Ask Mr. Senior
How To Beat The High Cost Of Prescription Drugs 

By Ron Smith

Dear M. Senior:
Many years ago my Dad told me the only two things considered sure in life were death and taxes. Today it's death, taxes and the high cost of prescription drugs. I live on a fixed income and need to do something soon to reduce my drug expenses, which are getting more expensive every year. Do you have any suggestions? ­ Roy G.

Dear Roy:
Medicare's Prescription Drug Plan has alleviated the burden for many seniors, but not enough to say the problem is resolved. For many seniors the choice comes down to eating three meals a day or eating one or two meals and taking needed medications ­ a truly terrible dilemma for older Americans.

Seniors need to explore other avenues before they have to make such distressing choices. A few of those avenues are as follows: 

• Try the obvious but often overlooked solution of reviewing with your doctor the necessity of taking your existing prescriptions. Perhaps there are alternatives that may do the job. Doctors often mistakenly assume their patients prefer medication to sweating it out with options that are more difficult to handle, such as a rigorous and disciplined program of diet and exercise that keeps some diabetics' glucose under control.
• Another option is to ask your doctor to consider generic drugs, which can be considerably cheaper than branded drugs. The cost savings might be substantial, especially given the exorbitant four or five dollar per pill cost of numerous prescription medications today. Sometimes over-the-counter drugs may work as well as branded prescription drugs. These are options for you and your doctor (not you alone) to consider.
• Shop around for low prices. Pharmacies vary in price for the same medication, often extensively. My wife takes an anti-inflammatory pill and found the price between pharmacies varying over sixty percent.
• You may qualify for assistance from the pharmaceutical companies. Contact the Partnership for Prescription Assistance for a free evaluation. Many less affluent seniors receive their drugs for next to nothing through this program. The easiest way is to find out online at: www.pparx.org/ViewCompanies.php.
• Another cheaper source for prescription drugs is from Canada. Although it is illegal, the FDA is turning its back on the practice and may continue to do so because thousands of seniors and hundreds of communities across the USA now receive their drugs from Canadian pharmacies. If you try this route, be sure to get your doctor's approval of the individual pharmacy beforehand.
• Another alternative is Internet pharmacies. This option is tricky. The problem is you never know how legitimate the pharmacy is. Most are, but it's quite possible to find some that will send you adulterated or weakened drugs. I would be exceptionally careful before ordering from an Internet pharmacy. Here again, consult your doctor for advice.
• Finally, consider combining two options. Stay with Medicare's Prescription Drug Plan D until you hit the so-called "donut hole" at $2,250. From that amount until you pay $5,100 from your own pocket, you pay the full or most of that amount, depending on your insurance carrier and the plan you bought. For most seniors the cheapest way to go, after the limit of $2,250 has been reached ­ is to buy your drugs from Canada. Then start back with Medicare's Prescription Drug Plan on January 1 of the next year.

Ron Smith is the author of books for seniors including Scambusters and Making Your Golden Years Golden. E-mail your questions to him at seniors_advocate@yahoo.com .