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Prescriptions: Free Savings Cards

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

After a week of quick tips, I will return to the fifth category within my insurance filing system.

In part 1, I shared which documents I keep in my file regarding our paid prescription coverage.

In concluding this file opening, I will share some documents to keep in this file, including free savings cards.

If your family does not carry prescription coverage, you can still save at the pharmacy without paying full price. Yeah!

You have many options for saving including free samples, no-cost programs, $4 generic prescriptions, manufacturer saving cards, and free savings cards.

Free Samples

When visiting the doctor’s office and needing a prescription, I ask for samples. One time, I received a 3-month supply of a prenatal vitamin which saved our family over $150.

I have also received samples of allergy nose sprays and fish oil supplements. Many doctor’s offices keep a supply of samples, and they willingly share them.

No-cost Programs

The free medication program offered through Publix has saved my family lots of money. I have used the free antibiotics many times with a 100% rate of success.

During seasons of illness, you may get your needed antibiotics for free through Publix’s free medication program. I always ask our physician if he or she can prescribe an antibiotic that is free through Publix, and my requests are usually granted.

$4 Generic Prescriptions

Companies like Wal-Mart and Target offer certain generic medications at a cost of $4 for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. These programs can significantly stretch your dollars.

Manufacturer Savings Cards

Some manufacturers offer savings cards. I received a manufacturer’s card from my OB for prenatal vitamins. By using the card, I received the first fill and 2 refills at no cost. Combining these savings with the samples from the doctor’s office, and I received a 1-year supply for the cost of a 6-month supply. Love the 50% savings!

If your doctor’s office knows of no manufacturer discount, then check the web site of the prescription manufacturer. I have called manufacturers asking if they have a discount program. The worst they can say is, “Not at this time,” but they could also send you savings. You never know until you ask.

Free Savings Cards

These free savings cards, recommended for individuals without prescription coverage, offer deep discounts.

TRACY’S TIP: Per our CVS pharmacist, if you have prescription insurance and use a savings card, then the prescription insurance will refuse to pay.

Since I get a huge discount from our insurance company, I do not use these free savings cards.

Just checking the discount price flags the medication, so be careful and ask your pharmacist if using a free savings card will hinder using your prescription insurance.

My favorite free savings cards:

TRACY’S TIP:  If none of these options offer a discount on your prescription, then try checking the price at Costco. You do not need to have a membership to use the pharmacy.

Just let the front employee know you are going to the pharmacy, and you will get your own escort. If you don’t have a membership, you will need to pay with cash.

I know this might be a hassle, but Costco‘s prescription costs are lower than other pharmacies. Just check your prescription on-line before visiting the store.

With these prescription savings options, keep a copy of your cards or bookmark these links for easy access when you need them. I keep mine in this seventh file opening of Box 2 of our important documents.

Though you may not use all these savings, knowing your options can help in making decisions to save you money, energy, and time. Happy savings!

Question: What other prescription savings can you add to this list?

2012 Quick Tip Week: Designated Space for “To Be Filed” Paperwork

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Having completed another large event, I placed blogging on the back burner during the busyness.

In an effort to catch up, I give you a week of quick tips for each category in the blogging schedule.

In using time wisely, these tips can save you money, energy, and time. 🙂

The first tip comes from the document category to help during seasons of busyness when the paperwork keeps coming and you cannot stop to file the documents.

Quick Tip #1: Designated Space for “To be Filed” Paperwork

In dealing with the daily mail, printed statements, and receipts, choose a designated space for the paperwork that needs to be filed. By sorting the mail and discarding unnecessary items, you will have only the pertinent items remaining.

In using time wisely, place these items in a designated space for future filing. I like to use a wire basket. If I need an item before I get a chance to file it away, I know where to look.

With all your paperwork together, you will save time and energy from searching for an item that you know you have. Designated space for “to be filed” paperwork” is worth your efforts while using time wisely. Happy organizing!

Question: What type of space holds your important documents until you can file them?

Prescriptions: Paid Prescription Coverage

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In updating the Quizzle information last week, Bill from Quizzle left a great comment about Quizzle’s free credit report and score. Thanks, Bill!

My goal is to impart accurate information. If I find errors or changes to posts I have written, I will write an update to that post. Thanks for the mini break.

Back to our filing system, we will move on to the fifth category: prescriptions. This short 2-part series will explain the documents housed in this single file opening.

