The Prescription Drug Playbook
An Arm and a Leg guide to getting your meds for less
The high cost of prescription meds in the US is a crisis: one in four adults say they’ve skipped taking a prescription in the past year because of cost.
We want to put a dent in that, so we asked: “How do you manage high drug prices? What have you learned that everyone should know?”
And now we’re sharing what we’ve learned — your workarounds, strategies, and lessons — on our podcast, and in our First Aid Kit newsletter. It’s all right here.
Read:
In our First Aid Kit newsletter, we’ve summed up everything we can, for easy reference.
How to (maybe) get drugs for cheaper
What we knew when this project started.
We’d done some homework before asking for your tips.
A checklist and a new (to us) tip
An order of operations, and advice from a pharma sales rep
You taught us: With so many avenues to look down, it’s good to start with a checklist. And a drug-sales rep shared some solid advice.
A tool for hunting down prescription discounts
When your insurance fails you, use this to find the least-bad price.
Sometimes going outside of insurance lets you access cheaper options. We walk you through them, and share a price comparison tool shaped by our reporting.
An old school but worthy directory of prescription drug resources
Especially for need-based assistance programs
A look at patient assistance programs and a website you can use to find them and check if you qualify.
A local clinic might have a line on affordable meds
Your mileage may vary, so here’s a roadmap
Community health centers with sliding-scale fees can also offer meds at deep discounts. Could it work for you? It’ll take some investigating, but here’s a guide to finding out.
Listen:
These episodes of our podcast feature some voices we think you’ll be really happy to hear from.
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part 1
When insurance failed him, here’s what Bob did.
One dad’s quest to get his daughter the meds she needs at a better price uncovers a world of online options.
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part 2
Industry insiders share their strategies.
We bring in experts to share their tricks for getting life-saving meds at an affordable cost.
BONUS!
Producer Claire Davenport created a ridiculous song to commemorate the endless process of hunting down the least-worst price for your meds. With an AI contributing the melody, the band, and the vocals.