What Makes the Cost of Pharmaceuticals So High and What Can People Do About It

Prescriptions: A Pretty Penny

Amazingly enough, one of the most essential necessities that an individual has is also one of the most expensive. You may have to keep up on the RTRX stock forecast just to afford your pills. People who suffer from various different ailments need prescription drugs in order to cope on a daily basis. Individuals with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid issues, hormonal ailments and much more take prescription drugs on a daily basis in order to maintain their health. Unfortunately, more often than not, these prescription drugs rack up a costly bill. Let’s explore why prescription drugs are so costly and what can be done about them.

Why Do Prescription Drugs Cost So Much?

There is, of course, a reason why prescription drugs are so expensive. A lot of research has to go into developing prescription drugs. Initially, much work must be done in the laboratory in order to invent the prescription drug. This means fulfilling the costs of laboratory site rental, laboratory equipment rental, and much more. Just coming up with the initial formula for the prescription drug is extremely expensive.

After a prescription drug has been invented, it needs to be tried on various people in order to confirm that it is safe for use by the public. This is done by clinical trials. Clinical trials are events where many different people take prescription drugs in a clinical setting. Oftentimes, these clinical trials are inpatient and require that the people who are being tested stay there for a number of days. During their stay at the clinical trial, these people are tested for any symptoms that may be caused by the prescription.

Clinical trials are composed of three different phases. Before a drug is released to the public market, it must go through a phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3 clinical trial test. This means that it has been tried on a number of different people in three separate different events in order to determine that it is in fact safe for public use.

What Can Be Done About the Costly Nature of Prescription Drugs?

Well, now we understand why it is that prescription drugs cost so much. But what can we as individual consumers do about it? There are various different methods to cut back on the cost of your prescription drugs. The first is a discount prescription plan.

#3 Prescription Discount Subscription

There are a few different companies, one of which is called GoodRx, that offer monthly membership in exchange for discounts on your prescriptions. GoodRx, for example, offers a $5.99 a month membership that takes off much more than that in discounts on your prescriptions. With this program, some prescriptions are $20 off or more.

#2 Ask the Pharmacist

Next time you go to your local pharmacy to refill your prescription, you may want to ask to speak to the head pharmacist. More often than not, this person will have access to give you a discount on your prescription through various different programs that they have access to. Sometimes, head pharmacists will encourage the pharmacist working there to apply discounts with discount cards. If they do not, simply ask the head pharmacist if they have any discounts that they can apply to your prescription and you will be very surprised to see that they usually do.

#1 Buy in Bulk

Sometimes you can save money on your prescriptions by buying more at a time. For example, if you have a prescription for 30 pills that you buy once monthly, you can request instead that they fill two of the prescriptions at once. This means you will purchase 60 pills at a time. Certain pharmacies will give you a discount for purchasing more pills at one time. Just ask the pharmacist for details.

You Can Save On Costly Prescriptions

Now that we understand why it is that prescriptions cost so much, it is necessary to take the proper steps to save money on your prescriptions. One way to save money on your prescriptions is to use a membership program that gives you a discount. You may also save money by asking the head pharmacist at your pharmacy what discounts they have to apply to your prescription. Lastly, you can always purchase your refills two at a time in order to save money by buying in bulk.