Prescriptions

  • Paid Prescription Coverage
  • Free Savings Cards

Summary Page

The first document in my seventh file opening is our summary page. The basic information is the same with the benefit administrator’s contact information, policy numbers, and provider numbers included. In case our insurance cards are lost or stolen, I can quickly contact the administrators to report the incident.

Paid Prescription Coverage

Knowing how fortunate we are to have affordable prescription coverage, we keep the following documents in this file:

1. Drug Plan Booklet. This pamphlet explains our benefits from using direct mail over retail pharmacies to prior authorization guidelines.

2. Correspondence. Our provider issues an updated preferred drug list each year which I keep for reference.

3. Prescription Member Guide. This booklet lists name brand drugs and parallels their generic counterpart. This guide is helpful for doctors to see what our insurance deems an acceptable generic substitute for the name brand version.

4. List of In-Network Pharmacies. When choosing a pharmacy, I use an in-network provider. Though I can use whichever pharmacy I choose with our PPO (Preferred Provider Organization), I will pay less out-of-pocket if I use an in-network provider. This list is helpful if I need a prescription and my usual pharmacies are out of stock.

This file is small because I only keep the most recent documents tucked inside. When I get the new member guide, I toss last year’s version. In keeping only the documents I need, this file remains compact.

NOTE: I know some of you do not have prescription drug coverage due to the cost to carry this benefit. If this is your situation, then hang on. Next week, I will share some free savings cards that you can use at pharmacies across the United States to lower your out-of-pocket expenses. Just because you cannot afford prescription coverage does not mean you need to pay full price. 🙂

As you file your insurance documentation, adjust your categories to meet your needs. In using time wisely, staying organized will save you money, energy, and time. Go at your own pace, but keep filing. Happy organizing!

Question:  What is the most you have paid for a prescription?

Credit Score: Update on Quizzle (Free Experian Report)

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Back on March 13, 2011, I shared this post about Quizzle. In this post, I indicated that you would be charged a fee if you requested your credit report from Quizzle after requesting your free report from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Well, I am not sure if I was wrong initially, or if Quizzle has changed their service. Either way, that post needs this update.

After requesting our reports in February and receiving them, I went to Quizzle to run a free Experian credit score. To get the credit score, Quizzle requested that I update the credit report. A red flag raised in my thought process and stopped me in my tracks. I did not want to be charged, so I did some research. The best information I found was in these two paragraphs on Quizzle:

Quizzle Provides a Totally Free Credit Report & Free Credit Score.

We give you a full and free Experian credit report and a free CE credit score. We foot the bill for these freebies because we believe that you should have access to all the most important information about, well, YOU!

What’s in it for us, you may ask? In addition to some helpful freebies we give you – credit report, credit score, home value estimator, home loan recommendations, budget planner and expert personal finance advice – we’ll also offer some important home, money and credit services to you at a low price. That’s how we make our money. However, any tools, products or services we may offer are 100 percent optional and we’ll never sell your private information.

There’s No Catch. Really & Truly. No Spam, No Unwanted Phone Calls, No Trials or Subscriptions You Don’t Want.

We’re trained to believe that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But that doesn’t mean that everything that’s free has a catch attached to it.

Before my dad signed up for Quizzle, he asked me if he would get a bunch of spam in his email inbox when he registered. It’s a smart question to ask, but for goodness sake, my own father?! Look, I get it. I’m skeptical of “free” too. But I PROMISE we will not spam you. We have a few helpful email alerts we offer — like reminders when you’re eligible for your new free credit report and score (every six months) and when a new home loan program becomes available that may save you money (based on the criteria you set) — but they’re completely optional. You can turn them on or off at anytime.

With this information in writing, I updated the credit report and was not assessed a fee. Then the credit score ran using the new information from the updated credit report. Because Quizzle is a consumer-requested pull on your credit report, your score will not decrease nor will other entities see this inquiry. The best part, you can check both your Experian credit report and credit score for free every 6 months.

If you dispute any errors with Experian, you can check your credit report and score in 6 months to verify that the changes are permanent. Also, if you have any changes after requesting your Experian credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, you can recheck your report and score through Quizzle before next year.

