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Is a Discount Card Cheaper Than My Insurance Copay?

Use the free tool — Prescription Price Cutter

What is a discount card?

A discount card is a card or app that can lower the cash price of a prescription at many pharmacies. It is not insurance. Prices differ by pharmacy — ask the pharmacist for the cash price, the discount-card price, and the insurance price, then compare.

Why a discount card is not always better

• A discount card usually cannot be combined with your insurance on the same fill. You use one or the other, not both.
• If you use a discount card instead of your insurance, that fill may not count toward your deductible.
• The only way to know which is cheaper this time is to ask for all three prices at the counter and compare them.

Other paths worth checking first

• Ask the pharmacist if your drug is on a retail $4 generic list.
• FDA-approved generics must meet the same standards as the brand-name drug (FDA — Generic drug facts). Ask your prescriber whether a generic is appropriate for you.
• Search manufacturer and charity assistance programs for your drug by name at the Medicine Assistance Tool · NeedyMeds.
• If you have no insurance, a community health center may charge on a sliding scale and often has a 340B-priced pharmacy. Find one at HRSA — Find a health center.

If you have Medicare Part D

Part D now caps what you pay for covered drugs at $2,000 a year, and insulin is capped at $35 a month (Medicare.gov — Part D costs). If your income is limited, Extra Help can pay most of your Part D costs — apply free at SSA — Extra Help with Medicare drug costs. You can also ask your plan for a formulary or tiering exception, and during Open Enrollment (October 15 to December 7) compare plans for your exact drug list on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Florida SHINE gives free, unbiased help with all of this at 1-800-963-5337 (Florida SHINE).

Insulin specifically

For Medicare Part D and Part B, insulin is capped at $35 a month. For a commercial or employer plan, ask the manufacturer whether their own $35 insulin program applies to you.

What to say at the counter

• "Can you tell me the cash price, the discount-card price, and my insurance price for this, so I can compare?"
• "Is there a generic or a $4 version of this?"
• "If I use a discount card instead of my insurance, will it still count toward my deductible?"

Never stop, skip, split, or change a medicine on your own. If cost is making you skip doses, tell your prescriber and pharmacist today — they can often help the same day.

What to do next

Prescription Price Cutter is a free tool that reads your own drug, dose, price, and coverage and lines up the cheaper paths that apply to you, in order, plus the exact words to use at the counter. Nothing you type is stored. It is not medical, pharmacy, or insurance advice — confirm any program or price with your pharmacist, your prescriber, or Florida SHINE at 1-800-963-5337.

Prescription Price Cutter explains ways to lower prescription costs in plain language from official sources; it can be wrong, and it is not medical, pharmacy or insurance advice. It never states a drug price. Talk to your prescriber before any change. Nothing you type is stored.