Making Menopause Care More Affordable: How Women Can Save at the Pharmacy
Making Menopause Care More Affordable: How Women Can Save at the Pharmacy
Menopause is a natural stage of life that every woman experiences, yet it’s often misunderstood. Fortunately, recent research and advancements in treatment have helped women manage symptoms that can disrupt daily life.
“Vasomotor symptoms, which include hot flashes and night sweats, affect around 75% of menopausal women,” says Makenzie Daniels, PharmD, a pharmacist at University of Utah Health. “These symptoms impair sleep quality and impact women's mental health. Menopausal symptoms can decrease quality of life and a woman’s ability to function at home and in the workplace.”
For many women, another layer of stress comes from the costs and accessibility of prescriptions that can ease these symptoms. If you’re worried about the affordability of your menopause treatments, there are ways you can save money and get the care you need.
Understanding Your Treatment Options
Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT)
One of the main hormonal changes that occurs when your body enters menopause is a decrease in estrogen and progesterone that’s naturally made by your body. This is what causes the unpleasant symptoms typically associated with menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness, and urinary incontinence.
Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) helps restore these hormones through:
- Oral pills
- Rings, creams, or tablets inserted into the vagina
- Patches
- Gels or sprays applied to the skin
Please note: Hormonal therapy is not a safe option for everyone. Women with a history of heart disease, blood clots, stroke, or breast cancer should discuss alternatives with their provider.
Non-Hormonal Options
Non-hormonal treatments don’t replace the hormones your body is no longer making, but they can help manage symptoms.
Some treatment options include:
- Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): Used to treat depression, they also help with hot flashes.
- Vaginal inserts and oral pills: Alleviates vaginal dryness.
- Prescription medications: Veozah (Fezolinetant) and Lynkuet (elinzanetant) help reduce hot flashes by blocking a chemical in the brain that regulates body temperature. However, these newer medications are quite costly and may not be covered by insurance.
Smart Ways to Save on Menopause Medications
Prescription costs vary widely. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist about what your insurance covers. Some plans have pharmacy benefits or require you to use a specific pharmacy, while others don’t.
These strategies can lower costs:
- Check the formulary. Before you start shopping, review your insurance plan’s list of prescription medications that are covered. It should tell you how much your plan covers, the price difference between name-brand and generic drugs, and out-of-pocket costs.
- Explore generics. Generic medications are usually cheaper than name-brand drugs and are required to have the same active ingredients, dosage guidelines, effectiveness, and safety standards, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Consider mail-order pharmacies. Some insurance plans have mail-in pharmacy options that may give you a better price. Compare costs at other online pharmacies that ship your prescription to your door. They may be able to fill your prescription for longer durations, which can also help save money.
- Be a smart shopper. Compare prices at various pharmacies—at local and online stores. Look for coupons or co-pay cards from the manufacturer, which can usually be found online.
- Use FSA/HSA funds. If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), pay for your prescriptions with pre-tax dollars.
Staying Safe While Saving
As you search for lower-cost prescription options, always consult with your health care provider before stopping or switching medications. A doctor will know the risks associated with your personal medical history and can safely help you taper medications if you wish to stop or switch them.
Menopausal Hormone Therapy carries risks, including:
- Blood clots
- Stroke
- Cancers
- Heart attacks
- Gall bladder disease
“For women who have an intact uterus, it’s crucial that they receive adequate doses of progesterone to protect from endometrial hyperplasia and cancer,” Daniels says. “It’s also important that estrogen-containing products are used at the lowest effective dose to minimize long-term harm. This may mean a higher dose earlier in menopause and a decrease in dose over time.”
Updates to Safety Guidelines
The FDA plans to remove black-box safety warnings from hormonal therapy products, which currently cite increased risks for breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. These warnings were added following findings from the Women’s Health Initiative trials in the early 2000s. However, the trials involved women who were an average age of 63, which is about 10 years past the typical onset of menopause. While the risks still exist, the products themselves have changed, and those available today more closely mimic natural hormones than those studied more than 20 years ago.
Daniels says that removing these warnings will likely increase providers’ comfort in prescribing these medications, leading to greater accessibility. While the risks remain, for some women, the benefits may outweigh them. Patients should have a conversation with their doctor to decide if hormone therapy would be a good option for them based on:
- Age (younger patients closer to the onset of menopause are more likely to benefit)
- Severity of symptoms
- Individual risk of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer
“My hope is that this will spark ongoing conversation surrounding menopause and promote increased research and education in this area,” Daniels says. “Effectively treating menopausal symptoms is a conversation, not a yes or no question.”
Learn More From Our Specialists
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