I thank my lucky stars that I'm not on any medications. But my father takes meds every day to help manage several chronic conditions. The co-pays are an expense my parents have to work in to their budget. Medications and medical coverage in general are becoming a concern even for those who are still lucky enough have employer-sponsored insurance. (In this respect, I'm not so lucky.) The University of Michigan conducted a study to see if the practice of "pill-splitting" can help reduce costs for insurance companies, employers, and ultimately patients.

Pill-splitting isn't a new concept. Basically, patients just cut larger doses in half to increase the amounts of their medications. (As instructed by their physician. Lowering your dosage just to extend medications is never recommended.) Since drug companies don't typically double the cost of medication for higher dosages, this can translate to cost savings.

Certain medications are more conducive to splitting that other. For example, pills that are coated in a time release coating are not good choices for splitting. 89% of patients in the study stated that they'd be willing to continue with the slight inconvenience of splitting pills if it meant a cost savings for them. The practice doesn't come without some concerns, however. The elderly and people with arthritis or other dexterity issues would likely have trouble splitting pills. Also it could result in people accidentally doubling their dosage or halving the dosage of medications that should not be split.