The Healthcare industry is so complicated. There are different prices for prescription drugs for people who are insured, for people who aren’t insured, generic prices, name brand prices. Prices for prescription drugs can even be different from pharmacy to pharmacy. Prescription drugs are one of the only retail transactions that can vary dramatically depending on where the drugs are purchased from. But it seems that now there are some helpful online tools that may help you save money.
GoodRx.com is a site that has been in business since 2011, and can help you by collecting prices on generic drugs across the country and connects you with coupons to help you to pay for your prescriptions. A new site, Blinkhealth.com, has taken it one step further. BlinkHealth.com allows you to pay for your prescriptions online and pick them up at a local pharmacy.
Most people are not aware of the large discrepancy in price in prescriptions based on where you get them filled. Here is an example that will shock you. According to GoodRx.com, the price of generic Lipitor for a 30 day supply is $196.oo at Kmart, $61.00 at Kroger! You can buy that same prescription for $9.94 at Blink Health. What a giant difference!
With the new healthcare laws in effect, there are more people insured, but the healthcare companies have raised rates and deductibles to offset their cost, so there are still many people who can’t afford their prescription medications. Using a website like GoodRx.com or Blinkhealth.com can help save money on generic prescriptions. Unfortunately, there is no way to save on name brand drugs, as they are made by a single manufacturer and can cost hundreds to even thousands of dollars. The patients who need to use name brand drugs for whatever the reason are the patients who suffer the most from high medication costs. However, approximately 90 % of prescriptions written are for generic medications.
While these websites seem to be a step in the right direction, especially for people who do not have health insurance, or prescription insurance, it can still be argued that patients can save more by going through insurance companies.