Insurance

Let's face it, the cost of prescriptions has really gotten out of hand. If you are like me and you take medicine daily, then you are faced with that lovely little bill every month. For me, the cost for my one prescription is $40, which I know is cheap compared to what some people have to pay. Nevertheless, it's $40, which is not really pocket change.

In addition to the monthly cost of this one medication, sometimes the family is hit with other prescription needs. Take for instance a few months back when my son was just two months old. It was the weekend and he got an eye infection. It was all goopy and with him being so young, I took him straight to an urgent care center. To make a long story short, when I went to go fill the prescription at CVS, the cost came to $75. Now, keep in mind, this was the tiniest little bitty bottle of eye drops I have ever seen. Also, I have state employee insurance, which would be considered pretty good insurance by the average person. I kept thinking....this drug was recommended by the doctor, so he must need it. Also, I didn't have my insurance list of approved drugs with me (with my insurance they use a tier system for determining cost) so I couldn't compare costs. And, finally, with my son being just a couple of months old with an eye infection, there was no question, I am getting the medicine. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "This doctor is probably getting some kind of kick-back for prescribing this drug."

As the story continues, here we are a few months later. Yesterday I was listening to a show on the radio that I tune in to from time to time called The Clark Howard Show. He made reference to the cost of prescriptions and the fact that some doctors do accept financial kick-backs. He then went on to say that he had a link on his website that took you to a page called Dollars for Docs., showing what drug companies are paying your doctors. Check it out, as you can enter your doctor and see if he/she made the list. The research shows that some doctors are receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. AT OUR COST, I might add. You can't tell me that a doctor can be unbiased about what prescription to give when he is getting financial gain if prescribing a particular medicine.

On a positive note, some companies are trying to help the consumer. Take for example Publix grocery stores. Did you know that they offer FREE prescriptions on a 14 day supply of certain antibiotics? You can't beat free! Also, companies like Wal-mart and Target are offering very low cost prices on generic prescriptions. After looking into the cost of my monthly prescription, it looks like I am going to be able to get a better deal from one of these companies. I would encourage you to take a look, as you might be able to save your self a few bucks, too.