Medically reviewed by Paul Solinsky, PharmD – Updated – 10/14/25
If you take one or more prescription medications but are struggling to afford them, you’re not alone. A recent study found that nearly 36% of Americans who take prescription medications have trouble paying for some or all of the drugs.
If you’re having difficulty affording your medications, you have options.
How Prescription Drug Insurance Coverage Works
Each insurance company has a formulary, or a list of drugs it will cover. The formulary lists drug categories, ranging from the least expensive to the most expensive.
The cheapest drugs are usually generic drugs, while name brands tend to have a higher price tag. Generics are typically older and have been available to the public for several years, while name brands are generally newer to the market.
Do Your Homework
When your doctor writes a new prescription for you, check with your insurance company to see if it is covered and how much the co-pay will be. If the co-pay is more than you can afford, ask your doctor to prescribe something else. In most cases, your doctor can offer you other options. This is an important part of being your own health care advocate.
Some insurance companies make their formulary accessible online, allowing you to look up the co-pay in advance — even while you’re sitting in your doctor’s office. If you can’t access the formulary, call your insurance company or pharmacy after your appointment to confirm the price before you fill the prescription.
How to Find the Right Prescription Drug Coverage
If you can afford it, you should consider getting prescription drug coverage — especially if you’re currently having trouble paying for your medications.
When searching for prescription drug coverage, make sure it’s affordable. If the monthly payments are low, but the deductible (the amount you pay before your co-pay starts) is too high, you should consider a different plan. The point of insurance is to make your medications easier to afford — not harder!
Check when open enrollment for insurance is available on healthcare.gov. Not sure where to start? Visit 211maryland.org or call 2-1-1 to connect with experts who can guide you through the complex insurance process.
Additional Options to Help Cover Costs
If you have commercial insurance, copay assistance cards may be an option. Almost all brands of prescription medication offer these “discount” cards, which make the first or first few co-pays less expensive; sometimes they make the co-pay $0. To find a co-pay assistance card, search the drug name and “copay cards” in Google or another search engine. Unfortunately, if you have Medicare/Medicaid, co-pay assistance cards will not work.
You can also sign up for a drug discount program through a pharmacy. However, before proceeding, ensure you know which medications are covered and how much they will cost. Programs like GoodRx may not offer discounts low enough to make the drug affordable, but they often help.
Nonprofit pharmacies like Goodpill offer many generic medications for about $6 and some brand-name drugs for $50 to $100 per month to patients in Maryland. Their supply may be limited, so you can check out the following website to see which medicines they have available. Please review their terms for service use and availability.
What to Do If You Have Medicare
Medicare is government health insurance for people aged 65 and older or under 65 with certain disabilities or conditions. Everyone with Medicare is eligible for prescription drug coverage. There are several options to choose from. However, you may choose not to use it; prescription drug coverage is highly recommended. When selecting a Part D plan, plans with low monthly payments and high deductibles might seem like a good deal at first, but they can end up costing you more out of pocket before your insurance starts to help.
In 2025, Medicare Part D has a $2,000 yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket for your prescriptions. This means once you’ve spent $2,000, you won’t have to pay more for covered medicines that year. Medicare is also adding a new payment plan so you can spread out your costs over the year instead of paying large amounts all at once. This can make it easier to afford expensive medications. You can sign up for this payment plan through your Part D insurance company.
Drug companies sometimes offer charity programs that provide free medicine to eligible individuals, but each program has its own rules. Unfortunately, patients with Medicare can’t use drug companies that offer copay cards.
If you get Medicare, have been a Maryland resident for at least six months, and have an income at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, you may be able to sign up for a “premium subsidy” called the Maryland Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program. It pays a certain amount toward a member’s Medicare prescription drug plan premium, so the amount you pay toward your prescription plan is less, saving you money each month. You would use this “premium support” to switch out of a high-deductible Part D plan.
More to Read
- The Best Ways To Manage Your Prescription Medications
- 4 Common Medication Management Mistakes to Avoid
- Safe Medication Disposal
- Healthy Eating on a Budget
Medically reviewed by Paul Solinsky, PharmD.