6 Ways to Save Money on Your Diabetes Medications

It can be expensive to keep up with your diabetes medications. Many of the newer meds are expensive, thanks to all of the research and development that goes into them, and there's no generic insulin. So, you likely empty your pocketbook to pay a portion of your medication costs.

It can be scary to think about how much you need to rely on those medications for your health. For some patients, it's a life-or-death scenario. "The pharmaceutical companies are working with a captive audience," says certified diabetes educator PJ Pugh, program director of the Chronic Disease Management Program at Baylor Community Care Clinics in Dallas. "If you have Type 1 diabetes, you can't go without insulin."

[Read: 11 Tips for Testing Your Blood Sugar at Home.]

That said, there are a few tricks to slash your medication costs. Try the following strategies if you're looking to save money:

Know your insurance plan's formulary. A formulary is a list of medications an insurance company prefers and will cover with a lower cost to you. "Ask your doctor, 'Is this on my formulary?'" Pugh recommends. Most medical practices try to keep up with coverage ins and outs for major insurance plans, so they may have the answer. You also can ask your insurance company for a copy of the formulary so you are more aware of what's on it. One caution: Insurance companies often change their formularies, so it can be hard to stay current, Pugh says.

Use generic meds when possible. "Under federal law, generic drugs must be chemically identical to the name-brand drug in dosage, ingredients and strength," says David Weingard, CEO of Fit4D in New York City, which teaches people how to live better with chronic conditions such as diabetes. "This means there are significant cost savings for non-insulin treatments." So generally speaking, generic drugs can be a great bargain and will work just as effectively. Most patients do not notice any difference with generics, compared with the brand-name counterparts, says Evan Sisson, a certified diabetes educator and an associate professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy in Richmond. "However, just like other generic products, some patients prefer one over the other. For example, some people prefer the taste of brand-name diet soda over generic alternatives, even though the ingredients are the same," Sisson says. Bottom line: If a generic drug causes side effects you don't like, let your health care provider know.

[Read: How to Eat After a Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis.]

Speak up if you think you'll have trouble paying for meds. This is much safer than the alternative of not filling a prescription because of the price. With everyone cost-conscious these days, your doctor's office is likely aware of prescription assistance programs, which may require proof of income but can be helpful in cutting costs. The office may even have drug samples. Also, with newer meds, pharmaceutical companies may offer special discount programs, cards or coupons for the prescribed medication, says Judy Vobroucek, owner of Discount Med Direct, a mail-order prescription business with locations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois. "Those can be one-time discounts or continual, depending on the offer," she says. In addition to your health care provider's office, a certified diabetes educator may have some insight into these types of programs.

Buy a 90-day versus a 30-day supply of your medication to reduce your copay. A copay is the amount of money you have to pay toward the medication when you have insurance. Still, you don't want to order too far ahead as certain medicines, like insulin, can expire. "Have a three-month or six-month supply at most," Weingard advises.

Check around online for discount information. "Diabetes magazines, websites, blogs and social media groups are great resources for information on medication discounts and programs," Vobroucek says.

Buy abroad. This means you order your medications from a pharmacy that gets the medications in Canada or another country (you still usually need a prescription). Before the prevalence of ordering, people who lived close enough to Canada would drive there to buy their insulin and return to the U.S., Vobroucek says. Now, online ordering of medications is more common. This is especially the case for those with no health insurance, a high-deductible insurance plan or a health plan with no to little prescription coverage, she says.

Still, proceed with caution. "There is always a risk of receiving knockoff or fake drugs from other countries," Weingard says. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration frowns on this approach. "That being said, many Americans can and do order their diabetes medications from Canadian and other online pharmacies, and often at a greatly lowered cost," Weingard says.

[See: The 12 Best Diets to Prevent and Manage Diabetes.]

Here are some don'ts if you're looking to save money on your diabetes meds:

-- Don't avoid taking meds that you need. This could have a huge impact on your health -- Pugh has heard of some frightening scenarios that happen when patients don't take their diabetes medications as needed. Again, even though drugs can be expensive, there are resources to help with the cost if necessary. Speak up.

-- Don't skip doses. Skipping doses to save money can negatively affect your health over time and make it hard to get in the routine of taking a medication at the same time every day, Sisson says.

-- Don't split pills that aren't meant to be split. Although some pills are fine to split in half, others are not made for that purpose. "The result of trying to split an 'unscored' tablet can be loss of medication or irregular dosing from day to day," Sisson says.

Of course, the best way to cut your medication costs is to not need the meds in the first place -- and healthy eating, weight management and exercise can help with that. "You may need less medications -- but you need to take what is prescribed by the doctor," Weingard says.

Vanessa Caceres is a Health freelancer for U.S. News. She's a nationally published health, travel and food writer, and she has an undergraduate degree in journalism and psychology from Hampshire College and a graduate degree in linguistics/bilingual education from Georgetown University. Connect with her on Twitter at @FloridaCulture.