Coupons for prescriptions









I popped into the pharmacy yesterday to pick our daily controller inhalers for my daughter and I, and had quite the shock at the register. They range up at $155.

It's a new pharmacy tech, so I said "Wait a minute. What was so expensive?" He said my daughter's controller inhaler was $80, and mine was $75.

I know that my pharmacy will find a manufacturer's coupon and apply that to our co-pay, so instead of paying a $80 copay for my daughter's inhaler, it will be $30. My co-pay for my inhaler is usually $75 but with a coupon, I can get it for $25.

Some of you may be thinking, "I pay WAY more than that each month for my inhaler!" I get it. My work has a $6,000 deductible for our insurance, which is a complete joke. My coworkers have to pay $250 EVERY month for their inhaler. They also have to pay full price for every doctor visit and emergency room visit.

So, I use my husband's insurance instead. It has a lower deductible and covers medications and doctor's visits once we meet our deductible. 
I know I shouldn't complain about paying $80 and $75 for an inhaler. But that's not all we get at the pharmacy. There are 5 people in my family with allergies, and 4 have asthma. So, we end up buying LOTS of controller inhalers, rescue inhalers, Albuterol vials for the nebulizer, and allergy medicine.  Plus medicine for other chronic conditions. So we use the manufacturer's coupons anytime we can!

When my son was younger, he was on a biologic (injections) for asthma. His little vial of Xolair was $1,000 every month (he was on the injections for 7 years). Our insurance covered most of it, but we still had a $150 co-pay. And that's on top of all the other inhalers, allergy medicine, and allergy shots. So, we found co-pay help on Needymeds. If you are on Xolair, you can get financial help here. 
Needymeds is a clearinghouse for co-pay assistance. Based on how much you make, you can find help for all/part of your medicine. Any medicine, not just asthma medicine. 

Here is the link to the brand name medications. Just click on the alphabet letter for your medicine. Each medicine will have co-pay help, coupons or both!

I don't use coupons at the grocery store, but I do at the pharmacy! I can save $50 each time I get an inhaler by using a coupon. Sign me up!
I will list some websites below for coupons. Your savings will depend on your insurance. 
Check here  for Dulera and Asmanex (this is good for 12 inhalers.)
If you use Symbicort, check here.
For Advair, check here. 
Check here for QVAR.
There are many more medicines and websites, but I can't list them all. Just type in the name of the medicine and "coupon" in my search bar. See what you can find!  (Or check on the Needymeds website for coupons.)
Another option is to use the website GoodRx. You can type in the name of your medicine and your zip code, and it will tell you how much your medicine costs at each pharmacy near you. Sometimes you can find your medicine for less at another pharmacy.
Good luck!  

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