Q. I retired in December and by April I learned the horrible reality of the “donut hole” in Medicare coverage. I take a great deal of medicine. Most of it is generic, but six of my prescriptions are not. Is there someplace to get these at a reasonable cost?
I take Nexium (about $200 a month), Lyrica ($230 a month), Lidoderm (roughly $600 for a three-month supply), VESIcare ($150 per month), Vagifem ($140 a month) and Provigil ($475 a month). This really adds up on a retirement budget!
My friend orders her medicine from Canada, but I am not sure if that’s a good idea. What do you think?
A. No wonder your budget is suffering! We calculate you are spending almost $1,400 on these prescriptions. According to our calculations, you could save over $500 by purchasing some of your medicines from Canada and others at a discount drugstore like Costco.
Buying from Canada can be tricky since some online drugstores claiming to be Canadian are not actually in Canada. Others are sourcing their pills from places like Turkey, India, Singapore and Thailand.
We are sending you our Guide to Saving Money on Medicines with guidelines for buying drugs from Canada and using generics safely. When available, generic drugs can offer huge savings, but recent recalls have raised questions about the quality control of some products. You and your doctor need to be vigilant.
