How to save big on prescription drugs at home and on the road

I first wrote about this website and app in 2015 but somehow, I kept forgetting about it, which has proven to be a costly mistake. Fortunately, I remembered it last night when my son’s doctor said he needed to get an inhaler after his bout of pneumonia. The doctor’s office called in the prescription and the pharmacy price was $320!

I quickly searched GoodRx.com and noticed that a pharmacy near me, one that I don’t usually go to, had it for $118. Don’t get me wrong, $118 is still ridiculously high but it’s a much better price than the original. I called Walgreens to confirm and they quoted me a price of $320. However, when I said that I saw it on GoodRX for $118, the pharmacist asked for the BIN, PCN, Group and Member ID numbers, all of which were on the site’s coupon. See screenshot below.

I was so happy for the savings, which is why I’m writing about it so everyone knows. Many of my own family members don’t even know about this or like me, forgot about it.

This service is especially good for travelers who are exploring the USA because God forbid someone gets sick or needs some kind of medication in an unfamiliar place, this is the website or app to have bookmarked.

GoodRx not only shows you the closest pharmacy to you, wherever you are in the US, but more importantly, it also finds the cheapest pharmacy to pick up prescriptions in your area. Many Americans don’t realize that prescription prices vary wildly from pharmacy to pharmacy, so GoodRx is really helpful in saving you money, especially important in this economy where every dollar counts.

All you need to do is type in the name of the drug you were prescribed, enter the area code and compare the costs. It’s that simple. It’s free and available on iOS, on Android and at GoodRx.com.

Here at home, we typically fill our prescriptions at the CVS inside Target because it’s convenient but since they don’t always have the lowest price, it’s always a good idea to compare the cost with other local pharmacies. It’s also a good idea to either have your doctor give you a written prescription that you can take to the pharmacy of your choosing or ask them to wait while you choose your pharmacy before they call it in for you. It will take you less than a minute to compare costs on GoodRx and it’s well worth the time.

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