Americans spend more on prescription drugs — average costs are about $1,200 per person per year — than anyone else in the world. 18.6% of people who experienced medical bankruptcy named prescription drugs as their biggest expense and 23% of Americans will choose to NOT fill a prescription due to the cost of the medication. As the cost of medications continue to rise, the need for medications also continues to rise.
Fortunately, there are some ways that patients should know about that can help offset the cost of prescription medications. Often, the cash price of your prescription may be significantly less than the price you would pay if you were to use your health insurance pharmacy benefit. Much like most anything else you would shop for, my advice for patients is to always look for the best deal when it comes to your medications even if you have a commercial insurance plan with a pharmacy benefit. There are several ways to price your prescriptions easily.
1. Download free apps like GoodRx, RxSaver, or SingleCare. These apps allow you to input your prescription information like drug name, dosage, and quantity, and then select a pharmacy search area by location or zip code. The app will give you the cash prices for your prescription and the relevant coupon codes that are required for the pharmacist to give you that price. I use GoodRx and RxSaver on a DAILY basis to check prescription costs for patients. This sometimes determines which pharmacy I will send a prescription to for a patient.
2. Blink Health is an app/website that works slightly differently. You input the same information like above however, this app allows you to pay for the prescription directly on the app/website. Once you have paid for the prescription, you have a choice of picking up the medication at a local pharmacy or having it mailed to you.
3. Pharmacies inside wholesale clubs like Costco and Sams are open to the public. You do not need a membership to use these pharmacies. Sometimes these pharmacies have the lowest prices for medications.
4. Florida Rx Card is a free statewide discount prescription assistance program. The program was launched to help uninsured and underinsured residents afford their prescriptions. There are no requirements needed to use the Florida Rx Card program. You can print, text, save or email cards free of charge from the website. You can also use the website to enter your medication information to find out pricing.
5. And last but not least, Cardona Direct Primary Care has a small pharmacy on-site that contains many common generic medications for sale at prices that are often significantly lower than at retail pharmacies. Dr. Cardona is able to obtain medications from pharmaceutical distributors a wholesale cost and pass those savings onto you. If a medication is not currently carried, it may be ordered and delivered to the clinic often within 24 hours. The Cardona Direct Primary Care pharmacy does not carry controlled medications.
Let's look at some examples of price comparing:
If you would like to take advantage of the pharmacy benefits at Cardona Direct Primary Care or the other many benefits of Direct Primary Care, enroll today!
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