Help for Prescription Costs

[SKCW]

Today, my Mom went in to pick up a new medication from her pharmacy at Vons. It cost about $96 dollars. We went on to GoodRx.com, searched for the name of the medication, and realized that with the coupon provided there, it should only be $36 dollars. So we went down with the coupon, and they returned 2/3 of the price they charged her!!!! I am not at all affiliated with this website, just a grateful user. You can put in your location and the name of your med and it will tell you the price of it at all the nearby pharmacies. Usually, they have an attached coupon. All you do is print it out and take it in when you pick up your med. You can also text it to your phone and they can scan the bar code off of your phone. Totally worth it.

[wifeofparky]

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and my Rheumatologist ordered a Biologic medication. My copay was over $400! I went online to seek assistance. I you type your drug name and add .com it will take you to their specific page. In most cases there is a financial assistance tab. I qualified for free meds. Give it a try. It certainly cannot hurt.

[LindaP50 in reply to wifeofparky]

Fabulous!

[reedboat2]

I use GoodRX on my phone. They have a great mobile app, free @ the App store. The coupons are particularly effective for generic drugs. Patent drugs can still be pricey.

[LindaP50 in reply to reedboat2]

One month differs from the next month with cost.

[LindaP50]

Yes, we learned about Good RX a while ago. Now there are other companies that offer discounts. So many people are not aware.

Why do we need coupons? Why aren't the RX costs lower on their own?

I find this baffling.

[wifeofparky]

I saw an interview on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago with a CEO of a drug company and he tried to explain their convoluted logic for charging high prices but offering them free to people who cannot afford them. His theory is that as more docs prescribe them the cost will come down. Not sure I agree with his thinking.

My copays for Tier 1 and 2 generics through my Medicare Advantage plan are reasonable and fixed but the higher levels are ridiculous.

[flyingfoxone]

Some of the drugs are excluded from any kind of discount if they are included on your Medicare Part D Plan. You need to ask around; some pharmacies will fill for you if you tell them you don't want to use Medicare.

[teriincali]

One of our meds was $49. Insurance only covered $9. But then the pharmacy charged us the cash price and used a card like the one you mentioned (different company) we were only charged $22. Now, for some reason with insurance it's only $5.

[ddmagee1]

My doctor told me about Good RX, and that helped somewhat.