Clonidine and Cost: What You Need to Know

Clonidine is a generic prescription drug that’s used to treat high blood pressure, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and pain. Clonidine’s cost may depend on factors such as your dosage, whether you have health insurance, and the pharmacy you use.

Clonidine is used to treat:

• high blood pressure in adults
• ADHD in some children
• severe pain in people with cancer, when used with an opioid

Clonidine comes as tablets, extended-release* tablets, or patches. It also comes as a solution that’s given as an injection by a doctor or other healthcare professional. The drug is also available as the brand-name versions Kapvay, Catapres-TTS, Nexiclon XR, and Duraclon.

For more details on clonidine tablets, see this in-depth article. Your doctor or pharmacist can also tell you about the different forms of clonidine.

* “Extended release” means the drug slowly releases the active ingredient over a long period of time. (An active ingredient is what makes a drug work.)

The price you pay for clonidine can vary. Your cost may depend on your treatment plan, your insurance coverage, and the pharmacy you use. If you’re receiving the clonidine injection, your cost will also depend on how much you have to pay for a hospital or clinic visit.

As of August 2020, the most expensive drug in America is Myalept, a drug used to treat leptin deficiency. A month’s worse of this drug costs $71, 306 per month, according to research from GoodRx. Myalept is known as an “orphan drug” because it’s intended to treat a rare disease.

To find out how much you’ll pay for clonidine, talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or insurance provider.

Note: If you have insurance, you may need to get prior authorization before your insurance provider will cover clonidine. This means your insurer and your doctor will discuss clonidine in regard to your treatment. Then the insurance company will determine whether the drug is covered. If clonidine requires prior authorization and you don’t receive it before you start treatment, you could pay the full cost of the drug.

Be sure to ask your insurance company whether your clonidine prescription requires prior authorization.

Clonidine is a generic drug. This means it’s an exact copy of the active drug in a brand-name medication. A generic is considered to be just as safe and effective as the original drug, but it usually costs less.

Clonidine comes in brand-name versions called Kapvay, Catapres-TTS, Nexiclon XR, and Duraclon. To find out how the costs of these drugs and versions of clonidine compare, talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or insurance provider.

If you’ve been prescribed clonidine and you’re interested in using a brand-name version instead, talk with your doctor. They may prefer that you take one version instead of the other. In addition, you’ll need to check with your insurance provider. This is because it may only cover one drug or the other.

Why is there such a cost difference between brand-name drugs and generics?

Years of research and testing are needed to ensure that brand-name drugs are safe and effective. This testing can make the drugs expensive. The drugmaker of a brand-name drug can sell the drug for up to 20 years. After that, other drugmakers can create generic versions. This competition in the market can lead to lower costs for generics. And because generics have the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs, they don’t need to be studied again. This can also lead to lower generic costs.

If you take clonidine long term, you may be able to lower your costs in the following ways:

Look into getting a 90-day supply of your medication. You may be able to get a 90-day supply of clonidine if approved by your insurance company. This could reduce your number of trips to the pharmacy and help lower the cost of clonidine. If you’re interested in getting a 90-day supply of this drug, talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or insurance provider.

Use a mail-order pharmacy to get your medication. Using a mail-order pharmacy might help lower your cost for clonidine. Plus, you could get your medication without leaving home. Some Medicare plans may help cover the cost of mail-order drugs. You may also be able to get a 90-day supply of the drug through mail order. If you don’t have health insurance, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. They may be able to suggest online pharmacy options that could work for you.

If you need help covering the cost of clonidine or understanding your insurance, check out these resources:

On these sites, you can find insurance information, details on drug assistance programs, and links to savings cards and other services.

If you have questions about how to pay for your prescription, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

If you still have questions about the cost of clonidine, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. They may be able to give you a better idea of what you’ll pay for this drug. But if you have health insurance, you’ll need to talk with your insurance provider to learn the actual cost you’d pay for clonidine.

Examples of questions you may want to ask your doctor or insurance provider include:

• Does the cost of clonidine depend on the form I’m prescribed?
• Would my cost for clonidine depend on the condition it’s treating?
• Are there other options available if I can’t afford clonidine?

To learn more about clonidine, see these articles:

• Clonidine, Oral Tablet
• Side Effects of Clonidine Oral Tablet: What You Need to Know

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Disclaimer: Austra Health has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.

Last medically reviewed on March 8, 2023