Yes, GoodRx really saves money on prescriptions for many people, often significantly more than cash prices or even insurance copays, by providing deep discounts (up to 80% or more) on generics and some brands at over 70,000 pharmacies, benefiting those with or without insurance, especially those with high deductibles or no coverage. You compare prices on their app or website and show the free coupon to get the lower price, making it a valuable tool for checking costs before filling prescriptions.
Does GoodRx Really Save Patients Money? By using GoodRx in place of your insurance, you're paying for the cash price of a medication, rather than the insurance price. While a medication may be cheaper this way, the fact of the matter is you're still not using your insurance—which you already pay for.
The class action alleges that GoodRx violated federal wiretapping statutes, consumer protection laws and privacy rights stemming from the company's use of website tracking technologies and unauthorized sharing of consumers' health information with Meta Platforms, Google and Criteo for ad purposes.
Increases patient adherence: 88% of providers surveyed say they believe that GoodRx helps patients with patient adherence by helping them start and stay on their medications. Reduces administrative burden: 89% of providers surveyed say GoodRx saves them and their staff time on administrative tasks.
When you use a GoodRx coupon or discount, you're choosing to pay the cash price rather than the insurance price for your medication. Payments with GoodRx are considered “out-of-network” expenses. Some insurers may reimburse you for this cost or apply your payment against your deductible.
Online consultations are available now on individual GoodRx Gold membership plans, and will be available on family plans starting in 2021. A subscription to GoodRx Gold is just $9.99 a month for an individual and $19.99 a month for a family of up to six.
The GoodRx Case: A Summary
GoodRx, a widely used platform for comparing prescription drug prices, was accused of sharing user data with third-party advertising platforms such as Facebook and Google. This included sensitive personal and health information, despite promises to protect user privacy.
GoodRx coupons themselves do not expire; you are able to re-use the coupons as many times as you would like.
You can use a GoodRx discount instead of your prescription insurance or Medicare if the cost is lower. However, GoodRx cannot be combined with your insurance or any federal or state-funded program such as Medicare or Medicaid.
The "5 rule" in pharmacy most commonly refers to the DEA's 5% Rule for controlled substances, allowing a pharmacy or practitioner to distribute up to 5% of its total controlled substance volume to other practitioners for office use without a distributor registration. Other "5 rules" include the Five Rights of Medication Administration (Patient, Drug, Dose, Time, Route) for safe dispensing and Lipinski's Rule of Five, which predicts drug oral bioavailability (mass < 500 Da, clogP < 5, donors < 5, acceptors < 10).
Participating pharmacies are required to accept GoodRx through contracts with their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). An exception is for controlled medications. Accepting a GoodRx coupon for a controlled medication is always at the discretion of the pharmacist.
However, GoodRx cannot be combined with your insurance or any federal or state-funded program such as Medicare or Medicaid. GoodRx is not insurance. If you choose to use a GoodRx coupon or your GoodRx Gold membership, it's important to ask the pharmacist not to run your prescription through your insurance or Medicare.
If you would like to close your GoodRx account, you can do so by logging into your account and visiting your account settings page. There you will have the option to delete your GoodRx account.
The prices listed on GoodRx are updated constantly and are generally very accurate, but if you believe you were charged the wrong price at the pharmacy when using a GoodRx coupon, there are a few things you will want to check. First, does the coupon you used match the information on your pharmacy receipt?
A lawsuit filed against GoodRx earlier this year alleges that the company is orchestrating an illegal price-fixing scheme with major pharmacy benefit managers that artificially suppresses reimbursement rates paid to independent pharmacies for generic drugs.
GoodRx Gold costs $9.99/month for individuals or $19.99/month for families, offering bigger prescription discounts, free delivery, and telehealth savings, with a free 30-day trial available; the basic GoodRx service with coupons is free, but Gold unlocks premium features like delivery and deeper discounts.
Yes, you can use GoodRx without seeing a doctor in person by using their GoodRx Care telemedicine service for virtual consultations to get prescriptions for certain conditions, or you can use their coupons for over-the-counter (OTC) items if you already have a prescription from a doctor or can get one via GoodRx Care. GoodRx Care connects you with providers for issues like skin, women's health, or refills, but it doesn't cover controlled substances.