High blood pressure (hypertension) is a prevalent health issue that can have serious repercussions, with symptoms often not appearing until too late – making screening during primary care visits all the more crucial.
Treating high blood pressure requires long-term medication. This guide can assist in finding low-cost or free options to treat your condition.
Visit Your Doctor
Having difficulty controlling your high blood pressure? Consult with your physician immediately – discussing this may allow for you to receive prescription without having to pay copays. If this is something that seems manageable for you, take steps now so you’re prepared when the time and effort come around!
High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is a dangerous condition that increases your risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and other serious health complications. Also referred to as “silent killer”, high blood pressure often has no noticeable symptoms until advanced stages. Your doctor can check your blood pressure readings and identify whether they indicate elevated or normal readings depending on systolic and diastolic readings.
At first, lifestyle modifications should be the starting point in treating high blood pressure, such as eating a diet low in sodium and unhealthy fats, getting regular exercise, sleeping better at night, quitting smoking or excessive alcohol use, avoiding tobacco products altogether and managing alcohol consumption responsibly. With time, medication will also work toward lowering your systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
If making these lifestyle changes don’t help bring down your high blood pressure levels, your doctor may prescribe medication. The type of medicine depends on factors like age, race, health status and severity of condition – many patients receive multiple prescriptions to treat their high blood pressure.
Popular medications used to treat high blood pressure include diuretics (water pills), which work by flushing excess fluid out of the body through urination. Also popular are calcium channel blockers which relax blood vessels and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors which block production of natural chemicals that narrow blood vessels.
As prescribed, taking medications as directed is vital in order to decrease blood pressure and avoid side effects such as headaches, dizziness and nausea. Furthermore, it’s also essential that you don’t stop or reduce dosage too abruptly.
Keep in mind that treating hypertension and other health conditions often requires long-term, even lifelong management. If you’re considering purchasing health insurance to acquire the medications necessary for treating them, an online marketplace can be helpful when researching available plans – compare prices and benefits easily and efficiently.
Check Your State’s Health Insurance Marketplace
Health insurance marketplaces or exchanges are an integral component of Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. Each state was instructed by this law to establish such marketplaces where individuals or families without employer-sponsored coverage could compare plans and select one best suited for them. Some states set up their own exchanges while others joined a federal marketplace offering affordable health coverage that may help cover medications like high blood pressure medication or any number of ailments.
To determine your eligibility to enroll in health insurance on the marketplace, enter your zip code into the “View Plans Now” section above. Once there, you’ll see available health plans with benefits tailored specifically for you as well as providers that make up each plan network. In addition, financial assistance could potentially lower monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs considerably.
Medicare Advantage plans and private health insurance options often offer benefits for managing high blood pressure, helping keep overall medical costs down. Medicare Part B typically covers screening, diagnosis, and treatment of high blood pressure; however there may be deductible and coinsurance costs to consider. Furthermore, many Medicare Advantage plans offer services like telehealth visits that allow users to communicate with doctors online for free or at an extremely reduced fee.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans provide access to an exhaustive list of medications. Simply choose your state above for a complete overview. Please be aware that Select Drug lists apply only if purchased individually on either state/federal healthcare exchanges, grandfathered plans, or not through an employer; while Traditional Open drug lists apply if group plans purchased through employers are included in coverage. For any further inquiries about any specific drugs included within an Anthem plan please reach out the Pharmacy Member Services number found on your ID card.
Look for Free or Low-Cost Prescriptions
Generic versions of many medications commonly used to treat high blood pressure can be quite cost-effective. Your healthcare team can assist in selecting an affordable medication plan; if paying is becoming difficult for you, low-income programs may offer assistance to assist in paying your prescription costs.
Pharmaceutical companies frequently offer programs that make medications available at no or very reduced costs to those who cannot afford them, often administered through local organizations such as community health centers or rural health clinics; participating pharmacies; as well as some free and charitable clinics. Some organizations even provide additional health services like testing blood pressure levels.
There are also state-run programs designed to assist low-income patients with their prescription needs. While each state offers its own specific assistance programs, such as wraparound coverage for Medicare Part D or HIV/AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. If this sounds appealing to you, contact your state’s department of health and find out what options may be available in your region.
Treatment for high blood pressure should be viewed as a lifelong endeavor that will likely require medication, diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications to succeed. Never discontinue prescribed medications without first consulting with your doctor as stopping could result in dangerous spikes and falls in blood pressure that are detrimental to both heart health and the rest of your body.
If you have insurance, make the most of it by scheduling a telehealth visit with a healthcare provider to diagnose and treat your hypertension. Most health plans now cover this service with some copays applied. If you don’t, check out telehealth apps or websites which connect you with providers willing to see you online for a small fee, such as Dr. B telehealth visits; once diagnosed, refill medications through Dr. B for as little as $15 after uploading photo of prescription bottle and recent blood pressure reading.
