Many health insurance plans do not include comprehensive insurance for prescriptions. While traditional plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield do indeed offer prescription insurance, once you meet an annual maximum few would consider them cheap prescription plans.

The right prescription protection insurance is one that best meets your needs and budget. There are many prescription protection insurance applications and uses — these plans serve to provide affordable insurance for prescriptions, provide you with coverage for specialized medications, and offer you the option of saving by filling longer-term prescriptions that are often less expensive. Educate yourself on the following to help you find insurance prescription protection that meets your needs:

1. Understand the prescription insurance coverage in regard to medication types.

2. Consider the benefits of prescription insurance that includes specialty pharmacy coverage for injectible and other specialty medications.

3. Save time and money by choosing a prescription insurance plan that offers a mail order pharmacy option.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Understand the prescription insurance coverage in regard to medication types

There are many terms bandied about by prescription drug insurance companies when outlining exactly what is and is not covered in regard to medication. Most prescription plans place medications into certain categories and determine the amount of money that will cover on its categorization. Educating yourself on the terminology associated with prescription drug coverage plans will help you choose a plan that best suits you.

I recommend: The American Academy of Family Physicians' FamilyDoctor website contains an article that explains much of the terminology used by prescription insurance plans to describe exactly what medication coverage is included. Allied Quotes' article takes this information one step further, explaining even more terms tossed about when prescription insurance coverage is discussed.

Consider prescription insurance that includes specialty pharmacy coverage

Specialty pharmacy drugs are used for the management of many long-term illnesses. Usually injected using needles, specialty drugs are often very expensive and require special instructions for administering.

I recommend: RxAmerica's website has an article that provides an overview of what specialty pharmacies are about. In addition to filling prescriptions at local CVS stores and its mail-order pharmacy, Caremark prescription plan users can fill specialty injectible and oral drugs using its specialty pharmacy. Caremark has specialty pharmacy staff available for counseling and follow-up care.

Save time and money with prescription insurance that offers a mail order pharmacy option

Mail order pharmacies can save time and money. By handling prescriptions via mail, the need to drive back and forth to the pharmacy is eliminated. Mail order pharmacies usually fill larger medication supplies at a lower cost. With upwards of 90-day prescription, the amount of co-pays is less than it would be with traditional 30-day prescriptions at a local pharmacy.

I recommend: Medco Health Solutions prescription drug plan includes a Medco by Mail program, allowing patients to save money on refills up to 90-days. If you are in the military you may be able to qualify for Tricare's mail-order pharmacy -- their most affordable prescription insurance option that allows you to fill 90-day prescriptions.

Insurance for prescriptions is an important aspect of any health insurance policy. Due to the overwhelming cost of prescription medication, health policies without this coverage leave subscribers vulnerable.

Companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield have a variety of prescription insurance plans. Blue Cross prescription protection insurance offers clients several different levels of protection.

Cheap prescription plans provide added coverage when adding prescription drug insurance to major medical plans is too expensive. Affordable prescription insurance companies advertise their products as supplements to regular policies.

Insurance for prescriptions doesn’t eliminate all out of pocket expenses. However, adding prescription insurance to an existing policy makes co-pays more affordable and generic drugs even more inexpensive. Affordable prescription protection insurance will:

1. Provide more comprehensive health care to subscribers.

2. Bring the cost of co-pays down and save patient’s money.

3. Decrease out of pocket expenses for subscribers.

4. Provide more opportunities for savings on medical flex spending accounts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose medical plans offering insurance prescriptions

Insurance policies that don't offer prescription drug coverage are simply incomplete. Since prescription drug costs are a major factor, providing this type of coverage to employees just makes sense.

I recommend: Blue Cross Blue Shield offers comprehensive and affordable group prescription drug plans.

Pick prescription drug plans with the most affordable co-pays for both name brand and generic drugs

Co-pays take a big bite out of employee pockets. Help group members by keeping these costs as low as possible.

I recommend: HealthInsuranceSavings.com features low costs prescription drug coverage for individuals or businesses.

Look for medical plans that include prescription insurance while keeping overall out of pocket expen

Trading higher deductibles for cheaper prescription co-pays may look like a money saving opportunity. But it's better to balance overall costs than focus just on saving money on prescription co-pays.

I recommend: Aetna provides a full line of insurance products to meet any budget needs.

Encourage employees to enroll in medical flex spending accounts to save tax dollars

Medical flex spending accounts let you set aside a certain amount of money from your pay check into a pretax savings account. Use these dollars throughout the year for things like prescription drug co-pays. Combining a good prescription drug plan with a medical flex spending account saves everyone money.

