People often need to take prescription medications like Trulicity on a regular basis. Medications like this one help people live their best lives while treating their medical conditions.
Unfortunately, most prescription drugs – Trulicity included – are very expensive.
What is Trulicity?
Trulicity (dulaglutide) is a prescription medication used to treat Type 2 diabetes. Trulicity can be a very important medication for many people in the United States.
The National Diabetes Statistics Report from 2020 says that 34.2 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Trulicity is an injectable liquid that comes in a pen. It is to be used once per week, is not insulin, but is a GLP-1 agonist.
Trulicity acts like GLP-1. GLP-1 is short for Glucagon-Like Peptide 1. GLP-1 is a hormone created in the small intestine after a meal.
GLP-1 helps increase the production of insulin. It also regulates a person’s appetite by making them feel full between meals. It also works by helping the stomach empty slower. Low levels of GLP-1 could increase the possibility of becoming obese.
Trulicity attaches to the same places in the body that GLP-1 does, and stimulates insulin production. It also helps the stomach empty more slowly like GLP-1. It also lowers glucagon secretion.
Glucagon helps blood glucose levels from going too low. It does this by stopping the liver from taking in glucose and storing it, and therefore keeping glucose in the bloodstream. Glucagon also signals the liver to release already stored glucose into the bloodstream.
High blood glucose levels are a major part of Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
With the disease Type 2 diabetes, the cells in the body do not respond to insulin well. Insulin moves glucose into the cells to be used for energy. Once someone is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, it is a lifelong incurable disease. However, it can be treated with lifestyle management.
Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes include:
- Fatigue
- A frequent need to urinate
- Increased hunger
- Increased thirst
- Blurred vision
- Numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
Often people do not realize they have Type 2 diabetes until they experience significant symptoms. By this time, the effects on the body have already begun. High blood glucose levels can damage the heart, kidneys, nervous system, eyes, and blood vessels.
Side Effects of Trulicity
Sometimes medications have unwanted reactions called side effects. The side effects of Trulicity can include:
- Frequent bowel movements
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Abdominal distress
- Abdominal tenderness
- Fatigue
- Upper or lower abdominal pain
- Decreased appetite
- Dyspepsia
- Malaise
Who Should Not Use Trulicity?
Some people should avoid using Trulicity. For example, this medication is not for Type 1 diabetics. A patient who is in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis should not use Trulicity. Anyone with a family history of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN-2) should also not use this medicine.
Trulicity is not approved for use in anyone under the age of 18. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should talk with their doctors before taking this medication. It is not known if there are any adverse effects on an unborn baby.
Patients who are considering using Trulicity should tell their doctor if they have had any of the following conditions:
- Eye problems caused by diabetes
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Pancreatitis
- Stomach or intestinal disorders
Trulicity Savings
The cost of medication to treat conditions such as Type 2 diabetes can be overwhelming for many patients. The list price for Trulicity is $1,032.28 per month (pricing as of June 2022), but at many retail pharmacies, the price could be as much as $1000 per month.
What someone will ultimately pay for Trulicity depends on a few factors. If someone has an insurance plan that does not include prescription drug coverage, or their plan does not cover Trulicity, they will likely pay close to the list price each month.
If someone does have prescription coverage, they could still pay around $239 each month, depending on the insurance plan.
Trulicity Savings Card
Some people may be eligible for a Trulicity Savings Card, which they could receive from their doctor if they give them out. People can use this card to pay as little as $25 for a month’s supply.
Unfortunately, there are exclusions with this card.
A person must already have commercial drug insurance that covers the cost of Trulicity. People who have any kind of government insurance cannot get this card. People without prescription drug coverage, or if their coverage does not include Trulicity, cannot get this card.
There is still a limit and an expiration date for the people who can get this savings card. Someone can only use this card for 24 months or until December 31, 2022, whichever comes first.
There is a savings cap prohibiting participants from saving more than $150 per month or $1800 per year. The patient is responsible for any amount over the savings cap.
So, if someone has insurance coverage that puts their price for Trulicity at $500 per month and also has the savings card, they would pay $500 minus $150. A patient would still have to pay $350 each month for this prescription with the savings card.
Internet Discounts
Savings on Trulicity prescriptions can also come in the form of coupons that patients can find online. With these coupons, it is advertised to save up to 75% of the retail price. If someone prints one, it can be used at most large chain pharmacies like Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, or CVS.
They cannot be combined with insurance. A person would have to choose between the coupon or their insurance coverage, whichever would be less expensive. If the pharmacy honors the 75% off the retail price, a patient could still pay over $200 per month with a coupon.
Coupons often have expiration dates, meaning a person would have to find a new coupon after the first one expires.
Discount Card Programs
There are also several internet sites offering prescription discount programs. People can use these programs to save some money off the retail price of Trulicity. These programs are available for use by people without prescription drug coverage.
With these programs, people will still pay anywhere from $734 to $863 each month for Trulicity. For many, this is still a lot of money to pay regularly for medication.
Medication Assistance Programs
Another way to save on Trulicity is with a medication assistance program. These programs are available to those who qualify from the pharmaceutical companies that make the prescription drugs.
When someone qualifies for one of these programs, they do not have to pay for their medication from the pharmaceutical company. A lot of people are not aware that these programs exist, as they are not heavily advertised.
A significant amount of paperwork and phone calls go along with getting into a medication assistance program. This can confuse some people who try to get into a program and may cause them to give up without getting what they need.
Saving With The Rx Advocates
The Rx Advocates help people get into the patient assistance programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. All the paperwork and phone calls are handled by the professional staff at The Rx Advocates.
The staff of The Rx Advocates works with each patient and doctor to complete the application for every needed prescription. Then, each application is filed with the correct pharmaceutical company.
The Rx Advocates will follow up with the pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the applications are received and processed. When the application is approved, we handle any ongoing paperwork, including refills. This is all done for one low monthly service fee.
When patients work with The Rx Advocates, they can get their Trulicity prescription for $80 per month. That is all, with no additional charges each month. There is a one-time enrollment fee of $35.
The Rx Advocates can also help with other prescription medications. Adding a second medication will only cost a total of $90 each month. Three medications are $100, and four or more medications are only $100 each month. No one will pay more than $110 each month for their prescriptions when working with The Rx Advocates.
The Rx Advocates can save people hundreds of dollars on one medication each month. For people who need multiple monthly prescription medications, the savings could be in the thousands. Please contact us today to see how we can help you.
