If you are one of the many Americans who are struggling to make ends meet now, you may be on the lookout to cut costs any way you can.  If so, and if you have a medical condition which requires prescription drugs with any regularity, you know how much of your monthly budget can be eaten up by the cost of your drugs.  With drug prices that can vary widely, even within drug store chains, finding the most affordable drugs you can becomes a task of major importance.

Fortunately, tools are available to help you find the most affordable places to buy the drugs you need in your area.  Here are some places to start:

• State Drug Comparison Websites.  In an effort to encourage price shopping for prescription drugs, a number of states have started websites which publish the prices offered by local pharmacies for commonly-prescribed drugs within the state.

Be aware that these websites are not the be-all, end-all source of information for drug prices in your state, and the quality of these sites can vary wildly from state to state.  Some states such as Maryland’s Prescription Drug Price Finder list price information for only a very select group of drugs (26 at last count); others like Minnesota’s RxPrice Compare  list price information for hundreds of drugs. 
Moreover, because almost all states rely on drug price information provided on Medicaid claims to populate their information, information included on a state’s drug price comparison website may not always be accurate or timely.  In addition, not all states private information on multiple formulations of a drug.  For example, Florida’s Rx Drug Price Finder provides information on 650 different drug formulations, representing over 100 different drugs.  In contrast, Maryland’s Prescription Drug Price Finder only provides information on one formulation of each drug, which can limit its usefulness.  Also, no state website provides drug price information for online pharmacies, usually one of the cheapest sources of prescription drugs for most people.
Still, for all their limitations, if you live in a state with drug price comparison website, the website can be an extremely convenient, time-saving place to start your research.  For your convenience, we’ve listed the states which offer a drug comparison website as of end of 2009 below:
Retail Drug Price Registries by State

State	Name	URL
Connecticut	AG Prescription Drug Price Page	http://www.ct.gov/AG/cwp/view.asp?a=2106&q=294076
Florida	Florida Rx Drug Price Finder	www.myfloridarx.com
Indiana	Indiana Prescription Drug Price Finder	http://www.indianaconsumer.com/consumer_guide/price_finder.asp
Maryland	Maryland Prescription Drug Price Finder	http://www.oag.state.md.us/drugprices/
Michigan	Michigan Rx Price Finder	http://www.michigandrugprices.com/9A0689B2-3B75-4F2B-8F6F-075AFEE38B21/
Minnesota	Minnesota RxPrice Compare	http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-536891618&agency=Rx
Missouri	Mo Rx Price Finder	http://www.morxcompare.mo.gov/
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Medicine Cabinet	http://www4.egov.nh.gov/Medicine-Cabinet/
New Jersey	New Jersey Prescription Drug Price Registry	https://www6.state.nj.us/LPSCA_DRUG/search.jsp
New York	Prescription Drug Prices in New York State	http://rx.nyhealth.gov/pdpw/
Pennsylvania	Prescription for Pennsylvania	http://www.parxpricefinder.com/
Vermont	Vermont Prescription Drug Price Finder	http://www.atg.state.vt.us/issues/consumer-protection/Prescribed-Products/Prescription-Drug-Price-Finder.php

• Online Pharmacy Price Comparison Websites.  A number of private websites provide pricing information for online pharmacies which in many cases may be cheaper than traditional bricks-and-mortar pharmacies.  Two popular websites which include drug pricing information for online pharmacies are PharmacyChecker.com and DestinationRx (drx.com). 

A few words of caution regarding the use of online pharmacies:  Although U.S. government officials have informally stated that individuals who order prescription drugs from Canada or other foreign sources for their own use (up to 90 day supplies) are not being pursued or prosecuted, it is still technically illegal to order prescription drugs from abroad.  In addition, for a drug to be reimbursable from a health savings account or a flexible spending account, it must be approved for sale in the U.S. and prescribed by a physician licensed in the U.S.  If you have insurance coverage for your prescription drugs, you should confirm whether drugs ordered from outside the U.S. will be covered or reimbursed.

• Generic Drug Comparison Sites.  Sites such as Rxaminer.com provide information regarding generic drug availability and pricing comparison information.  In many cases, generic drugs may provide significant savings over their brand name counterparts, especially if you do not have prescription drug insurance coverage.  For more information on generic drugs, see our article Generic Drugs-What Are They and Are they Safe?.
• Mail-Order Prescription Drug Programs.  If you have health insurance, your health insurance company may have a mail-order prescription drug plan.  In many cases, these mail-order prescription drug programs are significantly less expensive than getting your drugs through a conventional pharmacy.  Call your health insurance company to find out if they have a mail-order prescription drug program and what the details may be.
• Call Your Local Pharmacies.  It may take some more legwork, but calling your local pharmacies can be an extremely effective way of finding the most up-to-date prescription drug prices in your area.  In many cases, if you ask, your local pharmacy may be able to match the cheaper prices that you may find elsewhere.
• Check the MyHealthCafe.com Message Board.  We encourage all our users to share the information they find on prescription drug pricing with others.  You never know when someone will find a great new source for inexpensive drugs, so check back frequently!