EmailABC News’ Paula Faris reports:
After last week’s “Real Money” piece on saving thousands on prescription drugs, many viewers inquired about how easy it was to use the money-saving apps suggested by expert Michelle Katz.
So, Katz, a health care advocate, joined up with the ABC News team again and Doug Hirsch, the CEO of the popular app GoodRx.
Image credit: GoodRx
Want to learn how to slash those prescription drug bills? Join Katz in a Twitter chat at 7 p.m. ET today. Check it out here: @michellekatzmsn #RealMoney or www.facebook.com/healthcareforless
Here’s how the app works: Type in the drug and your location and the app will look for coupons as well as the best price for the drug in your area. Download the coupons to your smartphone or print them out from the GoodRx website.
GoodRx.com also provides the pharmacy’s number and gives directions on how to get there. The app also alerts consumers when a prescription drug loses its patent, which occurs after 12 years. In the next 18 months, popular drugs Nexium, Celebrex and Symbicort will all go generic.
Using the GoodRx app, the “Real Money” team found that in the Santa Monica area, where California retiree Lynda Bezdek lives, prices ranged from nearly $15 to almost $150 for a 30-day supply of 40 mg of the generic brand of Lipitor.
“It’s shocking,” Bezdek said.
The “Real Money” team learned that medication prices depended on numerous variables, such as a pharmacy’s contract with each drug supplier, discounts and coupons.
Although the Food and Drug Administration monitors the products, Hirsch said the agency does not regulate price, so consumers have to pay whatever the pharmacy charges — at times a 20 percent to 80 percent price difference for the same drug.
Thanks to GoodRx, though, Bezdek was able to cut her prescription bills in half, saving $2,280 on her medication.
“I am not tech savvy and I think this [the app] is very easy to use,” she said. “That’s real money.”
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Bought 180 days of 80mg lipitor generic from healthwarehouse.com for $66. I only need 40mg and split the pill. Cost per day equals 18.4 cents or $5.52 per month. This is way cheaper that the prices in the news broadcast where the cheapest 30 day was $15.
Posted by: Steve | March 5, 2013 March 5, 2013, 6:54 pm
I was unable to get prices for prescriptions over the phone or in person at our pharmacies. I was told they cannot give prices for medication unless I ordered it . 2 different pharmacies told me that. I was surprised your reporters had gotten a quote over the phone. How else would you try to save money if you can’t shop around for medications?
Posted by: Jane Terrell | March 5, 2013 March 5, 2013, 6:57 pm
pharmacies will not be able to tell you a price if you have a Prescription D plan without a written prescription and physicians are now doing e prescriptions via Fax so it is difficult to shop for a cheaper drug if you are on prescription D plan
Posted by: Jane Mantini | March 5, 2013 March 5, 2013, 7:17 pm
The National Health Service isn’t perfect but at least we’re spared having to shop around – prescriptions are either free or cost £7.65 (around $11.50) regardless of drug or amount prescribed. No charge for hospital stays and operations either.
Posted by: Peter | March 5, 2013 March 5, 2013, 9:06 pm
Tried the GoodRx app on Android – it didn’t work. Nice try
Posted by: Ted | March 5, 2013 March 5, 2013, 9:28 pm
In Maryland, the State Teachers Pension does NOT include health insurance. So when countywide union contracts are negotiated, the teachers themselves vote to have some payroll money set aside for long-county-service teachers who retired from their county to get 60%-85% (depending on the county) subsidized good, low-copay health insurance for life (at 65 it becomes Medicare supplemental, prescription, dental and vision insurance) which typically costs retirees in the neighborhood of $160/month/person. The incentive for the teachers to maintain the program so I can count on it for life is that the teachers know they’ll be retired one day – just as I did when I worked and voted every contract to take a hit in my pay for retirees. In an era when healthcare costs can destroy retirement comfort, that’s a wonderful program that few employees could organize without a union!
Posted by: The_Mick | March 6, 2013 March 6, 2013, 1:29 am
Please also note insurance companies often make deals with drug manufacturers to get special pricing on medications which force you to use that medication or pay huge co-pays.
Posted by: Sam | March 6, 2013 March 6, 2013, 11:02 am