In an effort to keep the information presented on Using Time Wisely correct and timely, I decided to update this Quizzle information as soon as possible. Having completed the Tax-Favored programs category last week, I chose today before jumping into the prescriptions category. But come next week, I will return to organize our insurance documents. In using time wisely, use this week to catch up. Happy organizing!

Question: Have you used Quizzle to check your credit report or credit score? If not, what is holding you back? 

Tax-Favored Programs: Dependent Care Spending Account

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Excitement time! Today, we will complete our fourth category in our insurance document file. Yeah!

Remember: Your file will hold the insurance policies you carry. If you do not have one of these policies, then just skip it. This series is not meant to place pressure on you to buy more policies. I only share how I have organized our important documents.

Within this category, we have filed our Health Savings Account (HSA), Pre-Tax Group Insurance Premium, and Medical Spending Account documents. The last set of documents in this file opening is the Dependent Care Spending Account paperwork.

NOTE: I have never had this type of spending account. Though I have researched and understand the savings through this program, I can only offer information and not my experiences.

I have had the wonderful privilege of staying home with my children, and when needed, we have close family and friends to babysit for us. We are very fortunate and have not needed a dependent care spending account. However, the benefits are worth having one if you incur dependent care expenses which is why I am devoting a post for this type of account.

Dependent Care Spending Account

Defined

A Dependent Care Spending Account is an IRS tax-favored account you can use to pay for your eligible dependent care expenses to make sure your dependents (child or elder) get care while you and your spouse (if married) are working. Withdrawn from your salary before deducting taxes, these funds allow you to pay your eligible expenses tax-free.

Types of Dependents

Check your policy, but usually dependents are individuals residing in your household for at least eight hours a day including:

      • Children 12 years or younger and
      • Adults or children mentally or physically incapable of self-care

Eligible Expenses

Changes occur to the law and policies, so check your policy. But some of the eligible expenses may include:

      • After school care
      • Baby-sitting fees
      • Day care services
      • In-home care/au pair services
      • Nursery and preschool
      • Summer day camps (but not overnight camps)

Ineligible Expenses

Most Dependent Care Spending Accounts will not reimburse for the following expenses:

      • Books and supplies
      • Child support payments or child care if you are a non-custodial parent
      • Health care costs
      • Tuition costs
      • Services provided by your dependent, your spouse’s dependent or your child who is under age 19

Cost

Possible Fees

Our policy would charge a $2.50 administration fee per month along with our $.12 per month for the pre-tax group insurance premium (since these fees get paid with pre-tax dollars). Each policy has its own fees and regulations. Just check with the employer for specific requirements.

Availability of Funds

Once you sign up for a Dependent Care Spending Account and decide how much you want to contribute, the funds available to you depend on the real funds in your account. Unlike a Medical Spending Account, the entire annual amount is not available during the plan year, but rather after your payroll deductions get deposited.

For example, if you incur $500 in dependent care expenses and your account from payroll deductions has a $400 balance, then you can only get $400 in reimbursement. Once the next payroll deduction amount reaches your account, you can request the remaining $100 reimbursement. This is only an example. Your provider may only allow one reimbursement per bill. If that is the case, then you would need to wait for the next payroll deduction to submit the $500 bill for reimbursement.

Losing your Allotment

Similar to the Medical Spending Account, any money remaining in your account cannot be returned to you or carried forward to the next plan year. Be conservative in your estimates and abide by the limits on the Dependent Care Spending Account.

Using Time Wisely

The other cost is your time. You will need to supply information about your caregiver to your provider and then prepare and send forms for reimbursement. Your time is valuable, but in using time wisely, you can save hundreds of dollars on dependent care through this savings channel.

Documents

If I had a Dependent Care Spending Account, I would keep the following documents in this file:

1. Notice of enrollment showing the payroll contribution amount

2. Forms or instructions for filing for reimbursement

3. Correspondence from your provider including explanation of spending account and privacy policies

With these documents gathered, I would paper clip them together and place them behind our medical spending account paperwork. If you do not have this account, like me, then your file will not have this information.

I do keep some documentation about this type of account in our file because I may need it one day. If I need to return to the workplace and our children or our parents need care during the day, then we can enroll in a Dependent Care Spending Account.

Congratulations on completing another category in our insurance file housed in Box 2. You are making progress. Keep up the great work while using time wisely. Happy organizing!

Question: Do you use a Dependent Care Spending Account? If so, what would you add to this list?