Next time you have a drug prescription to fill, it might be wise to pause a moment before taking it to your usual pharmacy \u2014 you could save some money.<\/p>\n
Next time you have a drug prescription to fill, it might be wise to pause a moment before taking it to your usual pharmacy \u2014 you could save some money.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found sometimes it\u2019s cheaper to pay for prescription drugs out of pocket, rather than the copay with your insurance plan,\u201d said Kevin Brasler, executive editor at Washington Consumers\u2019 Checkbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of companies out there that offer drug discount programs,\u201d said Brasler. \u201cThey work one-on-one with pharmacies to offer lower prices to their members.\u201d<\/p>\n The drug discount companies, which are free to use, include America\u2019s Pharmacy<\/a>, BlinkHealth<\/a>, GoodRx<\/a>, SingleCare<\/a>\u00a0and WellRx<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat these companies are doing is negotiating lower prices with pharmacies,\u201d said Brasler. \u201cIt\u2019s not just online pharmacies \u2014 a lot of major chains are part of these programs also.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n By clicking on the discount site\u2019s offer, the consumer gets a coupon, which can be printed out or otherwise digitally shared with the lower-priced pharmacy.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, you can shop around and pay a lower price sometimes than what you\u2019d pay with your insurance company, by taking advantage of these discounts,\u201d Brasler said.<\/p>\n Before you use one of the apps or websites, Brasler said you might want to check the company\u2019s privacy policy to make sure you\u2019re comfortable with the type of data collected and how it\u2019s used.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re paying for medicine through your health insurance company, you have strong consumer protections there,\u201d said Brasler. \u201cThese discount programs, they don\u2019t fall under HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the companies say, \u2018Hey, we won\u2019t share your personal information with other companies,\u2019 but you may be in a situation where they\u2019re sharing enough information about you for targeted advertising,\u201d said Brasler.<\/p>\n One thing to remember: If you take advantage of the website coupon and forgo using your health insurance \u2014 whether private or Medicare \u2014 to buy a given drug, that purchase won\u2019t count toward your annual deductible.<\/p>\n