How much extra can I expect to pay for a month's supply?

Phil, your advice is terrific and better than that of many vets.
Did you ever think of setting up a nationwide system  of vet techs who
can make home visits and either give instructions for med application or
perform the administration of it?  Every large and small town should have
hundreds of qualified people doing this for the elderly and those who
work a full day, and just can't afford either the time or money to go to
a vet on a regular basis.

I tried the Pill Pockets and my cat wouldn't touch it.

I've found the easiest way to give a cat a pill is to buy some low sodium
turkey breast at the appetizing counter of your supermarket or deli.

1)crunch the pill into powder using a folded piece of paper and a spoon.  
Put pressure on the spoon and crunch the pill into a fine powder.

2) Put a little powder into a small piece of turkey breast and then roll
it up so that the powder isn't visible and easy to smell over the scent
of the turkey.  Do that until you have enough pieces for the whole pill.

My cat, who is extremely particular regarding what she eats, will eat at
least 2/3 of it, leaving over what she can tell is the strange smelling
turkey that contains the powder.  She always comes back licking her chops
for more, knowing that she will only get her treat when it's pill time
again.

At most, I use only about half of a thin slice of turkey breast for each
5 mg Prednisolone pill.