to a cheaper one. Most of the health providers will be happy to oblige by changing your prescription unless they see a good reason for sticking with the more expensive one.
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1. For the first time, three statins, Lovastatin, Pravastatin (marketed under name Pravachol) and Simvastatin ( marketed as Zocor) are available in generic form now. Request your health provider to prescribe generic statins.
2. All generics are not priced the same. Shop around, and buy the least expensive one. The more expensive medicine is not necessarily the better medicine.
3. Just because a particular pharmacy gave you the best price for one medicine does not mean all the medicines in that pharmacy are best-priced. Shop around for each individual drug that you may have to take on a regular basis.
4. Do not hesitate to ask your health provider for drug samples. Also, ask for any drug assistance programs that they may know of. Your doctor's medical assistant or nurse can be your best resource in this regard.
5. Don't get swayed by an article or advertisement into hopping from one statin to another.
6. If you are charged considerably more for one statin than the other, consider changing to a cheaper one. Most of the health providers will be happy to oblige by changing your prescription unless they see a good reason for sticking with the more expensive one.
(c) Keshav Chander
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posted by kc at 11:58 AM
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