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Free prescription drugs. It sounds like a dream–or a scam. In fact, more than two hundred different drugs, from scores of pharmaceutical companies, are offered to tens of thousands of patients each year. There are two primary ways that consumers can access these free prescription drugs: samples, and free drug programs from the companies themselves.

As prescription drug costs increase at a rate higher than inflation, and when, according to Katharine Greider, author of The Big Fix , in 2000, 29% of Americans failed to fill a prescription because they could not afford the prescription, managing personal medication expenses is a major issue for millions of Americans.

Doctors are inundated with free samples of various drugs; the pharmaceutical industry spends an average of $21,000 per doctor on advertising, freebies, face-to-face meetings, conventions, and free samples. Doctors receive free samples for blood pressure medication, cholesterol drugs, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication, heart medication, ADHD drugs–the list goes on. In some doctors’ offices the cabinets can’t hold all the samples; patients can ask for free samples, and most doctors are happy to oblige. Simply asking for a 2-week or a 4-week supply of meds can save you twenty, fourty, or even a hundred dollars in prescription drug costs–all for just asking.

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