I recently found out that I have to take blood pressure medicine and lipitor.?

Question:

I would like to know what drug plan is good. Most of them say that I have to pay a penalty because I didn't join them years ago. I didn't need them years ago. Please let me know what plan is good for me. I live in Piscataway, New Jersey and with the economy the way it is, why should I pay a penalty?

Answer:

ok, so you have hypertension and dyslipidemia.



The first thing you should do - if you already haven't - is talk to your doctor about lifestyle modifications. This will have a great benefit on your blood pressure and cholesterol and will lower the dosage (amount) of meds you take. They may even eventually cause you to come of your meds depending on the need and severity of your condition. The key is healthy eating and exercise (aerobic). There are plenty of websites out there for you. If you're interested, post another thread otherwise, I'll go directly to your specific question.



I guess your question is pertaining to medical insurance. I agree that you should have medical insurance. Which plan you choose will depend on your place of employment because this is usually where you get the best deals. If you are not able to find such a plan for whatever reason, then you may have to get an individual plan, BCBS and Aetna (I think) offer such plans. I do not know of any plans which will let you in for "free" with a pre-exisiting medical condition. If you are financially limited, medicaid is an option. NJ also has its own charity fund. For example, Paterson, NJ is a poor city and most of the population has no insurance, but they are covered by the NJ plan. Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited but here's what I've found so far:



I'm afraid you'll have to do your own research, but the following is a good place to start:

http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_ins…



In the mean time, the good news is that some BP meds and lipid lowering meds are on the cheap list of generic drugs.



Walmart for one has meds for $4/month or $10/3months.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.g…



Target also has something similiar

http://sites.target.com/site/en/health/p…



Ask your doctor to prescribe you a medication which is on this list. If you're curious about the quality of a $4 vs $200 medication there isn't any difference. The goal is to control your BP and cholesterol. That's all that matters.



Hope that helps