I’ve seen some a few posts on how to save on prescriptions before. They’ve got some helpful advice for some people, but they didn’t do much for me.
For example, one of the top suggestions is to ask for generics. I’m already on generics. In fact, some insurance companies won’t cover the name brand medication when a generic is available. So that tip doesn’t apply to a lot of people.
The other advice I’ve heard is to get your doctor to prescribe a dosage that’s double what you actually take, then split the pills in half. Voila: two months’ supply for the price of one.
Clever. But none of my medications have an option that’s double my dosage.
So you can imagine how disheartened I was to find out that my new insurance’s copays were pretty different from the $15 I was used to.
Now that I’m back on Medicare, my prescriptions are:
- $7.87 for generic Lamictal (yay!)
- $15 for generic Adderall (the same)
- $37 for generic Wellbutrin (boooooo)
- $90 for tretinoin, generic Abilify and clindamycin (gulp)
The saving grace is that two of the three $90 meds aren’t monthly ones. The clindamycin lasts me about 6 months, and the tretinoin only needs filling about four times a year. But $90 a pop is still quite a ding in the ole pocketbook.
So imagine my delight when I finally tried GoodRx.com!
I went to the site and typed in my prescription’s name. Then I was taken to a page where I chose the dosage and number of pills from drop-down menus. Once I did that, I was presented with a list of pharmacies and their prices for my prescriptions.
All I had to do was choose one and print out or show the coupon on my phone at the register. And just like that I get the discounted price.
So how good are the savings? Reeeaaal good.
As it turns out, I’ll get the tretinoin cream for $34.86, which means I’ll save $220 a year.
Even better, my generic Abilify is only $26.50 at Fry’s. That’s a savings of $762 a year! No wait, that deserves more exclamation points: !!!!!!
The clindamycin will be $43.39 for a savings of $93 a year.
GoodRx also showed me that I can get my generic Wellbutrin at Walmart for $24 instead of my $37 copay. That’s a difference of $156 a year, bringing my total saved to $1,231. More exclamation points: !!!!!!
But wait, there’s more!
GoodRx has a program called GoldRx ($5.99 a month) that offers lower rates on a number of medications. You get a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) so I signed up and immediately found savings. Even better: Swagbucks is currently offering up to 2,025 SB (about $20.25) to try GoodRx Gold. So be sure to click that before you sign up!
Under GoodRx Gold, my generic Abilify will drop down to $15.79, which more than pays for the membership. My generic Lamictal would only drop $0.47, but I may as well transfer it anyway just so that everything but the bupropion is in one place.
I exclude the bupropion because it’s still cheaper at Walmart even with GoodRx Gold. And for some reason the cost of the tretinoin and clindamycin would go up, so I’ll continue to use the regular coupon for those.
Still, paying $5.99 ($71.88 a year) will save me an additional $11.18 a month ($134.16 a year), for a net savings of another $62. Meaning that I’ll actually save $1,294 on my prescriptions in 2019.
Just to be clear: These are medications that my insurance actually covers. It just requires overly high copays. In other words, you don’t have to be without insurance to benefit from GoodRx. Unless you have a $15 (or less) copay, it’s probably worth your while to go on over and check out the site.
How do you save on your medication costs? Have you ever tried GoodRx.com?
PS. This post was not sponsored by GoodRx. This is a wholehearted but independent endorsement.
Tina in NJ says
I noticed an ad for GoodRx as I read this post.
I was recently prescribed Entresto for heart failure. It’s a relatively new drug that they’ve been having good results with, but it’s expensive!!! I found GoodRx on my own, but the drug is too new for them to do better than my insurance. I am glad that you found such good savings, however.
Abigail says
Oh Tina, I’m so sorry to hear about your heart issues, though I’m glad they have you on something helpful for it! Sorry that you couldn’t find savings for the med. Have you checked out the company’s site to see if it has any programs to help with co-pays? I think some do, though I could be wrong.
Jody says
A lot of pharmaceutical companies offer this, especially when a drug is new. There are often restrictions on eligibility and duration, though. Definitely check the fine print!
Abigail says
Always, always read the fine print!
teinegurl says
wow that is amazing savings! woo hoo!
Abigail says
Yep, I was pretty psyched!
Sue says
As I started reading this I was thinking, “I have to tell her about GoodRx!” Good for you! Did you know that you don’t have to have a membership to Costco to use their pharmacy? I get my Cymbalta from there – it’s less expensive than my mail-away plan (CareMark, I think). If you go to Costco, just don’t use drug/insurance card & it comes to $20+ something for 90-day supply. CareMark same is close to $100! Crazy, I know! So now I’m always checking Costco first! And GoodRx!
Abigail says
Man, I wish I’d known about that when we were paying $80 a month for Tim’s Cymbalta! But good to know for future reference for sure.
Susan says
Good to know about this. It did not help on Armour Thyroid generic (I can’t find Naturethroid anywhere-production problems they claim) The $71 I paid for 60 days at Costco was less than the listed (I must have gotten a little insurance break.) Maybe I will look up some of my husband’s prescriptions.
Abigail says
Costco is another great place to save on prescriptions. I hope you find some of your husband’s meds on GoodRx!
Cheryl says
Ironically, I just saw a TV commercial about this!
My only recurring RX is my thyroid pill, and unfortunately I can’t take the generic—it throws my numbers off 🙁
I purchase 90 supply through my insurance mail order RX because it’s a little cheaper than buying monthly….. and it’s about the same as Good RX price. (Approx $30/month)
That being said, I’ll keep the app so I have it to check if I ever need other scripts!
Abigail says
Glad you’re able to get a decent price on your meds. Ordering 3 months at a time definitely helps!
paula says
Synthroid is aware that the generic does not work as well (for me either, and my pharmacist said it is ridiculous- up to 30 percent of people don’t find it effective.) If you go to the manufacturer’s website, they have a discount card for the name brand that can help. In fact, most drug companies have a low-income program (I think it’s about 30 grand a year after taxes) to help pay for expensive name-brand maintenance medications.
Delzicol has a discount card that brings it from a 120 copayment to 30 a month.
Abigail says
Thanks for the info, Paula. Useful stuff to know!
catseye says
I’ve wondered about GoodRx, thanks for the recommendation. I will def check it out.
Abigail says
Good, I hope it helps!
Evangeline says
The thing that amazed me was how varied the prices can be between pharmacies. One of my husband’s medications was between $35 and $211, depending on where it was purchased. Thank goodness our physician introduced us to GoodRX!
Abigail says
Yep, it can really vary depending on a lot of factors, including whether you’re at a preferred pharmacy or not. It’s pretty ridiculous when you get right down to it.
FrugalStrong says
I’ve been meaning to check out GoodRX. This is the motivation I need!
Abigail says
Glad to help be that final push!
Middle class says
Goodrx is great. You still have to compare prices but it has saved me hundreds over the years!
Abigail says
Yep, comparing prices is key, but man is it a life/money saver!