Hey all,
So, just looking into this for myself for 2019, wondering if anyone else has already researched this, but basically I’m looking at increasing premiums for my prescription med coverage going into next year. I’m only on a handful of chronic meds (non-psych) and am looking into ways to save using online mail order plans (for buying like, 90 day to 120 day supplies).
I know there’s some through Walgreens and CVS but you still don’t save much - I’ve heard of some states close to Canada (like Michigan/N Dakota), where it’s actually legal to take your prescription across the border and get your meds filled. Anyone with any experience or advice on this?
A major factor is what exactly is your current insurance prescription coverage? It may have an online pharmacy.
Otherwise look at Walmart’s $4 prescriptions for many generics; buying a year’s worth of medication at a time at Costco and coupons from places like https://www.goodrx.com
Depending on your insurance, you may be required to fill scrips via mail order after the first 3 local fills - or pay the whole cost out of pocket. My company’s insurance is like that - though I’m now covered under my husband’s. That one has a similar proviso though they do allow you to opt out, which is a lifesaver for us now as my daughter is at a residential facility that requires everything to go through a local pharmacy (who charges 30 bucks a month to package everything in blister packs).
When I last had my own coverage, it had switched from Medco to Caremark. Which people grumble about - but I liked because in a pinch, I could order my 90-day supply to pick up at the local CVS. Avoid Optum if you have any choice whatsoever. They’ve screwed up a LOT of orders for us… like the time I sent off a stackful of new scrips, They were confused by one of them… and rather than contact me, they held ALL of them, causing me to nearly run out of some meds. And the time they decided that two my daughter’s scrips for ADHD medication were duplicates. One said “fill now” and the other said “fill in 4 weeks”. Well in 4 weeks, the kid had no medication. And my mother-in-law was receiving meds for her multiple myeloma, they didn’t ship it in time, and they blamed HER for not ordering it (and grudgingly overnighted it “just this once”). If we weren’t stuck with them, I wouldn’t touch them with a 200 mile pole. We call them “Dropped-em Rx” for good reason.
I wonder if Walgreens mail order might have something similar to CVS/Caremark, where you can get your 90-day scrip locally if need be.
I do believe it’s legal to get your scrips filled in Canada as long as it’s clearly for personal use. I’d be leery of using a mail-order Canadian pharmacy without doing a LOT of checking to make sure it’s a reputable one, as I’ve read stories of bad ones out there.
If insurance isn’t the issue, I’d second PastTense’s suggestions about Costco and Walmart. I’m pretty sure Costco has to fill scrips even for non-members, at least in some states.
I have used both the local Walgreens and OptumRx. Initially the Walgreens was used, and I did like it - the service was great, and i could easily stop by and chat with the pharmacist if there was a problem.
Then my insurance encouraged me to switch to OptumRs. I did save some smallish about of money, but their website was so bad I resorted to phone calls. And even then there were delays and lack of notification of shipping. Finally after 2 years I have switched back to my local Walgreens. Yes, it costs a bit more, but there is a pharmacist who has caught errors, and who goes the extra amount needed to make everything work.
My insurer will allow a 30 day supply of my maintenance drugs to be filled locally but everything longer is through CVS/Caremark. They will offer to contact my Dr if my prescription has expired. They also send emails then phone calls during the last week if I have not refilled my 90 supply. This tends to happen often as my drugs can be forgotten every now and then without adverse effects so over 90 days I end up with a few days worth extra. I tend to not worry until I empty the last pills into the daily planners. I have never tried to see if I can fill locally when I run out. They may offer it but I glossed over it if they do.
Do check into whether you can do the 90-day at CVS. It might be plan-specific, but I was pretty pleased with how it worked for me.
Some plans will put you on auto-fill where you automatically get the next 3-month supply when you’re running low. Dropped-em does - which is mostly convenient though it won’t let you build up much of a backlog. Manually requesting a refill will get your meds slightly sooner - there’s still a limit as to how early you can get the refill, but it’s sooner than the auto-refill. I had several scrips due to be auto-filled on January 2, and I requested them to be filled right away last week, and it worked out well (this was useful because of the new plan year and the new deductible).
Most mail order pharmacies will contact the doctor but I’ve had mixed results especially with a new or unusual scrip. It was a month between the time my doctor wanted me to up one medication and the time I got it sorted out. 500 mg was fine. 1000 mg required preapproval. Which Dropped-em never got figured out - they claimed the doc never responded, doc claimed they never got any paperwork. I know which way I’m leaning.
Interestingly, a dose of two 500 mg tablets did NOT require preapproval, and I suggested that as an option early on. That took a bunch of phone calls too.
Hi all,
Thanks for the amazing responses and information! I looked into all the options recommended and they seem pretty competitive. I noticed for $4 per month plans ($10 for 3 month supply), that the formularies are all a little different for generics? I guess this just depends on which company/retail service you go with. I also stumbled upon this service called SecureTabs, seems kinda similar to GoodRx but with better prices. Does anyone have any experience with ordering from them? (here) It looks like it’s FDA approved and has pretty good patient information for various prescriptions. I was thinking about ordering a 30 day supply of just one med to see how it goes, but before I do was wondering if anyone happened to have experience with them?
I checked SecureTabs. Looks like a Canadian pharmacy. No idea if it is reliable. It is far more expensive for me than WalMart since most of my meds are on the $4 plan. Several grocery chains have similar $4 plans.
Talk with your doctor and see if a medicine that might work well for you is available on a $4 plan. I was diagnosed diabetic last year and when Metformin (on the $4 plan) alone wasn’t enough the doctor was going to add Jardiance (about $475 per month). I mentioned the price issue and reminded her of another medical issue that might not make Jardiance the best for me. We settled on an older drug, Amaryl, which is available in generic for $4 per month. It has worked very well for me. $8 per month for the two diabetes meds instead of $479 and the diabetes counselor is very happy with by HbA1C.
Though quite pleased with WalMart pharmacy pricing ($36.04 in total per month for six prescriptions) this thread made me shop around. I found a mail order pharmacy that was even cheaper ( www dot mailmyprescriptions dot com ) and they came in at $33.20 for a two month supply of the same meds. More than half off in my case. YMMV.
Their website allows price comparison by searching medication and dosing. They were showing higher on one medication but he matched the WalMart pharmacy price. Free shipping. Took a few days to get the refills transferred from the old pharmacy. OK for maintenance medications but not good enough for something acute.
I’ll plan my next doctor visit to update prescriptions for when I still have a couple weeks of meds in my medicine cabinet so I can be sure to place my order to have an uninterrupted supply.
They are located in Florida and licensed in 49 of the 50 states. (Sorry, Alabama. They are working on it.) Fine print on their website shows they do not carry certain meds that require certain kinds of special handling.
I have no affiliation with them other than as a customer. So far, so good. May not be a better option for some. Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer.