How "pill splitting" can save you money

By Kay Quinn

KSDK -- People are getting creative when it comes to saving money, even on their medications. If the high cost of prescription drugs is making it difficult to stay within a budget. If you're considering going without medication because of the cost, you may want to ask your doctor if "pill splitting" is an option for you.

"If you're trying to make a choice about what you spend money on, and if you're considering going without medication because of the cost, you might want to talk to your doctor to see if this is an option, because we know people are having to make tough choices right now," said Dr. Catherine Palmier.

It almost goes without saying, but you need to talk to your doctor first. Dr. Catherine Palmier says there are many medications you simply cannot split, like tablets or ones with the letters CAR in the title, which stands for "controlled release." But in many cases it's both safe and advised.

"If your prescription is for a 40 milligram Lipitor pill, you take an 80 milligram Lipitor and you split it in half, then you have two 40 milligram Lipitor tablets," said Dr. Palmier. "So if you take one Lipitor a day, you would take a half of one of these a day."

Dr. Palmier says that pricing for many medications is like shoe shopping. You pay the same price for a size six as you would for a size 12. You buy the same medication but double the dosage and split it in half.

"We're not talking about taking half your dose you normally take. We're talking about maintaining the same dose but getting higher dose tablets," said Dr. Palmier.

Pill splitting devices cost only a few dollars and are recommended instead of a knife. There is no official list of pills that can be split, but there are plenty of drugs that are too dangerous to split. That makes it even more important to check with your doctor before splitting pills.

Some health care providers offer pill splitting programs. United Health Care lets you pay only half of your co-pay for medications if you're willing to split pills. But again, the first thing you should do is speak to your doctor and see if pill splitting is an option for you.

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For more information:

Consumer Reports: Pill Splitting
http://www.consumerreports.org/health/resources/pdf/best-buy-drugs/money-saving-guides/english/PillSplitting-FINAL.pdf  

United Health Care: Pill Splitting
http://www.halftablet.com/