GoodRX, does it really work?

[Victorious1 164]

So my company dropped the insurance carrier we've been using for the last ten years and switched to a new carrier this year.  My wife & I glossed over the prescription coverage when we selected a new plan and we found out last month, the hard way, it has a deductible to meet before coverage kicks in.  We literally had to go back to the doctor and they helped find an online place to order for less than half the cost of the local pharmacy.

Has anyone ever use GoodRx to buy scripts and does it really work?  My wife was checking some of the costs and they were substantially less.

Seems too easy so the warning alarm is going off.

In the mean time I will send a strongly worded message to our company's "voice of the workforce" about company provided insurance. /sarcasm, strong/

[NeverMarryAStripper 21921]

Yes, it really works and it's very easy.  Do the search, print the coupon, go get your stuff.  I have used it quite a bit and have never had the coupon not work.

What the above says about our healthcare system in general, and the pharmaceutical industry specifically is a separate subject. 

Edited April 29, 2020 by NeverMarryAStripper

[conVINCEd 21469]

I’m not sure exactly how it works, but it works. 

[midtown 3348]

Works.  For most common drugs it's not much in my experience so you are better using your health plan so you add to your deductible.   It really helps when you have some kind of odd script that might be $100 or more. 

[Victorious1 164]

33 minutes ago, midtown said:

Works.  For most common drugs it's not much in my experience so you are better using your health plan so you add to your deductible.   It really helps when you have some kind of odd script that might be $100 or more. 

Yes, brought that to the wife's attention, we'll never hit the deductible if we source outside the insurance plan.  But when we were used to a $10-$15 co-pay for so many years it's a tough pill to swallow.  /pun intended/

[Heisenberg 162]

It works great at HEB Pharmacy.  HEB also has some similar arrangement that yields similar prices.  In 2019 I was with United and goodrx or HEB's internal discount were always less cost than United.  This year I am with AETNA and so far the AETNA prices have been lower than goodrx or HEB' internal.  Based on last year's experience I check the various prices everytime.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Heisenberg

[Nice Guy Eddie 13523]

Never hurts to check them out. Worst case is that they’re not cheaper and then use your insurance. It’s not like they can present you with a bill 6 months later since you don’t have an agreement with them.

[Red Six 131]

Walgreen's wanted $340 to fill my sildenafil Rx.

Got it for $12 at HEB thanks to GoodRx.

[Updawg 2286]

Walgreen's wanted $340 to fill my sildenafil Rx.

Got it for $12 at HEB thanks to GoodRx.

What a dumbass system we have. Wouldn’t that be price gouging if it wasn’t healthcare.

[HRSchenker 2273]

GoodRx is one of the biggest scams in health care in my opinion. You're better off using an independent pharmacy and asking them for better pricing than going to a chain using those garbage cards.

[TwiceHorn 31536]

31 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

GoodRx is one of the biggest scams in health care in my opinion. You're better off using an independent pharmacy and asking them for better pricing than going to a chain using those garbage cards.

How is it a scam?  

[NeverMarryAStripper 21921]

Well they tell you that you can get your prescriptions cheaper and tell you what the price will be. Then they do just what they say they’re going to do. What a scam.

[TwiceHorn 31536]

3 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Well they tell you that you can get your prescriptions cheaper and tell you what the price will be. Then they do just what they say they’re going to do. What a scam.

My question was sincere.  They don't charge anything, right?  The prices may not be the absolute lowest, but if they're lower than most seems fair.

Maybe there's something else going on?

[HRSchenker 2273]

15 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

How is it a scam?  

It's a scam from two angles both as a business owner and as a patient. GoodRx isn't free. What you pay at the register is the cost of the drug plus a fee ranging from $5 to $25 that I collect on your behalf and send to GoodRx which causes me to lose money on the prescription. Most of the time I lose money on those claims so why even use the card? Might as well give you my goods for free. I have contracts with PBMs like Express Scripts and Optum that say I must process their claims. Not a big deal since we contract out with state Medicaid and other plans. But sometimes GoodRx uses the same processor which means I'm contractually obligated to accept the card even though I don't have a contract with GoodRx. They pay me absolutely nothing. The only money I get is what you pay at the register minus the fee. What other industry is it acceptable to have a third party you don't have an agreement with artificially lower your price? The next time you go to Chick Fil A give them my GoodChicken card. Your $5 sandwich will be $4 and you can have their manager mail me my $10 processing fee. See what they say!

