My grandmother recieved information for medicare approved discount cards… and asked should she get one? First what is a medicare approved discount card? It is a voluntary card that can give a discount on certain drugs ( usually 10 to 25%) for a small enrollment fee of $30 or less. A person must be eligible for medicare to enroll for a card. A person can only sign up for 1 card per year, so it is best to do some research before you choose a card. Keep in mind, if you are a senior citizen, most pharmacies already offer an automatic discount. Rite Aid is 10%. Another thing to keep in mind that you can only use 1 type of discount for a prescription.
What is the best way to choose a card? Well first you start with a list of the current medications that you are taking. By visiting www.medicare.gov or calling them, 1-800-MEDICARE, to get a comparison list of the cost to you. From there, you can choose your best option.
I will briefly cover 3 of the discount cards offered.
Pharmacy Care Alliance Discount Card:
Will give you up to 20% off some brand name prescriptions and up to 40% off
Many chain pharmacies, including Rite Aid, accepts the card.
Enrollment is $19 or $30 depending on options chosen.
It does not offer discounts in the following categories: weight-related, fertility, cosmetic, cough & cold prescriptions, vitamins, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, OTC drugs, and drugs covered under medicare part B.
They offer some services along with the card including a mail option.
They also maintain a decent website for drug information and interactions: www.drugdigest.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.PCAcard.com
Rx Savings Access Card:
On covered drugs it offers a 15% minimum discount (it can be more) on brand and generic drugs.
Associated with McKesson, a well known name in the drug industry ( they also have the Together Rx discount program)
Accepted at many pharmacies, including Rite Aid
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.RxSavingsAccess.com
Medco Preferred Prescriptiong Discount Card:
Save on selected drugs up to 30%
Accepted at many pharmacies, including Rite Aid
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.medco.com/medicare/
I do not know what other pharmacies accept these discount cards. I can only speak for Rite Aid because that is the environment that I am familar with. These discount cards are only going to be good for 1 year at a time and will end in 2006 (when, as the government claims there will be prescription benefits to medicare recipients- this is just to cover the time period before it starts) Also there is a 600 dollar credit that some people might benefit from, but it is complicated to explain exactly who benefits, so it is best to contact medicare.
Some pharmacies will have information packages available to their patients, just ask your pharmacist.
We personally decided to not look into a card for my grandmother ( she does have insurance, and we feel this would not be an added benefit) but for the people that do not have money to pay for insurance or cannot get coverage and are covered by medicare, these are an option to save some money.
Remember there are other options for discount cards — if you need assistance, start looking – for instance AAA Travel offers a discount program to their members or most drug companies (Eli Lilly , etc. ) offers specific drug discounts. For instance, if you qualify and fill out the forms, it is possible to get a discount on a drug that the company makes. I knew a lady that qualified for prozac and reduced her amount from paying full price to a 5 dollar co-pay.
Also if you don’t qualify for any of these discount programs and do not have insurance, make sure when you get prescriptions, that you request a drug available in generic. You would not believe the amount of people that go to the emergency room with out insurance and come out with a prescription for an expensive antibiotic when they could have gotten something similar for a lesser amount if they just mentioned it to the doctors.
Another thing for people that do have prescription coverage through their insurance. Be familar with your insurance company’s formulary– you can save a lot of money and time if you bring it with you each time you visit the doctor office and get something that is a preferred item than something that is not preferred. With one patient I encountered, they did not do this and came up with a $50 dollar co-pay because the doctor chose the drug that is not on the formulary, and when it was switched to the preferred it was only $5 dollars. ( How to get a formulary – contact the insurance company- there is a number usually on the back of the card, contact your benefits office or visit the insurance company’s website) .