When meeting with clients, many questions come up about using Good Rx and how it works with their Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. While it can be tricky to navigate and understand the difference, using a pharmaceutical assistance program like Good Rx can be very helpful in saving money especially for Seniors on a fixed income! Let’s clarify some of the details to help you make the best use of these products and programs.
How Good Rx Works
Pharmacy assistance or discount programs like Good Rx are NOT insurance. You do not pay any kind of premium to access the discounts. It is not an actual prescription drug plan. So, in terms of Medicare, it is important to understand that if you use a discount program like Good Rx to fill your prescription, the money you do pay does not count towards your plan’s deductible if you have one nor does it factor into the amount of spend going towards the coverage gap phase or ‘donut hole’. However, it still may be worth using rather than your Part D prescription drug plan for certain medications. And you do not have to use it for all your refills. Many people will compare the prices of their Medicare Part D plan to the Good Rx price. They will then fill some with the Part D plan and other prescriptions with Good Rx depending on the price. And that is perfectly okay to do.
Do I Even Need a Medicare Part D Plan?
Some folks may think their Good Rx card is a prescription drug card and thus feel as though they don’t need to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan. To reinforce, Good Rx is not an actual prescription drug plan. Although it may save Medicare Beneficiaries money on some of their drugs, it will not be better for ALL drugs. The best recommendation is to get an Independent Insurance Agent to ensure you are on the best Part D plan for your entire medication list, but then compare each drug price to Good Rx. You can mix and match to get the best deal. In addition, there could be a penalty involved if a Medicare Beneficiary does not have a creditable prescription drug plan in place. [See Blog ‘Creditable Coverage Pitfalls’]
Good Rx – One of Many
Good Rx is the most well-known of the pharmacy discount programs but is not the only option. If you are a real coupon collector and are good at finding deals, you may want to shop around other programs that are similar to Good Rx. Others include Optum Perks, Single Care, ScriptSave WellRx, Blink Health, and Rx Saver. While Good Rx has broad reach, some of the others may have better discounts for specialty care needs like home delivery or medications for chronic illness.
Pharmacist Intervention
Here is a public service announcement to be leery and careful when your Pharmacist tells you the charge when picking up a prescription. Many times, Pharmacists will have already compared the price of your Part D plan to Good Rx and just apply the discount for you. Their computer system may be programmed to do it automatically. So, there are times you may be using Good Rx instead of your Part D plan, and you don’t even know it. Pharmacy staff have good intentions and are trained to look out for their patients. However, this can sometimes lead to more confusion about where you are at with your Part D plan as far as deductible and coverage gap phases. So, if a charge seems off from what you were expecting (good or bad), you may just want to ask the Pharmacist at the counter if they are billing your Part D plan or using Good Rx of some form.
There are many tricks of the trade and good information found with a local Independent Insurance Agent! Reach out to us if you would like more information or help navigating these complexities. We will protect you and save you money! Email me at carrie@cdi-cares.com or check me out on www.cdi-cares.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
‘If you look after the pennies, the dollars will look after themselves.’
n J Paul Getty