Prescriptions
Prescription insurance, often referred to as a prescription drug plan, is an insurance policy that covers all or part of the cost of prescription medications. These are available separately or sometimes included as part of a health benefit package. Prescription coverage is also available for those who qualify through the Medicare Prescription Plan.
Most plans include a Formulary, or list of approved drugs. In some plans, only drugs on the Formulary list will be covered (known as a Closed Formulary). Other plans might cover non-formulary drugs only with precertification, or at a lower rate.
Many plans now include a tiered formulary, with some drugs, usually the lower cost generics, having the lowest copayment/coinsurance amount, and additional tiers at higher copayment/coinsurance amounts.
There have been a lot of ads on TV lately for prescription drug discount cards. Don't confuse these with insurance. While they are better than nothing, and might give you a price break on some well know prescriptions, they're not insurance and don't pay any part of the bill. In fact, most receive payments from some drug companies for your purchases.
There have also been adds on TV lately for free or subsidized drug programs from some of the major manufacturers. Most have income guidelines and are worth investigating if you qualify.