(NewsUSA) - As the ongoing coronavirus pandemic highlights the importance of maintaining good health, many Americans continue to struggle with the cost of health care, especially prescription medications. In fact, many people are overcharged for medications, even for generic drugs, according to leading experts and as highlighted in a 2018 in-depth expose' shown on PBS.

MyFreePharmacy, a new membership service launched in 2017, makes paying for prescriptions easier and more affordable. The company offers more than 600 medications for a flat monthly fee that includes standard shipping. Strategic partnerships make it possible for MyFreePharmacy to control costs and make prescriptions more affordable for everyone, including those without health insurance. MyFreePharmacy also offers a more affordable option for those whose insurance deductibles are so high that they never meet them, which means they typically pay full price for medications.

"MyFreePharmacy currently mails out truckloads of FREE prescriptions nationwide every month to our members," says founder Doug Behrens. "The program is a game changer -- where else can you get FREE prescriptions? We want to make a difference out there, and we are doing it for our members, one prescription at a time," he explains.

The membership plan involves four easy steps.

- Sign up. Simply visit myfreepharmacy.com/join to sign up for a membership card.

- Search. Review the MyFreePharmacy list of medications. They offer not only prescription drugs for chronic and acute conditions, but also over-the-counter products such as acetaminophen, allergy medications and vitamins.

- ePrescribe or Transfer. Your prescriptions can be transferred or e-prescribed by your doctor, who can send prescriptions with the click of a button. Or if you are transferring a script, MyFreePharmacy will handle it for you while you sit back and relax.

- Receive. Your medications are processed and shipped the same day and will be delivered to your home in one to three days.

MyFreePharmacy is working to change the way Americans get their prescriptions. They take the stress and high costs out of the equation by helping consumers control their costs without sacrificing quality. For safety and security, all medications are shipped through the U.S. Postal Service, with a standard shipping time of one to three days.

For more information, visit myfreepharmacy.com/join.

(NewsUSA) - We all do it: we let over-the-counter (OTC) medicines like pain relievers for a headache, allergy medicine or cough and cold products pileup in our bathrooms. Especially over the past few years, you may have let medications linger in the house past their expiration dates. But old and unneeded medication should be disposed of safely, and springtime is the perfect time to get it done.

Proper medicine disposal keeps our homes and communities safe and our environment clean, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the national trade association representing manufacturers of OTC medicines.

"Medication safety is everyone's responsibility, and proper medication disposal is an important part of medication safety," says Anita Brikman, Executive Director of the CHPA Educational Foundation, which is a 501c3 organization focused on promoting the safe use, storage and disposal of OTC medicines and dietary supplements to consumers. "How you dispose of unwanted, unused, or expired OTC medicines is important and easy," she says.

So clean out your medicine cabinet this spring, and choose one of these three quick and easy disposal methods:

- In-Home Disposal. Many OTC medications, and some prescription medications, can be thrown out with your regular trash at home. Mix the medicine (do not crush any tablets or capsules) with some especially unappealing trash, such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds, and place the mixture in a sealed plastic bag. Then put the bag in your usual household trash bin, and you're done.

- In-Store Disposal. Many pharmacies provide designated kiosks where you can bring any medication, OTC or prescription, for safe disposal. The website MyOldMeds.com has a zip code locator tool to find more than 22,000 verified sites nationwide that offer free medicine-disposal options all year long.

- Take-Back Events. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducts national Drug Take-Back Day events, and the next one will occur this year on April 30.

These events, which are set up temporarily at convenient community- based locations throughout the country, serve as an opportunity to return medications safely as a friendly public-service reminder to clean out your medicine cabinet.

Visit KnowYourOTCs.org for more details about safely disposing of medications at home, and visit MyOldMeds.com to find secure and safe disposal locations near you.