Hi...I just turned 23, graduated from college...so now I'm off my dad's insurance which sucks because his coverage is through the military...awesome coverage...my concerta was $9 a month! I just recently found out that my new coverage through the temp agency I am with has NO mental health coverage what so ever!! My prescription is now going to cost around $60 which I guess is still a little bit of savings, but my doc and counseling visits are strictly out of pocket.

My questions are...
Is there a generic concerta under Walmart's $4 prescription list? I did see Methylphenidate...but I don't know if there would be another name I don't know of.
Does any know of any assistance programs or grant programs that would help with the costs of my visits?

Thanks in advance!

You might try community mental health services in the county that you live.
they usually run a means test on you based on your income if you dont insurance..

And since you are 23 your parents income shouldnt affect cost to you..

katts

Hmm...didn't know such a thing existed...I'll look into it. Thanks!

If your income is low enough you can get help from the manufacturer and other sources. Each has their own requirements, and usually don't disclose the income requirement so you don't try to lie to qualify. It costs nothing to apply though. One place you can check is http://www.rxassist.org Just type in Concerta in the search box and it will give you the info of who and how to appy. Some drugs give more than one possible source. You can also search google.com for "patient assistance program" and they will list other similar websites where you can search for this info. (I just found out about it today, so don't know anything else about it. Others might, so if you have a question add it to this thread.)

Thank god for the NHS. Sorry you have to pay for yours.

FYI the patent for Concerta's osmotic delivery system doesn't run out until 2018. So there will be no Concerta generics until at least 2018...

On Concerta's website they have a link to a site called: access2wellness.com (javascript:newExitWin('exit.html','newURL','http://www.access2wellness.com','','450','250','no','no', 'no')) which is a patient assistance program. Sounds good, but I don't know how easy it is to access.

In Australia Concerta is only subsidised by the government for under 18s... if you're over 18 tough bickies- you pay the full private price for the medicine.

The discussion on reduced cost meds has come up on here before. One of the recommendations that came out of it was trying Walgreens - they have stores in Jacksonville:

http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/result.html

I am paying for meds for myself, my wife and two kids. Therapy and meds runs close to $20,000 a year, after paying around $25,000 for insurance. I don't know how most people can do this.

A few on here have made it clear that finances really stand in the way of them having a better life through medical care. I'm convinced that one of the solutions we need is some kind of subsidy or grant program to help those most in need.

Here here. First, yes thank God for the NHS if you live in England. I was there for three years and routine medicine including prescriptions was a breeze. No problems, no costs, no insurance, no headaches.

I just started on Concerta. By the fancy branding, highly designed marketing, and strategically placed brochures in the Dr. office, I could tell this was going to be an expensive medicine. Dr. gave me a voucher for a free trial, 42 pills. Otherwise those 42 pills - which would not even be months prescription should you require a higher daily dose - would be $230. I have insurance, a pretty standard plan, and I'm not sure if they will cover this every month. What fun.

Astronomical costs of R&D aside momentarily, is this not ludicrous? It's a revenue machine, and we're all millionaires. OP, there are some good suggestions here and best advice is just take the time and do the homework, there are probably options though it will be a lot work to keep track and jump through hoops. Good luck.

Lindsay -
The $60 you're getting charged for Concerta is not too out of whack with most non-military health insurance programs around Jax as I'm paying $50 out of pocket co-pays for my Concerta each month. The crummy part is that even tho' I have the ability to get 3 months worth of drugs for the price of 2 if I use my provider's mail order program, Concerta is a controlled substance which necessitates having to get a physical paper script EVERY 30 days & thus having to shell out $50 each month. (vs. saving $50 every 3rd month) This is ON TOP of the co-pay ($40) for seeing the specialist for getting the script.

For those curious, I've searched for Concerta for sale from less expensive, outside the USA pharmacies and found very little and, agreeing with ADHD Hunter, nothing less than Walgreens. They also have a Pharmacy Membership club that gives nice discounts, and I think I get some discount, but not much due to it being generic. Those without insurance might want to consider it, because it may help with doc appts and lower concerta costs. I think the insurance companies negotiate lower rates. For those wanting to look for legit online pharmacies I found a site recently that checks them out and has a great drug comparison search tool: http://www.pharmacychecker.com and they list the past and currently online 'rogue' online pharmacies that give weak or fake meds: http://www.pharmacychecker.com/rogue-pharmacies.asp

Inattentive ADD: 90mg Concerta/day