The Legality Of Purchasing Prescription Drug Coupons

As someone who uses a high deductible insurance program, I try to cut my prescription drug costs whenever there is a chance to do so. I am just learning, sometimes the hard way, that paying full price for prescription drugs is not always necessary. For generic drugs I go to Wal - Mart, which now carries over 100 of the most common medications for only $4.00. Other pharmacies, such as HEB Pharmacy, are following suit with similar plans. Buying drugs from Mexico or Canada is an ever changing grey area, and one that I don't have the time to keep up with. Tourists returning from Mexico have had all of their prescription drugs seized by customs. These folks had of course been told by the pharmacy in Mexico that it was legal to take the drugs back to the U.S.A. Buying prescription drugs while on vacation is probably not a good way to save money, since the chances of having them confiscated or even facing fines or jail time is not worth it.

Ask Your Doctor For Help

One way to save money on prescription drug costs is to ask your doctor for help. Here is what my family physician told me when I asked him about ways to cut my prescription drug costs:

"Here, Let Me Give You Some Free Samples!"

If you are without health insurance or on a high deductible insurance plan, simply ask your physician if they can give you some free samples of the drug that they prescribed for you. Many physicians are very liberal with free samples, especially if they know that the patient has no insurance or is on a high deductible insurance policy. For example, my elderly mother in law was given several months worth of free samples for the asthma medication Singulair, as well as a discount card worth $15 off of each refill, until the drug goes generic in the summer of 2012. You can currently get free Singulair coupon cards from almost every allergist and general practice physician.

Use A Discount Prescription Card

Many pharmacies have "in house" discount drug programs that you can sign up for for a few dollars or even for free. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and many more offer such plans. These are often good for both generics and non generics. Ask your pharmacist which discount prescription drug plans they accept and if they have any suggestions as to which one is the best.

Before Going To The Pharmacy, Go Home And Check For A Free Trial Prescription Coupon Online

My physician recommended that before going to the pharmacy to fill my script, I should go home and check for free, printable prescription drug coupons online. I found one coupon on Eli Lilly and Company's website for a 30 day supply of the drug my doctor had prescribed and it saved me $180. There are a few sites that aggregate, or put together all of the current offers on the web. These are legitimate sites, and simply provide you with links to the drug maker's website. One such site is internetdrugcoupons.com, and doing a Google search brings up dozens more sites like it. It is perfectly legal to use these sites for free prescription drug coupons since they simply link to manufacturers sites.

Is It Legal To Buy Prescription Drug Coupons On eBay?

This is one my doctor did not tell me about, but it is common knowledge that you can buy prescription drug coupons for drugs such as Advair on eBay. Is it legal? I could find nothing in eBay's site about prescription drug coupons being against company policy. Of course, this is always subject to change. If you go on eBay at any given time, you will find coupons for Advair, Celebrex, and many other pharmaceuticals. If you check Wikipedia, you find that under the Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1988, it is illegal to buy or sell prescription drug coupons. Apparently this 20 year old law is not enforced very much, but proceed at your own risk.

Check With State and Local Agencies For Prescription Drug Assistance

Even if you do not yet qualify for Medicare or make too much to be eligible for Medicaid, there still may be local and state programs that you can take advantage of to save on prescription drugs. Contact your state health department for more information. Also, you should check with the nonprofit Partnership For Prescription Assistance to find out if there are any discount programs you qualify for. Just to give you an example of the types of prescription drug assistance programs the PPA can connect you with, AstraZenaca, the makers of Pulmacort, offer the drug for free if you meet the following income conditions: "You have an annual household income* at or below: $30,000 for a single person $40,000 for a family of two $50,000 for a family of three $60,000 for a family of four $70,000 for a family of five"