You Can Save Money Shopping for Prescription Drugs

You Can Save Money Shopping for Prescription Drugs

The Competitor Rx Copay Card

Prescription Discount Program

This program is designed to educate you on the use of generic and other low-cost brand name drugs. This program is designed to help you find medications within the same therapeutic class as a drug you may currently be taking. Most of all, this plan is designed to Save You Money on your prescription drug costs.

NOTE: If you are on Medicare, see Medicare Part D prescription drug plans Medicare Part D rather than purchasing a discount card.

Special Features

Available nationwide at over 42,000 pharmacies
Convenient Internet enrollment for instant coverage
Prescription Drugs: $10 Generic Co-Pay and $20 Preferred Brand Name Co-Pay
Automatic Acceptance - no underwriting or health questions
No time limits for pre-existing conditions
No monthly or annual maximums
Available up to age 65

To view a list of all drugs and pharmacies which are covered by this plan, you can click here.

Download Brochure - Application

Review Coverage - Get Quote - Apply Online

Health Insurance Underwriter Article

Reprint of a selection from an article in the October 2003 issue of The Health Insurance Underwriter magazine written by Devon Herrick, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis Dallas, TX.

We appreciate their cooperation in allowing us to reprint a portion of this article for your use. The selection follows and a link to the full article can be found at the bottom of the page.

Compare Prices Locally

Drug prices vary considerably, yet many people assume prices are uniform and do not bother to shop for the best prices. A survey conducted in Missouri for the Heartland Institute found prudent shopping saved consumers almost 10% on branded drugs and a whopping 81% on generics, on the average. Moreover, prices differed within cities anywhere from 3 to 16% for branded medication and 39 to 159% for generic medications. As an example, take generic Prozac (Fluoxetine), which is used for the treatment of depression:

- Many stores mark up Fluoxetine 3,000 to 5,000% over its wholesale cost.

- A survey in Pennsylvania found 100 20mg capsules selling for $18.18 at one store and $286.99 at another. The average across 13 stores surveyed was $148.

- A similar survey from Florida found Fluoxetine varied from $16.47 at one store to $267.19 at another.

- A survey from central Kansas found the identical Fluoxetine prescription for a low of $12.69 and a high of $226.39.

These are not isolated incidents. Similar surveys find an abundance of examples. Interestingly, the surveys show that small independent pharmacies often have better prices for generic medications than the large chain stores.

Internet Information Services

A patient with a prescription can find a range of prices by checking a few pharmacy Internet sites. A unique website called DestinationRx.com collects prices from several competitive pharmacies, allowing consumers to compare prices without having to go to individual pharmacy sites. The variation in prices can be considerable. At last check, they ranged from $118.15 to a mere $15.80 for a generic equivalent -- a potential savings of more than $100 on one prescription alone.

Rxaminer.com, cofounded by cardiologist Joseph C. Rogers, is a Web-based service that helps patients find medications that are comparable to but cheaper than the ones they currently take. Customers enter the names and dosages of medications and Rxaminer compares them, suggests substitutes (often two choices) and enables the user to print a report detailing potential savings from substitutes. The patient can then discuss the report with his or her physician to see if a less costly medication is an option.

Link to full article: here

Prescription Drug Sites of Interest

Together Rx is a prescription savings program that provides savings to eligible Medicare enrollees on more than 150 widely prescribed medicines-right at the pharmacy counter.

NeedyMeds is the place to learn about patient assistance programs and other programs designed to help those who can't afford their medicines.

Peoples Prescription Plan can save you money on prescriptions, eyeware and contact lenses, vitamins, hearing aids and more!

Eli Lilly: Applicants must be U.S. senior citizens who are disabled or enrolled in the Medicare program, with annual income of $18,000 (individual) or $24,000 (couple), who have no other prescription coverage.

Call 1-877-RXLILLY or visit Lilly Answers for more information.

Pfizer: Applicants must be U.S. residents 65 years of age or older with annual income of $18,000 (individual) or $24,000 (couple) who have no other prescription coverage. For more information, call 1-800-717-6005 or visit Pfizer for Living.

Everyone's Rx is a service for people that provides medications to US Residents that make less than $16,000 for a single person or $25,000 per household.

Novartis CareSource is an extensive guide to online resources for information on Medicare, disease and healthy living, featuring expert-driven content from leading institutions and online resources including HealthandAge.com.

Visit HelpingPatients.org, a new interactive web site created by PhRMA and 48 of its member companies that lets patients search for prescription drug assistance programs.

PharmacyChecker - Save money! Compare prescription drug prices across online pharmacies for 1,000+ medications. You'll also see shipping and other fees so you can compare total costs, along with ratings of each online pharmacy.

Rx Outreach, the country's first prescription drug assistance program for generic drugs, offers more than 50 different FDA-approved generic medicines for health problems such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, breast cancer, and depression.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America's pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that's right for them.