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Is Armour Thyroid covered by insurance | How much does Armour Thyroid cost without insurance? | How to get Armour Thyroid without insurance
Armour Thyroid and other thyroid medications are available to help treat thyroid problems, and these drugs can vary in price and insurance coverage. Armour Thyroid can be an expensive medication, whether you pay an insurance copay or the full cash price. Learn more about the price of Armour Thyroid, the recommended dosages, and alternative thyroid medications.
RELATED: Amour Thyroid coupon | Armour Thyroid details
What is Armour Thyroid?
Armour Thyroid is a brand-name prescription thyroid medication. It replaces thyroid hormones in people with underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) and suppresses the growth of thyroid nodules, goiters, and thyroid cancer.
Armour Thyroid tablets contain dried extract from pig thyroid glands (porcine thyroid). The tablets are taken to treat hypothyroidism in doses ranging from 60 to 120 mg per day. The exact amount of thyroid hormone in an Armour Thyroid tablet can vary depending on the strength of the tablet. For example, a 60 mg or 1 grain tablet contains 38 micrograms of thyroxine (T4) hormone and 9 micrograms of liothyronine (T3) hormone.
Thyroid medications like Armour Thyroid are not prescribed in people with high levels of thyroid hormones or uncontrolled adrenal gland problems.
Is Armour Thyroid covered by insurance?
Health insurance plans may or may not cover Armour Thyroid and other porcine thyroid drugs. Instead, health insurance plans usually cover synthetic thyroid hormone drugs like levothyroxine. Some Medicare Part D plans may help cover the cost of Armour Thyroid.
How much does Armour Thyroid cost without insurance?
Without insurance, the cash price of Armour Thyroid averages $47 for 30, 60 mg tablets. However, the out-of-pocket expense will depend on your plan’s formulary, the determined copay, whether you’ve met the deductible, and the dosage prescribed.
There are no generic versions of Armour Thyroid. If you don’t have insurance coverage for Armour Thyroid, you may be able to switch to a different porcine thyroid tablet, such as NP Thyroid and Westhroid. Check with your healthcare provider before doing so.
Are there alternatives to Armour Thyroid?
The standard prescription drug for hypothyroidism and thyroid suppression is levothyroxine, also known by the brand name Synthroid. Levothyroxine contains a synthetic version of T4, and it is usually covered by health insurance.
Armour Thyroid alternatives typically include other desiccated thyroid extracts, which are not approved by the FDA. In addition, one or more of them may not be available at your local pharmacy. Instead of a local chain or grocery-store pharmacy, you may be able to purchase porcine thyroid tablets from a compounding pharmacy.
Armour Thyroid and levothyroxine alternatives include Thyrolar (liotrix), which contains a combination of synthetic T4 and T3. Cytomel (liothyronine) is another alternative that contains a synthetic version of T3. You should check your plan’s drug formulary to see whether your thyroid medication is covered.
Some over-the-counter medications and supplements may help relieve the symptoms of an underactive thyroid, but none of them are approved to replace low levels of thyroid hormones or help suppress thyroid growths, such as goiters, nodules, and thyroid cancer.
Compare Armour Thyroid prices to related drugs |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Drug name | Price without insurance for brand-name drug | SingleCare price | Savings Options |
| Armour Thyroid (desiccated porcine thyroid) | $47 per 30, 60 mg tablets | $28 per 30, 60 mg tablets for brand-name Armour Thyroid | See updated prices |
| See udated prices | |||
| Westhroid (desiccated porcine thyroid) | $17 per 30, 65 mg tablets | $10 per 30, 65 mg tablets for brand-name Westhroid | See updated prices |
| WP Thyroid (desiccated porcine thyroid) | $25 per 30, 65 mg tablets | $14 per 30, 65 mg tablets for brand-name WP Thyroid | See updated prices |
| Nature-Throid (desiccated porcine thyroid) | $21 per 30, 65 mg tablets | $10 per 30, 65 mg tablets for brand-name Nature Thyroid | See updated prices |
| NP Thyroid (desiccated porcine thyroid) | $46 per 30, 60 mg tablets | $4 per 30, 60 mg tablets for brand-name NP Thyroid | See updated prices |
| Levothyroxine sodium tablets | |||
| Levothyroxine sodium | $21 30, 50 mcg tablets |
$0.49 30, 50 mcg tablets for generic levothyroxine |
See updated prices |
| Synthroid (levothyroxine sodium) | $68 30, 50 mcg tablets |
$0.49 30, 50 mcg tablets for brand-name Synthroid |
See updated prices |
| Euthyrox (levothyroxine sodium) | $17 30, 50 mcg tablets |
$0.49 30, 50 mcg tablets for brand-name Euthyrox |
See updated prices |
| Levoxyl (levothyroxine sodium) | $45.00 30, 50 mcg tablets |
$0.49 30, 50 mcg tablets for brand-name Levoxyl |
See updated prices |
Prescription drug prices often change. These are the most accurate medication prices at the time of publishing. The listed price without insurance references the price of brand-name drugs. The listed SingleCare price references the price of generic drugs if available. Click the link under “Savings options” to see updated drug prices.
How to get Armour Thyroid without insurance
Armour Thyroid can be an expensive prescription drug for many people, and monthly refills can be hard to afford over time. In addition, people without commercial health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid may have to pay full retail price for Armour Thyroid or similar medications.
AbbVie (which has acquired Allergan) is the manufacturer of Armour Thyroid, and they currently offer a patient assistance program that may help cover the cover of Armour Thyroid. Check their website for exact eligibility requirements. If you don’t meet the requirements to save through the manufacturer, there are other ways to save money.
1. Use an Armour Thyroid coupon from SingleCare
A SingleCare discount card may help reduce the cost of Armour Thyroid from an average cost of $47 to less than $30. Choose a free coupon based on the lowest price or the most convenient local pharmacy.
2. Ask the prescriber about levothyroxine
Desiccated porcine thyroid extract is not prescribed as often as levothyroxine. Instead, healthcare professionals are likely to prescribe levothyroxine for hypothyroidism. Not only is levothyroxine safer, more reliable, and less hazardous for most people than Armour Thyroid, but it is also usually less expensive. Ask your prescribing healthcare provider for medical advice about levothyroxine if you have trouble paying for Armour Thyroid.
3. Compare pharmacy prices
The same Armour Thyroid prescription could cost $54 at one pharmacy and $35 at another, so a smart consumer could save $20 a month—$240 a year—simply by looking around for a good price. A great place to start price-shopping is SingleCare’s pharmacy finder.
4. Use a compounding pharmacy
At this time, it can be difficult to find porcine thyroid tablet brands in pharmacies due to shortages and recalls. Instead of using another porcine tablet brand, you may be able to get an alternative thyroid medication at a compounding pharmacy, a type of pharmacy that can mix and prepare prescription medications onsite. They may have porcine thyroid powder, which they can use to make a compounded thyroid medication that contains the same amounts of thyroid hormone found in Armour Thyroid. The compounded alternative may also come at a lower price than Armour Thyroid. Search the internet to look up compounding pharmacies in your area.
