Edna is a 76-year-old woman with a wonderful daughter, Sylvia, who helps her out with her weekly errands every Saturday. Edna changed her insurance plan at the end of 2013, and purchased a new plan that went into effect starting on January 1, 2014. Her insurance premiums on her old plan were getting to be too expensive, so she shopped around on the health insurance marketplace herself to find a better deal. She was proud of herself for choosing a plan that lowered her monthly premium by 50%, which allowed her to free up some extra cash so she could finally get the brakes on her car fixed.
Edna takes several medications to control her blood pressure and bladder condition, most of which are inexpensive generic medications. The only one she has been unable to find a generic substitution for is the medication she takes for her bladder condition, Elmiron. Edna has been filling this prescription at her local CVS/Pharmacy in Miami, Florida, and her previous insurance plan charged her $20 per month for this medication; she is happy with the price because she knows it is an expensive medication that usually costs much more than $20 without insurance. This month, Edna sent Sylvia to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription for Elmiron 100mg, which she takes once daily to treat her bladder pain.
This Saturday, when Sylvia went to pick up her mother’s medication, she was shocked to find out it was not covered on her new insurance plan. Sylvia was more upset when she found out that the out of pocket price for her mother’s medication was a whopping $246! This was much more than the $20 copay that she had been paying last year, and she decided that she would have to put off buying her mother’s medication. Sylvia knew her mother did not have the money to pay that price, and Sylvia would not have $246 until she got paid on Friday.
Sylvia went home and discussed the coverage of Elmiron with her mother, who did not realize her new plan would not cover this necessary medication for her. Edna was very upset at this high cost, because she was looking forward to getting her brakes on her car fixed, and she would not have the money for repairs if she had to pay out of pocket for her Elmiron. They called the insurance company together to see if there was anything they could do to get the medication covered, but the woman on the phone told them that the insurance company would not cover this medication for Edna.
Sylvia and Edna turned to the internet to see if there was another way to save money on the prescription medication, and in their search they came across the Prescription Discount Card from Discount Drug Network. They decided to check out the price of Elmiron using Discount Drug Network’s Price Finder, and they were pleasantly surprised at what they found. A 30-day supply of Edna’s medication would cost only $132 at the local CVS/Pharmacy if they used the discount card!
They saw that the card does not work in conjunction with insurance, which was fine since the insurance company refused to pay for the medication they need anyways. They kept looking around the internet for lower prices on Elmiron, but in the end the lowest price they could find was the one offered by the Discount Drug Network, using the Prescription Discount Card.
Sylvia printed out a paper copy of the Prescription Discount Card and they brought it to the pharmacy together to make sure it would work properly. The technician applied the Prescription Discount Card to the prescription for Elmiron, and the prices came out exactly as they were quoted online. They were able to get the medication right away, allowing Edna to continue with her bladder treatment. She ended up paying $132 for a month supply of her medication, $112 less than the initial price quote!
Sylvia was disappointed that her new insurance did not cover her most expensive medication, and that it took money away from her much needed brake repairs, but she was very happy with the price she received by using the Prescription Discount Card! She ordered a hard copy of the card to keep in her wallet in case she needs it again in the future, and decided she would ask the technician the next time she goes to the pharmacy if her other generic medications would be cheaper using the Prescription Discount Card from Discount Drug Network as well.
My daughter’s company doesn’t have a health care plan that covers her Vyvance prescription, and discount drug places have only reduced the monthly cost to $285, which is more than she can afford. She used to pay $30 per month when she was on our health care plan. Are there any affordable options available?