Taking components of drugs instead of their combined form to save money

I read in the New England Journal of Medicine about an uninsured woman with very high blood pressure who came into an emergency room to get a prescription refill for her blood pressure medication (Hyzaar DS). This drug is a combination of two drugs. A month’s supply costs $90—or $1,080 a year out of pocket. Rather than refilling her prescription for Hyzaar, the doctor gave her prescriptions for its ingredients, bringing her monthly cost down to $6.

Taking the drugs separately is just as effective as taking the combined medication. Supposedly doctors prescribe combined drugs (usually two or three different ingredients) to make it easier on patients. They can take one pill instead of multiples.  Here are some examples of savings you get from switching from combination drugs to taking the components separately:

• Caduet, a combination blood pressure and cholesterol pill, costs $686. Taking their components as separate generic medications costs about $182.
• Duexis is a combination of ibuprofen and famotidine (an antacid and antihistamine) used for treating rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and to decrease the risk of developing upper gastrointestinal ulcers. As a combined drug, the cost is $977, but the generic components are $30.
• Lotrel, a blood pressure medication, costs $415 as a combination drug but $75 for the components.
• Actoplus Met, a type 2 diabetes drug, costs $288 as a combination drug, but $11 if taken as its two components.

If you’re taking combination drugs, check out the ingredients! I’m sure you could handle taking an extra pill if it’s saving you, say, $600 a month!

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