This will be a long post about saving money on prescriptions so I am skipping straight to the Helpful App!!
Helpful App:
Have you seen the small prescription cards in your doctor’s office? Don’t disregard them just because you have insurance!! Sometimes those free cards will save you more money than your insurance!! I like to keep this app on my phone because I always seem to get to the pharmacy and forget to take the card!
Example:
Let’s say that you get sick and your doctor prescribes a Z-Pak. I always get generic to help save money.
Insurances pay differently so this may not be a good example for you, but follow me through this anyway. My insurance copay is $20 for Azithromycin (generic Z-Pak). When I get sick and my doctor prescribes medicine, I don’t even care how much it costs, I just want to start taking it ASAP!! RIGHT!?!!? Check this out, if you go to Good Rx and type in Z-Pak and click Find the Lowest Price, the app will give you a list of pharmacies and the prices of the medication. This is the price if you use Good Rx instead of insurance or paying the “cash” price if you don’t have insurance.
Note: The Sams Club pricing is generally the price you will pay if you are a Member of their Rx Savings Program that typically costs $100/yr. So if you aren’t already a member, this $4.00 price is not accurate!! I certainly wouldn’t spend $100/yr to save a few dollars here and there. But, again, do your research because buying a $100/yr Rx membership at Sams Club might save you quite a bit of money depending on your medications.
So…….with my insurance, I will pay $20 for Azithromycin at any pharmacy. But if I use the Good Rx coupon instead of insurance, I can go to Albertsons and pay $10.72. That is a savings of $9.28 for exactly the same thing!!!
The price for Azithromycin without insurance is $32.10.
With insurance, the price would be $20. I would save $12.10.
With Good Rx, the price would be $10.72. I would save $21.38.
When you select the pharmacy on the Good Rx list that you want to use, you will receive the coupon that you can Save, text, or email. Show this to the Pharmacy Technician and they will apply the coupon. Boom! Instant savings!!
It may take a little while to research your medications if you have several, but you may find that you save quite a bit of money each month!! Save each of the coupons so that you have quick access to them when you get to the pharmacy. You may also be able to have the pharmacy save the coupon to your profile so you don’t have to show it every time. Just ask.
Here is another example: I take Omeprazole and it is on the $4 list at Super 1. So, insurance will only allow me to get 1 month of pills at a time. 30 pills = $3.99. Not bad, right? If I don’t use my insurance, I can get 3 months for $9.99. It’s only a savings of $1.98 over 3 months but I don’t have to make a trip to the pharmacy every month and if I had numerous medications, it would be a bigger savings!! If If I enter the information into Good Rx…..Omeprazole, 20mg, 90 pills (3 months)…….I can select the best option. Super 1 Pharmacy is offering a coupon for $9.75 for 90 pills. That’s another $0.24 less than I would have paid. Be sure to do your research!!
I am always looking for ways to save money, even in the smallest amounts, because I want to spend my money on something other than medicine!! Those small amounts eventually add up to something significant!! I also recommend checking back occasionally to make sure the pricing hasn’t changed!
I hope you find this helpful and it allows you to save some money!! If you have any other tips that will help save money on prescriptions, I would love to hear about it!! Leave me a comment!!!