It's bad for patients because if you have insurance you need to use it. Using the excuse of deductibles and out of pocket expenses isn't valid because at any point you could require an ambulance or ER services and you screw yourself by going outside of it. I have to give you an example otherwise it sounds like I'm being a shill for the insurance company. At my old employer years ago we had an $6k deductible plan for both medical and pharmacy. $20 copay for general practitioners, $150 copay for emergency room, and prescriptions were full price for everything until you hit the $6k. October of that year I went to the emergency room for a kidney stone that brought me to my knees. I was charged over $10k but I was only responsible for the $6k plus $150 emergency room copay and whatever pain meds I got. Final bill was roughly $6,150 plus the cost of my pain meds. My coworker is an asthmatic who gets Advair and Proair once a month but the insurance price was too much so he used GoodRx. Brought it down to $250 instead of the $400 the insurance wanted to charge him. November of that year he goes to the emergency room for a heart attack. Gets a bill for over $50k but is only responsible for the contracted amount. Can you guess? $6,150 plus the cost of his discharge meds post-heart attack. His bill should have been $2,000 but he never used his insurance for his breathing meds. He saved $150 a month using GoodRx and ended up spending more because of it. So if you really insist on having lower cost drugs, just use an independent that's willing to price match. Most of the time independents beat the chains in price anyway.

By the way, you know GoodRx sells your information right? How else do they make money to run ads during the Super Bowl? Consumer Reports had a long article detailing how they do it. Of course someone is going to bring up HIPAA but they're exempt from it. Health plans and their providers are the ones obligated to protect the information in the manner laid out by HIPAA. GoodRx is a private business that doesn't employ pharmacists, nurses, physicians, etc. They're obviously not a hospital. Any information you give them they are under no obligation to protect. Of course there will be some people who say that giving up that info in exchange for lower drug prices is worth it which is fine. Just don't let me catch you complaining about big brother watching your every move. I can't stop you from putting a price tag on your medical privacy.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13523]

Sounds like you should complain to your industry or vendors if you have no choice but to accept goodrx claims that cause you to lose money. Your claims processors must get paid to screw you. I would be on the phone with them everyday.

I don’t buy that people should pay full or higher prices just to help satisfy high deductibles. Most people with high deductibles do not hit the deductible Amount every year or even many years. Therefore paying extra for prescriptions is throwing money away.

and yes I would hope most people assume goodrx sells your information. Of course, I’m not even sure you have to use your real info with them. 

[HRSchenker 2273]

6 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

and yes I would hope most people assume goodrx sells your information. Of course, I’m not even sure you have to use your real info with them. 

You're not being serious, right? When I bill GoodRx I transmit everything to them. Your name, your DOB, address, medication info, etc. It's all or nothing unless your physician is sending over prescriptions with a fake name.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13523]

I understand that the pharmacist has to know who I am when it comes to matching the prescription from the physician to me. Now does GoodRx info have to match that info 100%?  I have no idea.

Can you explain more about how you're required to accept prescription payments regardless of your cost? How does GoodRx negotiate their stated prices with the pharmacy or the drug distribution companies? Does GoodRx or anyone just decide for themselves what they're willing to pay and everyone has to go along with it without pushback?

[BearSchlong 8114]

Hindsight being what it is, your asthmatic coworker should have done a better job planning his heart attack. (I kid. . .)

So what you're saying is that GoodRX has figured out how to get their supply chain to subsidize their business.  Kind of like Netflix did with the USPS and DVDs, and later on with internet providers.  Sounds awful.

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by BearSchlong

[TwiceHorn 31536]

12 hours ago, HRSchenker said:

It's a scam from two angles both as a business owner and as a patient. GoodRx isn't free. What you pay at the register is the cost of the drug plus a fee ranging from $5 to $25 that I collect on your behalf and send to GoodRx which causes me to lose money on the prescription. Most of the time I lose money on those claims so why even use the card? Might as well give you my goods for free. I have contracts with PBMs like Express Scripts and Optum that say I must process their claims. Not a big deal since we contract out with state Medicaid and other plans. But sometimes GoodRx uses the same processor which means I'm contractually obligated to accept the card even though I don't have a contract with GoodRx. They pay me absolutely nothing. The only money I get is what you pay at the register minus the fee. What other industry is it acceptable to have a third party you don't have an agreement with artificially lower your price? The next time you go to Chick Fil A give them my GoodChicken card. Your $5 sandwich will be $4 and you can have their manager mail me my $10 processing fee. See what they say!

It's bad for patients because if you have insurance you need to use it. Using the excuse of deductibles and out of pocket expenses isn't valid because at any point you could require an ambulance or ER services and you screw yourself by going outside of it. I have to give you an example otherwise it sounds like I'm being a shill for the insurance company. At my old employer years ago we had an $6k deductible plan for both medical and pharmacy. $20 copay for general practitioners, $150 copay for emergency room, and prescriptions were full price for everything until you hit the $6k. October of that year I went to the emergency room for a kidney stone that brought me to my knees. I was charged over $10k but I was only responsible for the $6k plus $150 emergency room copay and whatever pain meds I got. Final bill was roughly $6,150 plus the cost of my pain meds. My coworker is an asthmatic who gets Advair and Proair once a month but the insurance price was too much so he used GoodRx. Brought it down to $250 instead of the $400 the insurance wanted to charge him. November of that year he goes to the emergency room for a heart attack. Gets a bill for over $50k but is only responsible for the contracted amount. Can you guess? $6,150 plus the cost of his discharge meds post-heart attack. His bill should have been $2,000 but he never used his insurance for his breathing meds. He saved $150 a month using GoodRx and ended up spending more because of it. So if you really insist on having lower cost drugs, just use an independent that's willing to price match. Most of the time independents beat the chains in price anyway.

