6 Ways to Save on Prescription Drugs

1. Follow your formulary
Your formulary is a list of prescription medications covered by your health-insurance plan. Drugs are organized into tiers with different co-pays, from $10 or so for generics to much higher amounts for some name-brand drugs. You should also check the generic co-pay against its retail price; sometimes your co-pay can actually be higher than simply buying the generic retail.

Because formularies vary from policy to policy, the patient can really help himself by showing it to the doctor, notes Edward Jardini, MD, a family physician and the author of How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost-Saving Methods. The formulary can usually be downloaded from your insurance company's website or requested by phone.