Prescription drugs are an important tool in keeping seniors healthy. In fact, nearly 90% of seniors take some type of prescription medication.
Yet, while prescription medication is a key piece of the health picture for many seniors, rising prescription prices can take a bite out of a senior’s often fixed budget. Drug prices have outstripped the rate of inflation for several years, making often life-changing medication too expensive for some seniors.
Although prescription drug insurance can help lower costs on many medications, those without a prescription drug plan or who have less-than-optimal coverage can find themselves paying much of the drug costs themselves.
Luckily, help is available to lower the cost of many medications in the form of prescription drug discount plans. A variety of plans exist, and most are free to use. However, not all prescription discount plans and cards are the same, so it’s important to know how each one works.
To help you choose the best plan for the older adult in your life, we’ve gathered the basics on several of the most popular prescription discount plan options.
Savings Seeker Rx
The Savings Seeker Rx discount program is run by Vitality Medical, a provider of medical supplies and health and wellness products. The discount card is free to use and can be printed or downloaded to your mobile device.
Just type in your medication for a list of pharmacies and their prices so you can choose the one that’s best for you. With a large base of pharmacies to choose from, there’s a good chance you’ll find a discount that works for you.
Savings Seeker Rx works for many generic and brand name medications, including many controlled substances. Opioids, however, are not included in the program.
GoodRx
GoodRx differs from some other discount programs in that its best prices are found with individual coupons. If you want to give GoodRx a try, head to their website or download the mobile app and enter your drug information.
GoodRx will supply you with a coupon for the lowest price at nearby pharmacies from their list of more than 70,000 participating pharmacies. Print or download the coupon to your device and show it to your pharmacist.
The company does offer a discount card for those who can’t access the coupons on a regular basis but states that the discount card prices are often not as good as the coupon prices.
To get the best discounts, you’ll need to upgrade to the GoodRx Gold plan, a paid discount card that offers savings of up to 40% off GoodRx’s already discounted prices. A single-person subscription is $9.99 and a family plan for up to six members is $19.99 per month. You can also try the plan for free for 30 days.
ScriptSave WellRx
ScriptSave WellRx provides a free discount card for use at more than 65,000 pharmacies in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam. The average WellRx user saves 65% on their medications, but discounts on some drugs can be as much as 80%.
Simply print the card from their website or download the app. Search for your medication, then head to your pharmacy and present your card to receive the discount.
If more than one family member has prescriptions, every member can use the same card.
SingleCare
SingleCare works like many of the other discount card providers but with an added bonus: Although SingleCare has a smaller network of 35,000 participating pharmacies, the program offers rewards with every purchase.
Download the SingleCare app or print a savings card, then look up your prescription to find the best price near you. If you sign up for the bonus savings program, you’ll earn money toward future prescriptions with every purchase, making your cost even lower. You’ll receive $5 in bonus savings just for signing up.
If privacy is important to you, it’s important to note that SingleCare also promises not to sell your personal information.
Walgreens
Walgreens offers its own Prescription Savings Club for use in its stores. The subscription plan offers discounts on prescriptions as well as a 10% bonus on many Walgreens-branded items in their stores. The bonus is applied as a credit on your savings club account and can be used toward future purchases with some restrictions.
The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club costs $20 per year for a single membership and $35 per year for a family membership.
Once you’ve used your discount card in the store, you’re also eligible to use it to order your prescriptions through walgreens.com.
Optum Perks
Optum Perks offers both a discount card and discount coupons for free. The company recommends checking for a new coupon each time you fill your prescription, as prices can fluctuate and the new coupon may offer a better price.
Optum Perks works with a network of more than 64,000 pharmacies and doesn’t require any personal information to use the service. Simply search for your medication and print or download the coupon through their website or app, then show it at your pharmacy checkout to receive the discount.
RxSaver
With a network of more than 60,000 participating pharmacies, RxSaver can bring prescription medication costs down by up to 80%.
You can use either individual coupons or the RxSaver savings card to receive the best discounts. Simply print coupons or the card or store them in the RxSaver app. Present the coupon or card at the pharmacy and receive the discount.
You can identify the best price at your local pharmacies through the drug finder tool on both the RxSaver website and the app.
Important things to keep in mind
Prescription discount cards and coupons can be a helpful way to bring down the cost of medication for seniors. However, they’re not always the best option.
If an older adult has prescription drug insurance, it’s important to compare prices between the insurance co-pay and the discount card price to make sure you’re getting the best price possible.
Also, keep in mind that the discount card and insurance can’t be used together, and money spent using the discount card can’t be counted toward insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
It’s also important to read each discount provider’s privacy policy to be sure you understand how any personal information you provide will be used.
