Discounts &/or Coupons for medications; Where to get them?

Brand name medications can be expensive. As a result, 9 out of 10 prescriptions filled in the US are the generic version per the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

However, what if you must take the brand name medication (still under patent protection or if a generic version is not yet available or approved), or if the generic version is still quite expensive? One method is to use discount cards or coupons to reduce the cost.

Additionally, you might consider using a discount card/coupon if you are without health insurance, do not have drug/pharmacy coverage, or if even after going through your insurance, the medication you need is cost-prohibited.

In general, discount cards cannot be combined with your insurance and replace your drug coverage; you'd want to use it when it's cheaper than your copay or out of pocket expense/deductible. On the other hand, a coupon usually reduces your out of pocket expense or copay, and your insurance coverage still gets billed for the covered portion of the cost.

Discount Cards (examples)

Name	Website	Quick Note
GoodRx	https://www.goodrx.com/	Probably the best known of them all. Per the site, the discount card is accepted at over 70,000 US pharmacies. You can search for medications directly or look up by common conditions. No membership required, but also has a monthly healthcare membership program that provides additional savings and home delivery on eligible medications. Overall, widely accepted at pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, and many groceries' pharmacies.
WellRx	https://www.wellrx.com/	Per the site, accepted at over 65,000 US pharmacies. No membership required. Searchable by name and provide drug information, interactions, etc. and add multiple medications to a "Pricing Basket" to see all of them in a glance.
SingleCare	https://www.singlecare.com/	Per the site, the discount card is accepted at over 35,000 US pharmacies. No membership required.
RxSaver	https://www.rxsaver.com/	Does not list the number of stores, but major pharmacies are all included. No membership required.
Optum Perks	https://perks.optum.com/	Runs by Optum, which is part of the insurance giant, UnitedHealth Group. Per the site, accepted at over 64,000 US pharmacies.

Coupons

As mentioned above, these are to reduce your copay / out of pocket cost. In general, these coupons are only applicable if you have commercial insurance (e.g. United, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, etc.). Pharmaceutical companies are willing to subsidize your portion of the cost as they will still make money from your drug coverage.

Table with Example Medications

Example Medications	Website
Eliquis (Apixaban)	https://www.eliquis.bmscustomerconnect.com/savings
Farxiga (Dapagliflozin)	https://www.farxiga.com/savings-support
Wegovy (Semaglutide injection)	https://www.wegovy.com/coverage-and-savings/save-on-wegovy.html
Brilinta (Ticagrelor)	https://www.brilintahcp.com/affordability/savings-card.html

You might start your search on Google for coupons to the specific medication that you need. You can also check the pharmaceutical companies' website directly.

Occasionally, your specialist's office/clinic, especially if it's attached to a larger healthcare system with pharmacists on staff, may have physical coupons available. It doesn't hurt to ask if the cost is still too high despite your insurance coverage.