By the way, you know GoodRx sells your information right? How else do they make money to run ads during the Super Bowl? Consumer Reports had a long article detailing how they do it. Of course someone is going to bring up HIPAA but they're exempt from it. Health plans and their providers are the ones obligated to protect the information in the manner laid out by HIPAA. GoodRx is a private business that doesn't employ pharmacists, nurses, physicians, etc. They're obviously not a hospital. Any information you give them they are under no obligation to protect. Of course there will be some people who say that giving up that info in exchange for lower drug prices is worth it which is fine. Just don't let me catch you complaining about big brother watching your every move. I can't stop you from putting a price tag on your medical privacy.

How does GoodRx compel you to pay their fee?  I am assuming that it's not something you have agreed to accept and have a contract with them to pay them?  Seems like that's what you posted?

Or is it?

[NeverMarryAStripper 21921]

All I know is that my prescription that would cost me $414 a month costs $135 a month with GoodRx.  So yes I'm going to use it.  If that gets your panties in a wad so be it.

[Your Mom 4852]

My kid's vyvanse is way cheaper with GoodRx than without and my deductible is only $200/$300 so it's a solid deal for us even without eating into the deductible.  

[Nice Guy Eddie 13523]

I agree its a confusing business model.  Pay your insurance company a fee to presumably negotiate on your behalf and you pay X for a prescription. Pay GoodRx nothing and they cut that prescription bill by 2/3.

I assume the insurance company could care less to some extent as it saves them money if you use GoodRx. 

[zork 629]

Why not honor the GoodRx price when shown the card and then you don't have to pay them their fee?  It was my price so they didn't need to use the card and thus I don't owe you your fee since your card wasn't actually used.  Or something.

[DFWTexEx 278]

My doc turned me on to it.  Prices are lower than negotiated insurance costs (at least for me).

[gyroprotagonist 2595]

more info on GoodChicken card, plz

but + rep for great explanation 

[HRSchenker 2273]

10 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I understand that the pharmacist has to know who I am when it comes to matching the prescription from the physician to me. Now does GoodRx info have to match that info 100%?  I have no idea.

Can you explain more about how you're required to accept prescription payments regardless of your cost? How does GoodRx negotiate their stated prices with the pharmacy or the drug distribution companies? Does GoodRx or anyone just decide for themselves what they're willing to pay and everyone has to go along with it without pushback?

 

8 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

How does GoodRx compel you to pay their fee?  I am assuming that it's not something you have agreed to accept and have a contract with them to pay them?  Seems like that's what you posted?

Or is it?

Most major insurance companies use a pharmacy benefit manager to process their prescription claims. These are companies like Express Scripts and Optum. The contracts I have with insurance companies say I must accept prescriptions that use the processor even though I don't have a direct contract with GoodRx. I've never signed anything with them, never met a representative from their company, but I'm compelled to use the card. I've never negotiated pricing with them nor has anyone who represents me. They artificially lower prices. Now that the gag clause is gone I can explain this to patients and they're usually fine with me not using the card which is great for me and the patient. 

8 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

All I know is that my prescription that would cost me $414 a month costs $135 a month with GoodRx.  So yes I'm going to use it.  If that gets your panties in a wad so be it.

Hey I can't stop you from doing it. If you want to put a price tag on your medical privacy and risk a few grand that you won't get into medical trouble then that's on you. I totally believe in patient autonomy. 

[Updawg 2286]

So are they really making up the difference in buying/selling people’s medical info? What do they do with it?

 

Sell it to life insurance companies or other insurance to help deny you down the road?

[Zepol87 9191]

It works great. The app is a breeze to use. It has helped my gf in the past when she got laid off and didn't have insurance. I have no idea how it works but I know my pharmacists friends aren't happy when people use it so I am pretty sure it is a good thing. 

edit: drive by posted by actually went up and read a bit. Good info in here. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Zepol87
read more

[Nice Guy Eddie 13523]

Not an attack on the poster but what an odd contract that insurance companies are requiring that all claims thru the processor must be accepted by the pharmacy. Why wouldn’t the large pharmacies companies say no to that clause?

It’s like that whataburger agreed to accept all Visa cards, and I worked with visa to create a 50% off whataburger Visa card that whataburger never agreed to.