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Five Ways to Save on Your Medicare Part D Prescriptions
Taking your medications helps you stay healthy and feel your best, especially when you have a chronic condition like diabetes or heart disease. Prescription drug costs can add up quickly. It can be hard to lower your prescription costs.
When you’re on a fixed income, as so many Medicare beneficiaries are, that could mean making tough choices between competing needs like between buying groceries and refilling your prescription. Nobody should have to make those kinds of dangerous tradeoffs, especially when there are ways to save on prescriptions.
Why Taking Your Medications as Directed is so Important
Prescription drugs help to treat, stop and even cure disease. Lifesaving drugs like insulin, blood thinners and others help people live longer, happier and higher quality lives. Not taking the correct dose, skipping doses or not filling a prescription at all can make your condition worse and even lead to an emergency-room visit or hospitalization.
Many Medicare Beneficiaries Struggle to Afford Their Prescription Costs
If you’re struggling with the costs of your prescriptions, you’re not alone. In fact, 5 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide struggle to afford prescription drug costs. Here’s why you might be struggling:
- You take multiple prescriptions. If you take four or more prescriptions, you’re more likely to struggle with the costs.
- Your income is less than $40,000 per year. When you live on a fixed income, it might be harder to absorb surprise costs, which makes it difficult to afford your everyday expenses.
- There’s no central negotiator to haggle with drug companies, so pharmaceutical companies can charge more.
- There are no price controls set by the federal government like other countries have.
- Patents prevent lower-cost generic versions of drugs from getting made before the patent expires. If you take a drug that is patented, your costs are likely higher. Patents generally last 17 years.
Prescription drug costs are complex. There are wider issues at play beyond your personal situation that affect the costs of drugs.
Five Ways to Save on Prescription Drug Costs
Now that you understand why prescription drugs might be difficult to afford, let’s review different ways to save on your Medicare Part D costs.
- Lower Prescription Costs by Talking to Your Primary Care Provider (PCP) or Pharmacist
Your PCP and pharmacist are great resources for you when it comes to lowering your prescription drug costs. Here’s how they can help:
- They can review all your medications to see if there are any you no longer need to take or if there are lower-cost alternatives available you can switch to.
- They may be able to provide you with coupons or samples to help you afford your medications.
- They may know of community-based organizations who can offer financial assistance.
- Reduce your Part D Costs by Switching to Generics
Generic medications typically cost 80–85% less than brand-name drugs. They have the same ingredients and are equally effective as the name-brand drugs. Generic medications go through the same review and testing process as name-brand medications. That created $408 billion (about $1,300 per person in the U.S.) in savings for the U.S. healthcare system in 2022 alone.
- Comparison Shop Between Pharmacies to Save on Prescriptions
Different pharmacies might charge different prices for the same prescription drug. If you have a prescription drug plan (PDP), this could be because your insurance company has different agreements between different types of pharmacies.
Some pharmacies offer preferred cost-sharing to certain carriers, which means they offer lower out-of-pocket costs to members. Review your Evidence of Coverage document or use your insurance app to see which pharmacies in your plan’s network are preferred cost-sharing pharmacies and fill your prescriptions there. You can use an online comparison tool like Pharmacy Checker to price shop.
You might also consider switching to a mail-order pharmacy. A mail-order pharmacy will ship your prescriptions directly to your house, which can be more convenient if you have transportation or mobility concerns. They might also offer 90- or 100-day supplies at lower costs, making it easier for you to stay on track longer for your medications.
Check out mail-order pharmacies like Cost Plus Drugs and Good Rx to see if switching to a mail-order pharmacy makes sense for you and your needs.
- Explore Assistance Programs to Save on Your Medicare Part D Costs
There are several resources at the national and local level to help you get the medications you need to stay healthy affordably. Here are programs to know about.
Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)/Extra Help
This is a program of the federal government that helps people with limited income and resources lower their Part D prescription drug costs. You can enroll any time after enrolling in Part D through the Social Security Administration.
If you’re eligible for LIS/Extra Help, here’s what your costs could look like:
- Plan premium: $0
- Plan deductible: $0
- Prescriptions:
- $4.50 or less for each generic drug
- $11.20 or less for each brand-name drug
State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs
Many states offer assistance programs for residents to make prescription drug costs more affordable. Use Medicare’s search tool to find available programs in your state.
Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs
Many drug companies offer programs to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their prescription drug costs. Use Medicare’s search tool to see if programs are available for the prescriptions you take.
Non-profit Assistance Programs
Some non-profit organizations offer resources and tools to help Medicare beneficiaries cover the cost of their medications. NeedyMeds, a non-profit organization, works to improve access to affordable healthcare for people in need. Use the site to search by drug name to get information on Patient Assistance Programs, pharmacies offering $4 generic (non-brand name) medications, coupon and rebate programs and medication support pages.
- See if the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Can Help You Smooth Your Prescription Costs
In 2025, Medicare will roll out a new, optional program for Part D enrollees called the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan to help smooth out prescription drug costs over the year by capping the costs each month.
If you have high prescription costs at the beginning of the year or an unexpectedly high prescription drug cost, enrolling in this program could benefit you and make the cost of your prescriptions more affordable.
Your PDP carrier should notify you of this new program with your annual notice of change letter. You can also check your 2025 Evidence of Coverage document to learn more. If you would be likely to benefit from this program, you’ll get a reminder notification about it in December 2024.
Take Your Medications and Turn to ilumed for Help to Save on Prescription Drugs
Remember that taking your medications as directed is important to your health and well-being. Skipping doses or cutting them in half can have negative and even dangerous side effects that could send you to the emergency room.
If you’re struggling to afford your prescription drug costs, you’re not alone. It’s okay to ask for help. ilumed is here to help you get the support you need. Here’s how we support you:
- Schedule free transportation to and from the pharmacy to make filling your prescriptions easy.
- Schedule an appointment with your PCP for a medication review.
- Help you apply to available programs.
- Connect you to local resources.
- Serve as your go-to resource for questions and concerns about your health and well-being.
Get personalized support with your prescription drug needs and speak to one of our social workers by calling 1-877-707-7027.