Tips for Affording Your Elders Medication

When your parent or another elder gets older, the number of medications that they need increases. Medications aren’t cheap. It can be difficult to afford everything that caring for a senior citizen requires. Depending on how old your elder is, assistance and providing for them can be quite expensive. While your elder might have a large sum of retirement money, not everyone is that lucky. If you are looking for ways to decrease the cost of caring for your elder without decreasing the quality of the care they receive, one way to do this is to find cheaper medications. Here are some tips to help you afford your elder’s drugs.

Participate in Medical Exams

One thing you can do is participate in your elder’s medical exams, physicals, and check-ins. This is a good idea because you should know what they are taking the medications for. You will be able to ask their doctors questions that the senior citizen might not think to ask and help them mitigate the risk of chronic disease. It depends how old the person is and how much they are able to care for themselves, but if you think that they would benefit from you being there during these visits you should go with them.

Look for Generic Medications

When you are at the doctors and pharmacy to pick up their medications, you should ask about any generics that are available. Sometimes doctors and pharmacies have deals with pharmaceutical companies so you should also do your own research. If it’s possible to find a generic version of a drug that your elder needs to get through the day or stabilize their overall condition, you could save some money over time. Pharmaceutical drugs are pricey, but generics are a lot more affordable.

Look for Discount Prescriptions

There are actually a lot of ways to save money on medications online. One thing you should do to help your elder is to look for a discount prescriptions card. With one of these cards, you can help an elder with many prescriptions join an internet service that searches for and informs you about discount drugs. There is no reason to pay the top price for these medications, depending on the situation they can be a lot cheaper with a discount. Each drug, company, and discount is different, but it’s always worth a try.

Utilize their Seniority

If the person you are trying to help is over the age of 65, there are a lot of benefits to utilize depending on the state you live in. There are state programs that can decrease expenses. You should try to find the best possible Medicare drug plan to reduce the costs of their medications. Compare plans and ask someone about what specific drugs, medical care, and treatments that they cover. When you can get a better plan, it will be worth the time and effort spent to get it done.

Find a Mail-Order Pharmacy

Another great option for lowering the cost of a senior citizen’s medications is to find a good mail-order pharmacy. This option might allow you to save money by increasing the supply that you are able to get at one time and delivering it to your home. It is the perfect choice for senior citizens. Not every region has the option of signing up for a mail-order pharmacy, but if you do you should take advantage of it and lower those prices with consistent, predictable ordering.

Ask the Drug Manufacturer for Help

Finally, you can ask the manufacturer of the drug if they can offer a cheaper price for senior citizens or if they have some kind of payment plan or financial aid program. This is common for medications that don’t have generics. Since the manufacturer likely has the patent for the drug, they charge more for it. But if you or your loved one simply cannot afford it, the company may be willing to make an exception because they still want your business.

Getting older isn’t cheap. It comes with hefty medical bills and expensive medications. Luckily, there are a few ways around it to find cheaper medications that will help you or your elder save money and live a better, happier life.