Your prescription may call for a "brand name" medication. Brand name drugs tend to cost more than non-brand name or "generic" medications. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if your medication comes in a generic form. Generic drugs are monitored closely by the Food and Drug administration (FDA) to make sure that they are as safe and effective as brand-name medications. And these generic meds generally offer a cost savings of 30-50% compared to brand-name meds. Even if your health insurance covers your medications, you may still have a lower co-payment if you use a generic drug.

In some cases, a medication does not come in a generic form. But you can ask your doctor or pharmacist if there is a less costly brand-name medication from the same drug family. An excellent web site that can help you find information on similar medications (at a minimal charge) is www.800ageinfo.com. Once you've found a less-costly medication, ask your doctor if the substitute is OK for you.

Be sure you understand how long you'll need to take a prescribed medication. Otherwise, you might buy more than you need. Some medicines are only needed for a short time. Always remember to bring your medications with you to regularly scheduled visits with your primary care doctor so that you can discuss which meds you need to keep taking and which ones you can stop.

When starting a new medicine, it's a good idea to buy only a small amount at first. This will prevent any wasting of medication if the new drug does not agree with you.

A medication you are on may come in a higher strength tablet that can be split in half, either by hand or with an inexpensive pill-splitter. In some cases, the higher strength tablets cost nearly the same as the lower strength. Ask your pharmacist if your medication comes in a higher strength form that you can split, and compare the cost to what you are paying now. Splitting pills can cut the cost of your prescription by close to one-half. Please note that not all tablets can be safely split. Do not split any medication tablets without checking with your doctor or pharmacist first. You need to make sure you are getting the correct dose.

Most drug companies have programs that supply free medications to people who cannot afford them. In order to qualify, you have to show that your income is below a certain level. To find out more, visit www.needymeds.com.

Mail-order programs can offer both convenience and cost savings. If your health insurance pays for medications, call your plan's member services department to find out if they cover mail order prescription services. Most insurers will allow you to order a larger supply of medicine by mail (up to a 90-days' supply) than if you filled your prescription at your local pharmacy. And your co-payments for your supply of medicine may be less. Even if you don't have prescription drug coverage on your insurance, there are still mail-order pharmacies you can use. Most can be found on the Internet. If you do choose a mail-order program, be sure you have a phone number of a Pharmacist at the mail-order center that can answer any of your questions. For more information, please visit the following health plans.

If you are age 65 or older and/or disabled, and you have only a modest income, you may be eligible (as of April of 2001) for a prescription drug program being offered by the state of Massachusetts. You can learn more about this program by calling the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Senior Drug program at 1-800-953-3305.

MassHealth pays for health care, including medications, for certain low and medium income people living in Massachusetts. It generally covers those who are under age 65 and not living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. But sometimes people 65 and older also qualify for this program. For more information call 1-888-665-9993. The Bottom-Line: For many people, medications are an important part of good health care. It is important for you to learn as much as you can about the medications your doctor has prescribed. If the cost of medication is an issue for you, we hope you will use this information to help find ways to save money and continue to take your medications. Remember, never stop taking a medication, or change the way you take it, without discussing it with your doctor first.