If you rely on prescription drugs, you realize drug costs are out of control – and that’s true whether or not you have health insurance. The retail price of a drug can sometimes be less than the cost of a high deductible in the United States. For those looking to save money on drug prices, the most common question is “Can I use a prescription discount card with insurance?”
The answer is more complex than a simple yes or no.
How Insurance Cards and a Prescription Drug Discount Card Work Together
While you can’t officially use your insurance plan with discount programs that provide discounted prices on generic drugs and name-brand medications, you can use a combination of the two to create a savings program. This could save you hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars every year on your prescription medications.
Here’s how it works: Pharmacies charge insurance companies and consumers a different price for drugs. Typically, insurance companies will pay more for a medication than a consumer will who is paying in cash. And the insurance companies ask their policyholders to pay a yearly deductible in full before they receive any benefits from the insurance company. For instance, if you have a $1,000 deductible, your insurance company will not start paying any portion of your doctor visits, or in some cases your prescription medications, until you have paid $1,000 of the expenses yourself. After that, your insurance benefits kick in and you reap the rewards of having insurance.
Even if you don’t have to reach your deductible before your insurance company begins to pay a portion of your prescription medications, you will be asked to pay a co-pay. What is a co-pay? It’s the portion of the medical expense that policyholders must pay. So, if you fill a prescription drug order, you will pay a portion of the expense. Co-pays vary by the insurance company, but chances are you are paying at least $30 for your co-pay.
Choosing the Right Way to Pay
Understanding how prescription discount cards work is the key to knowing when you use your insurance and when to use your discount card. For instance, if you are filling your prescription at one of the participating pharmacies and you have not met your deductible, you will likely pay less for the prescription than it would cost you to meet your insurance policy deductible.
But even if you’ve met your deductible, your average savings may be more if you use your discount card. The savings you will reap from using the myRxMedSaver prescription discount card are substantial, and the drug may cost less than your insurance co-pay.
For example, imagine that your co-pay is $30 and after presenting your discount card to the pharmacy, you learn the cash price for the drug is $12. You would save $18 by using the card rather than your insurance.
Get the Tools You Need
Take advantage of the free and easy tools provided by myRxMedSaver, rather than taking the chance every time you fill a prescription and overpaying. For instance, if you have insurance and want to know whether using the discount card will be less expensive than paying a co-pay, simply take the Co-pay Challenge located at myRxMedSaver.com. With it, you can enter your location, details of the prescription drug, and find real-time cash pricing for the lowest drug price in your area. Now, compare that to your co-pay to determine whether you should purchase the drug with your insurance or with the discount prescription card.
You can also download the myRxMedSaver mobile app (App Store or Google Play) to keep the prescription discount program close at hand. First, check out a list of participating pharmacies in your area. When you enter one, the app will remind you to use it when filling your prescription. Then, when paying for your prescription, show the app to the pharmacist, and you will receive a discount of 10%-85%, depending on the drug you are purchasing.
Get Your Free Discount Prescription Card
If you’re ready to start saving on your prescription medications, it’s time to learn what you can about how much you’re paying and what you could save by using a discount prescription card. To get your free card, go to myRxMedSaver.com and print or receive a text with your general use discount card. Once you use the card at a participating pharmacy, it will stay on your record and the discount will be applied every time you fill a prescription at that pharmacy.
