Today, prescription drug expenses make up nearly 20% of total health care costs. Even worse, the price of prescription medication has been increasing in drastic increments since 2014 and doesn’t show any signs of lowering any time in the near future. Is there a way for patients to get a discount on prescriptions they need? Thankfully, the answer is yes. Rx cards (drug discount cards) and their prescription assistance programs exist to make prescribed medication more affordable for patients.

Using an Rx Card

If you have a stellar health insurance plan, you will not be eligible for an RX card. The purpose of health insurance is to help you cover expenses for any medical help you might need, and this includes getting medication at an affordable price. However, the system and most health insurance plans don’t always work perfectly. With this said, you want to use an Rx card if you or a family member:

• Needs medications that are only partly covered by your insurance
• Needs medications that are not at all covered by your insurance
• Have no health insurance

Discounts On Prescription Assistance Programs

It varies depending on the RX card and the program it uses, but the average discount on prescriptions you can get ranges from 15% to 18%. However, there are prescription assistance programs that offer complete coverage for specific prescription medications— 100% off your medication. Utilizing RX card programs through Advocate My Meds allows you to utilize your own pharmacist and physician and even provides options for mailed prescriptions right to your home or local pharmacy for easy pickup.

How Exactly do Rx Cards Work?

A system is set in place for Rx cards to become functional. First, a pharmacy benefits manager— PBM—creates a network of pharmacies that agree to participate and accept the Rx cards. The PBM goes on to consult with each pharmacy chain so that all the participating pharmacies offer a discount on both the generic and brand name prescriptions they handle for Rx card-holding customers. The discount is almost always a percentage of the cash price of the medication and typically varies from drug to drug. After negotiating with the pharmacies, the PBM searches for companies or organizations to promote and sell their Rx cards. These groups— marketers— could be either for-profit companies or non-profit organizations. In any case, they are the ones who make Rx cards available to the public. Advocate My Meds has paired with these organizations so that patients don’t have to choose between the 700+ RX cards available to the public, but can have access to the medication discounts offered by all RX cards with through one service.

The Benefits of the Advocate My Meds Program

Rx cards can be found online, but most of the time they are provided by state governments, non-profit organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and sometimes retail stores. However, instead of settling for an Rx card that doesn’t accommodate all your needs, Advocate My Meds can help match you with the programs that can help you the most. Advocate My Meds’ program differs from a single Rx discount card by:

• Providing discounts on multiple medications instead of a single prescription
• Ability to receive discounts for any number of prescription medications
• Shipping prescriptions directly to local pharmacists instead of specific locations
• Offering 24/7 patient support throughout the lifetime of the service

Contact Us for a Discount on Prescriptions

The cost of healthcare may continue to increase well into the foreseeable future, and many consumers are having more and more difficulty affording the medications they need. The good news is that there are a number of ways for you to save money at the pharmacy, including the use of the prescription assistance services provided by Advocate My Meds. You don’t have to empty your pockets trying to get the treatments that you need for your diagnosed ailment. You CAN afford your medications, and we can help you do so! For more information about how to get a discount on prescriptions, please contact us at 877-596-1604.