Next time you have a drug prescription to fill, it might be wise to pause a moment before taking it to your usual pharmacy — you could save some money.
Next time you have a drug prescription to fill, it might be wise to pause a moment before taking it to your usual pharmacy — you could save some money.
“We found sometimes it’s cheaper to pay for prescription drugs out of pocket, rather than the copay with your insurance plan,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor at Washington Consumers’ Checkbook.
“There are a lot of companies out there that offer drug discount programs,” said Brasler. “They work one-on-one with pharmacies to offer lower prices to their members.”
The drug discount companies, which are free to use, include America’s Pharmacy, BlinkHealth, GoodRx, SingleCare and WellRx.
“What these companies are doing is negotiating lower prices with pharmacies,” said Brasler. “It’s not just online pharmacies — a lot of major chains are part of these programs also.”
Here’s how it works: After logging onto the particular discount drug website, a user types in the drug, the quantity desired and often a ZIP code. The website shows the current price at nearby pharmacies.
By clicking on the discount site’s offer, the consumer gets a coupon, which can be printed out or otherwise digitally shared with the lower-priced pharmacy.
“So, you can shop around and pay a lower price sometimes than what you’d pay with your insurance company, by taking advantage of these discounts,” Brasler said.
Before you use one of the apps or websites, Brasler said you might want to check the company’s privacy policy to make sure you’re comfortable with the type of data collected and how it’s used.
“If you’re paying for medicine through your health insurance company, you have strong consumer protections there,” said Brasler. “These discount programs, they don’t fall under HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).”
“A lot of the companies say, ‘Hey, we won’t share your personal information with other companies,’ but you may be in a situation where they’re sharing enough information about you for targeted advertising,” said Brasler.
One thing to remember: If you take advantage of the website coupon and forgo using your health insurance — whether private or Medicare — to buy a given drug, that purchase won’t count toward your annual deductible.
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