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- Mar 14, 2017
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Many name-brand drugs have a savings program sponsored by the manufacturer. I'm enrolled in two of them, saving just over $100 a month between them.
Costco won't accept GoodRx coupons if you have Medicare, but my local Fred Meyer pharmacy will, so definitely corporate policy in that case.Pharmacies seem to vary by how helpful they will be. I am not sure if this is pharmacist discretion or corporate policy.
Many name-brand drugs have a savings program sponsored by the manufacturer. I'm enrolled in two of them, saving just over $100 a month between them.
My college aged daughter works part time in a pharmacy as a tech and she said she points out the price to the customer each time at checkout, just to make sure the price is what they were expecting. Sometimes the $$ is higher than a customer can afford, sometimes insurance has paid or not paid.
No, I have quite good insurance, just with some copayments for brand-name drugs that are higher than average. These are manufacturer-sponsored cards specific to the drug, and don't have income limitations.I've always had good enough insurance that I haven't delved too much into this. Gig me if I'm wrong but I have always been under the impression that those "drug savings" and "help for people who need drugs" programs apply only to people who don't have any insurance. If you have insurance you have to just go with that flow.
No, I have quite good insurance, just with some copayments for brand-name drugs that are higher than average. These are manufacturer-sponsored cards specific to the drug, and don't have income limitations.
I have one drug that can be a several hundred dollar hit depending on where we are in the insurance payment shell game. I have gotten those calls before they mail the scrip out and assumed that they are a courtesy heads-up for customers for whom the charge many be a problem or even push them over a credit limit. So though I do appreciate the courtesy, I have had them mark my customer record to indicate that the calls are unnecessary.When I pick up an rx at the pharmacy, if the price is over $50 or so, the clerk generally points to it and whispers, "Oh! Is the price OK on this one?" Since this has now happened a few times, I'm thinking they are hinting something, like maybe I'm supposed to flinch at the price and they'll reduce it? Or, are they hinting there's a Goodrx coupon? Are they not allowed to just come out and say so unless the patient requests it? I've tried a generic reply like, "Wow, yes, that is expensive!" but that does not change the price. It feels like there's some knowledge I'm missing that could help here.
...I have always been under the impression that those "drug savings" and "help for people who need drugs" programs apply only to people who don't have any insurance...
Many name-brand drugs have a savings program sponsored by the manufacturer. I'm enrolled in two of them, saving just over $100 a month between them.
I don’t think that is true anymore.
Pharmacist gag orders were made illegal in 2018. https://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-2018/gag-rules-pharmacists.html
I had the same experience so I moved my prescription over to a supermarket chain pharmacy that plays ball with GoodRx. I still buy my dog's prescriptions at Costco. He is uninsured............Our Costco refused to take GoodRx because we had a drug plan. They would take it if we didn't have a drug plan, so we paid extra for the drug because we had a plan
Seems worse than the gag order !
I had the same experience so I moved my prescription over a supermarket chain pharmacy that plays ball with GoodRx. I still buy my dog's prescriptions at Costco. He is uninsured.
Thanks.I have an asthma drug that my Part D plan doesn’t cover and costs over $900/90 days. GoodRx doesn’t bring the price down, but SingleCare (similar to GoodRx) brings the cost down to $221/90days. My point is there are several prescription discount programs out there and it’s worth checking them all.
Don't be fooled by the false choice. The world is 7+ billion people. No one ever said that we have to be chumps and pay for all the research for the whole world. And, in fact, we don't. Big Pharma spends more on advertising than research and a lot of the actual research is funded by the US government, anyway..........
2) Some new prescription drugs are almost miraculous in their ability to save lives and/or limit suffering (what is that worth?). ........
That is good, but the customer STILL has to ask, and since the law is only 3 yrs old, I'll be a lot of pharmacists have the old habit of charging not the cheapest price and not volunteering and solution.
Our Costco refused to take GoodRx because we had a drug plan. They would take it if we didn't have a drug plan, so we paid extra for the drug because we had a plan
Seems worse than the gag order !
Interesting comments. Just curious, who funds the US government?Don't be fooled by the false choice. The world is 7+ billion people. No one ever said that we have to be chumps and pay for all the research for the whole world. And, in fact, we don't. Big Pharma spends more on advertising than research and a lot of the actual research is funded by the US government, anyway.
+1 (a lot) but YMMV2) Some new prescription drugs are almost miraculous in their ability to save lives and/or limit suffering (what is that worth?).
Interesting comments. Just curious, who funds the US government?