SHIIP is part of the North Carolina Department of Insurance and was started in 1986 to counsel Medicare beneficiaries and caregivers about Medicare, Medicare supplements, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and long-term care insurance. SHIIP counselors offer free and unbiased information regarding Medicare health care products.

For more information on SHIIP visit their website at:

http://www.ncdoi.com/SHIIP/Default.aspx

 Generic Medications

 The easiest and most common way for a prescribing doctor to cut costs for the patient is to allow the substitution of a so-called “generic” form of the drug.  Not all name-brand prescription drugs have generic equivalents, but the generics that are available are commonly 30% to 80% less expensive  than their name-brand counterparts. They are considered “equivalents” because each is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to function the same and contain the same active ingredients as the “name brand” form.

Some doctors and some patients report differences in performance between name-brand and generic forms of the certain specific drugs.  Thus if you ask your doctor about a cost-saving generic, he or she may be unwilling to allow the substitution for medical reasons. But if the professional sees no difference between name-brand and generic forms, he or she will usually allow you to buy the generic form at the pharmacy.

The key is communication.  Talk to the doctor (including about finances) when the prescription is written, and talk to your pharmacist when it is filled.  If a generic is not allowed by your prescription, the pharmacist will usually be willing to  telephone the prescribing doctor to ask if a generic may be substituted.

 Tablet Splitting

 Patients split their tablets  for two reasons: one good, one bad.  The bad reason is to take a half-dose of a medicine that has been prescribed at full-strength in order to make the supply last longer, thus saving money.  The problem, of course, is that most medications only work correctly at a particular dosage – the dosage calculated by your doctor and written in the prescription.  Sometimes, a half-dose will fail to help, or may even do you harm.

Again, this will not be appropriate for most cases: insurance rules and drug prices may prevent it. Also, some drugs come in forms that cannot be split, and some tablets are dif-ficult or impossible to split without shattering them or mak-ing un-equal ―halves‖(which might be dangerous if precision is crucial). Your doctor may disallow the splitting approach if he or she believes that it carries too -high a risk of hurting you.

Again, successful cost-cutting requires serious communica-tion with your doctor. There is no safe way to devise a split-ting plan of your own. Still, when tablet-splitting is appropri-ate, you doctor may use it as a way to help you afford your meds.

 Communicate: Say What You Need

If the cost of the medicatsion you need is too high, tell your doctor. Some patients fear that the doctor will look down on them for having tight funds, but the opposite is true. Your doctor knows that physical health is best when you worry the least, and will try to help you remove the stress of drug costs if at all possible. Say, “I’m having trouble affording all of these,” and you may be surprised at how helpful the reply is!