3. Will I be able to afford this long-term?

Think long-term, especially if you will be taking multiple medications. "It's really important for patients to be proactive and ask their doctor if there are cheaper alternatives," says Derjung Mimi Tarn, MD, assistant professor of family medicine at the School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. It might not occur to your doctor to bring up your pocketbook. In a 2006 study, Dr. Tarn found that physicians prescribing new medications brought up cost and acquisition issues with patients in only 33% of cases.