AppHow to pay less for prescriptions
Ways to cut what you pay at the pharmacy, with or without insurance, including help for people on Medicare.
Checked against Medicare.gov and each program's own website on October 24, 2026. Bill Help Now is an independent guide, not a pharmacy, insurer or government agency. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before changing any medicine.
The short version
- Ask the pharmacist to compare prices: your insurance price, the cash price, and a free discount card price.
- Ask your doctor about a generic or a lower-cost drug that works the same way.
- On Medicare? Check Extra Help. It can cut your drug costs a lot, and 2026 limits are higher than many people think.
1. Free discount cards and apps
GoodRx is a free app and website that shows discount prices for brand and generic drugs at nearby pharmacies. It's not insurance. GoodRx prices are cash prices, so you'll usually use either GoodRx or your insurance for a fill, not both. Ask the pharmacist to check both. How GoodRx works
2. Low-cost online pharmacies
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company sells many generics at the manufacturer's cost plus a 15% markup, plus a pharmacy fee and shipping. Prices are listed on its site, and it can be much cheaper for some generics. costplusdrugs.com
3. Help from the company that makes your drug
Many drug makers run patient assistance programs that give free or low-cost medicine to people who qualify. Medicare's advice: check whether the company that makes your drug offers help paying for it. Search the drug's name plus "patient assistance," or ask your doctor's office. They fill out these forms often.
4. If you have Medicare
- Extra Help lowers Part D premiums, deductibles and copays. 2026 limits: income up to $23,940 and resources up to $18,090 for one person; income up to $32,460 and resources up to $36,100 for a married couple. Apply at ssa.gov/medicare/part-d-extra-help. Applying also starts a Medicare Savings Program application unless you opt out.
- Out-of-pocket cap: in 2026, once you've paid $2,100 for covered Part D drugs, you pay $0 for the rest of the year. The cap rises to $2,400 in 2027.
- Insulin: no more than $35 for a one-month supply of each covered insulin, with no deductible.
- Spread out the cost: the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you pay drug costs in monthly amounts across the year instead of all at once.
- Free help choosing: your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free one-on-one Medicare help. shiphelp.org
5. More ways to save
- Ask your plan or pharmacist whether a 90-day supply or mail order costs less.
- Some states run their own drug-cost help programs. Medicare.gov has a state lookup.
- Got a big pharmacy or hospital bill? See how to lower a medical bill.
Sources
Medicare: help with drug costs · Medicare: Part D costs · Medicare: insulin · GoodRx · Cost Plus Drugs. All checked October 24, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.