4 Ways to Help Lower Your

Medicare Prescription Drug Costs

Revised August 2016

Are you a person with Medicare who’s having trouble paying for prescription 

drugs? Getting Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D) may help, even if 

you have to pay a late enrollment penalty. 

There are other ways you may be able to save. Consider switching to drugs that 

cost less. Ask your doctor if there are generic, over-the-counter, or 

less expensive brand-name drugs that could work just as well as the ones 

you’re taking now. Switching to lower-cost drugs can save you hundreds or 

possibly thousands of dollars a year. Visit the Medicare Plan Finder at 

Medicare.gov/find-a-plan to get information on ways to save money in your 

Medicare drug plan. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). 

TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

You can also help lower your Medicare prescription drug costs by: 

1. Exploring national- and community-based programs that may have 

programs that can help you with your drug costs, like the National Patient 

Advocate Foundation or the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Get 

information on federal, state, and private assistance programs in your area on 

the Benefits Check Up website at benefitscheckup.org. The help you get from 

some of these programs may count toward your true out-of-pocket (TrOOP) 

costs. TrOOP costs are the expenses that count toward your Medicare drug 

plan out-of-pocket expenses—up to $4,950 in 2017. These costs determine 

when your catastrophic coverage will begin.

2. Looking at State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (SPAPs) to see if you 

qualify. SPAPs offer some type of coverage to help people with Medicare 

with paying drug plan premiums and/or cost sharing. Find out if your 

state has a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program by visiting 

Medicare.gov/pharmaceutical-assistance-program/state-programs.aspx or 

calling 1-800-MEDICARE. SPAP contributions may count toward your TrOOP 

costs.
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3. Looking into Manufacturer’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs 

(sometimes called Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs)) offered 

by the manufacturers of the drugs you take. Many of the major drug 

manufacturers offer assistance programs for people enrolled in a 

Medicare drug plan. Find out whether the manufacturers of the drugs 

you take offer a Pharmaceutical Assistance Program by visiting 

Medicare.gov/pharmaceutical-assistance-program or calling 

1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 

1-877-486-2048. Assistance from PAPs isn’t part of Medicare Part D, 

so any help you get from this type of program won’t count toward your 

TrOOP costs. 

4. Applying for Extra Help paying for your Medicare prescription drugs. 

If you have Medicare and have limited income and resources, you may 

qualify for Extra Help. To apply for Extra Help, contact Social Security by 

visiting socialsecurity.gov/i1020 or by calling 1-800-772-1213. TTY users 

should call 1-800-325-0778.

If you need help finding resources, like the ones described above, call your 

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free personalized 

counseling to people with Medicare. To get the phone number for your state, 

visit shiptacenter.org, or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

You have the right to get the information in this product in an alternate 

format. You also have the right to file a complaint if you feel you’ve 

been discriminated against. Visit https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/

Agency-Information/Aboutwebsite/CMSNondiscriminationNotice.html

Visit Medicare.gov/about-us/accessibility/accessibility-aids.html, or call 

1-800-MEDICARE for more information. 

CMS Product No. 11417