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How to Get the Best Price at the Pharmacy

Posted on: October 26th, 2022 by New Benefits

 

If you’ve filled a prescription recently, you were probably shocked by the price tag. U.S. drug prices are on the rise, with some specialty drug prices skyrocketing at extraordinary rates—and healthcare consumers are feeling the squeeze.

On top of high costs, many brand name drugs are excluded from insurance coverage and more than one-third of consumers have been told their insurance plan wouldn’t cover a drug prescribed by their doctor.

Consumers are getting sick of confusing insurance restrictions and high costs. They want greater transparency and choice in their healthcare purchases.

Prescription discount programs offer both transparency and choice. Through pricing search tools, discount programs are able to provide cost estimates at multiple pharmacies so you can access the best possible savings. Even better? Some discount programs utilize the power of multiple pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to give you the best chance of finding a great deal. 

Good Isn’t Always Best

There’s no shortage of pharmacy discount cards, and they all promise big savings–but can they deliver? See a comparison of popular drugs here: NBRx Price Comparison Chart

How do PBMs Work?

A PBM contracts with retail chains and independent pharmacies to provide pre-negotiated discounts to their customers. It’s no different than a health plan negotiating with their in-network doctors, hospitals, and labs for discounts on healthcare services.

The PBM utilizes these contracts in relationships with discount plans, providing them with the pre-negotiated discounts and a system to process claims electronically. Unlike insurance, discount plans typically operate under an open formulary, meaning all drugs are subject to a discount versus most insurance plans where some drugs are excluded.

Since each PBM has their own individual contract with pharmacies, some are likely to have better negotiated discounts than others. You could walk into a pharmacy and pay:

    • $30 through insurance,
    • $25 through PBM A,
    • $15 through PBM B, or
    • $75 for the retail rate — all for the same prescription.

Real Life Savings

See one customer’s savings experience here.

Why Does NB Rx Contract with Multiple PBMs?

The NB Rx discount program is partnered with multiple PBMs to provide the best possible deal on most medications. Rather than having to search multiple discount websites, NB Rx does all the heavy lifting for you and displays the lowest cost on one platform. 

When a consumer looks up a prescription through NB Rx, the pricing tool looks through the negotiated rates from each contracted PBM and displays the best deals at multiple pharmacies. The discounts also include a home delivery option, which can often offer deeper savings.

Consider the earlier example with various costs on the same medication: our pricing tool would review the costs and only display the $15 option from PBM B since it’s the best possible deal. 

Want to see NB Rx in action?

Visit RxPrice.NewBenefits.com to see how much you can save with the power of multiple PBMs.

 

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