The following suggestions will help you get the most out of your pharmacy benefit and will allow you and your employer to save money by using the most cost-effective medication to treat your medical condition.

1. Ask your health care practioner for generic drugs. Prescriptions written for generic medications save you money since they generally require the lowest copayment. When your present a prescription to the pharmacy it will automatically be filled for a generic drug whenever one is available, unless you or your health care practitioner has asked that your prescription be filled with the brand name drug. Click to view the list of Generic Equivalent Drugs (pdf).

2. If your condition requires the use of a medication that is not available generically, ask your health care practitioner to write for a preferred (“formulary”) brand name medication whenever possible. Drugs on the Preferred Drug List list generally require a smaller co-payment then other brand name drugs. It may be advisable to take a copy of your Preferred Drug List with you whenever you visit your health care practitioner; this will assist him/her in prescribing the most cost effective medication for your condition. Click to view the Preferred Drug List.

3. Use the PBM Plus mail service pharmacy for long-term medications. In order to save money, we strongly encourage you to use PBM Plus Mail Service Program for your long-term prescription needs. When using the Mail Service Program, you may receive up to a 90-day supply of your maintenance medications for the applicable co-payment. Click to access the Mail Service Pharmacy.

4. For the Mail Service Program, ask your health care practitioner to always write your maintenance prescriptions for the maximum supply allowed by the program (typically 90 days).

5. When receiving a new prescription, ask your health care practitioner to give you samples of the new medication, or write for a 30-day supply, before ordering a 90-day supply from mail service. This will let you to determine if the new medication is right for you before requesting a 90-day supply from the mail service.

6. Use a participating retail pharmacy. When purchasing prescriptions at a retail pharmacy, be sure to use a PBM Plus participating retail pharmacy. You will only need to pay the applicable co-payment and you won't have to file a claim form. Remember to bring your ID card with you. Click to view the Participating Pharmacy Network.