Prescription Prices Too High? Experts Share Strategies to Cut the CostPrescription Prices Too High? Experts Share Strategies to Cut the Cost
Health Care

Prescription Prices Too High? Experts Share Strategies to Cut the Cost

Millions of Americans skip or stretch medications because of cost. There are cheaper options, but only if the patient knows where to look.
The Smart Patient’s Playbook
•
Part 15
Save
Illustration by Ran
By Sheramy Tsai
Updated:
Part 1
The Average Wait for a Doctor’s Appointment Is 31 Days—How to Get Seen Sooner
Part 2
Your Doctor Has 15 Minutes—Know How to Make Each 1 Count
Part 3
Emergency Room, Urgent Care, or Wait? Tips on How to Decide
Part 4
‘Normal’ Isn’t Always Normal: What Your Lab Numbers Actually Mean
Part 5
The Power of a Pause: When to Get a 2nd Medical Opinion and How to Do It
Part 6
How Tests and Treatments Spiral Into the ‘Medical Cascade’
Part 7
What to Know Before Saying Yes to Routine Screenings
Part 8
Why Your Health Records Can Drive Medical Errors–And What You Can Do
Part 9
How to Protect Yourself When Illness Leaves You Unable to Speak
Part 10
Why Being a Passive Patient Is No Longer Enough
Part 11
1 in 3 People Use Alternative Treatments—How to Choose What’s Best for You
Part 12
When 1 Medication Turns Into Many—and How to Prevent It
Part 13
The 5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Filling a New Prescription
Part 14
How to Get Off the Pill Train–Safely
Part 15
Prescription Prices Too High? Experts Share Strategies to Cut the Cost
0:00

Molly King spent six days in a diabetic coma in intensive care after she stopped taking insulin she could no longer afford.

Two nights before going to the hospital, King went to a concert and thought that she was coming down with the flu. She felt so unwell that she went to her parents’ house instead of going home. She vomited for an hour, then blacked out. In the emergency room, a nurse told her that she smelled like “Fruity Pebbles”—a classic sign of dangerously high blood sugar. Hers climbed to 1,800.

Recommendations for you