I recommend: AFLAC includes great medical flex spending account options for your group.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Encourage all members of your company to participate in some sort of prescription drug plan. Savings on prescriptions really add up over time even though it costs all employees a small amount each month.
• •  Shop around for the most affordable plan with the best coverage for your employees. Combine products from different companies when necessary to provide the best plan for your group.

The idea of "prescription protection insurance" is part of what is now being called a "prescription drug insurance market" nationwide. Prescription drug companies continue to hike prices. Consumers respond by searching for subsidized solutions. Some purchase special prescription drug "riders" to protect themselves from high costs from providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield. Our nation's seniors get insurance for prescriptions primarily from the government's Medicare entitlement.

To find out more about what's happening in the drug prescription insurance market, business leaders can "test the winds" online, checking out resources on what is happening not only with Medicare but with big insurers regarding prescription drug insurance. Readers with a business interest in prescription protection insurance news and trends can find:

1. Info on who gets covered with prescription insurance clauses in their policies, why they get covered, and how it affects an ever more complex market.

2. Information from the government on its prescription insurance for seniors and others, and how those programs work within the market.

3. More on the specific ways that prescription insurance is handled by big insurers like Humana or Blue Cross health insurance.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find news on market demands for prescription insurance

One way the web can help is through demonstrating that the demand for affordable prescription insurance is high among consumers who find it hard to get adequate coverage for prescription insurance. Take a look at many articles revealing actual market trends and explaining some of the issues around prescription insurance.

I recommend: Learn about the heartache of many individuals enrolled in health insurance plans who find they do not have the specific prescription insurance they need at eDrugSearch online. Look for more news on this trend from sites like AlliedQuotes.

Get prescription insurance news from government sources

The government has also put various prescription insurance news sources on the web. Readers can find details on how government programs work within a greater insurance market and how they provide drug prescription insurance for some Americans and not others.

I recommend: Find out about "prescription protection insurance" for Medicare beneficiaries from news sources like this one from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Find out more about Medicare prescription drug benefits at this government site.

Locate more in prescription insurance news from public info sources

Some companies and agencies promote education on this kind of health insurance issue on the web for readers that need to understand where prescription insurance is going for the sake of their business or commercial investments.

I recommend: The "Policy Almanac" provides additional resources on the safeguards for prescription insurance in various insurer lexicons. Check out this detailed online brochure from Rite Aid to find out more about prescription insurance and how it affects policy holders.

Many health insurance plans do not fully cover the cost of prescription medications. If this is the case, there are supplemental insurance policies available to cover the high cost of prescription drugs. A prescription protection insurance plan may cover a portion or the total cost of common prescription drugs. This type of insurance is also essential for those that need to purchase specialty drugs to treat an ongoing medical condition.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Co-pay

A co-pay is a fee a patient must pay in order to receive benefits from a service. Co-pays are often a percentage of the total cost of the service.

I recommend: IncBizNet provides information on what a co-pay actually pays for and advice on shopping for the best insurance plan co-pay.

Generic drugs

A generic drug is a medication that has the same ingredients as a name brand drug on which the patent has expired. The FDA approves the content and production of generic drugs, just like name brand drugs.

I recommend: Consumer Reports Health provides answers to the most common questions asked about generic drugs.

Brand name drugs

Brand name drugs are medications that have a distinct brand name. The brand name on any drug can be exclusively held for up to 20 years before the patent expires. After that, generic forms of the drug can be created.

I recommend: BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma provides a comparison chart on the costs of brand name and generic prescription drugs.

Out-of-pocket expenses

Out-of-pocket expenses are any expenses patients must pay because they aren't covered by their prescription protection plans.

I recommend: Plan For Your Health provides an overview of health insurance plans, including how to pick a plan based on co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses.

Specialty medications

Specialty medications are medications that patients need for ongoing care. Some characteristics of specialty medications include a higher cost, the need for specialized storage, and many specialty meds are not stocked at pharmacies.

I recommend: Life Wise Health Plan of Oregon provides a list of self-administered specialty medications and a list of specialty medications that need to be administered by a health care professional.

Mail order pharmacy option

A mail order pharmacy option in a prescription insurance policy is the option to purchase prescription medications through the mail. This can reduce costs and provide convenience for those needing medication on a regular basis.

I recommend: Group Health provides the details on how to use mail order pharmacy services and transfer prescriptions.