Health Matters with the Medicine Center Pharmacy. I’m your pharmacist, Paul White. We’re glad you joined us. Before we begin, I’d like to thank our sponsors, Aultman Health Systems, Studio Arts & Glass, and Jenior Appraisals and Liquidations. Today, pharmacist Brad White and I are broadcasting from our administrative offices. Today our show is all about you. We have an exciting new program to share with our listeners today, as well as responses to questions our friends and neighbors
posted on our Facebook pages.
After all, who doesn’t want to save money on prescriptions? If you have used SingleCare or Good Rx to help save money on prescriptions, you know it isn’t always easy. You have to go to their website, print a coupon or save it on your phone to show your pharmacist. Or maybe you can join their program and “save even more.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to simply trust your pharmacist to offer you the lowest price available? Today we would like to introduce a simple, easy way to save money at your local Medicine Center Pharmacy. You don’t have to spend time visiting a website, waste time and money printing coupons, and hope the pharmacy you use will accept them. You simply talk to one of our friendly staff members and ask if there is a better price…… it’s that easy! The Health Matters Drug Savings Program.
Today, 66% of the US population takes one or more prescription medications and among that group of the population, on average they take four prescriptions a day. It is a sad statistic to share, but 30% of Americans have skipped a medication or refill because it is too expensive. If a patient has a co-pay for their medication, especially a generic, oftentimes we find they are paying 100% of the expense of the medication and their insurance isn’t paying anything at all. Those are the medications where patients may have the best chance of paying less if they ask for our cash price.
You might be surprised to learn that most insurance companies are encouraging their members to look for the lowest price. Some even allow members to turn in their receipts for reimbursement. We encourage patients to check with their insurance company and see if they will reimburse for cash prescriptions and apply them to any deductible if allowed.
Example of some of the potential savings at Medicine Center Pharmacy:
If we have diabetes, we may be on Metformin 1000 mg. A common co-pay for a 30-day supply is $5.75. We are offering a 90-day supply for $10.00. So, instead of paying $5.75 for 3 months, a total of $17.25 – you can simply pay $10.00 for a 90-day supply and save $7.25 in addition to saving two trips to the pharmacy.
Atorvastatin is another common medication. An average co-pay for a 30-day supply is $9.00. We are offering a 90-day supply of Atorvastatin for $10.00. So, instead of paying a total of $27.00 for a 3-month supply, you can simply pay $10.00, save $17.00, and two trips to the pharmacy. Customers need to talk to a staff member at Medicine Center Pharmacy and ask for a price quote; it’s that easy!
Over 150 of the most common generic medications prescribed are included in this list. There are medications in all major disease state categories including allergies, diabetes, gastrointestinal, men’s and women’s health, etc.
We hope that every customer will take a moment to talk with one of our pharmacists and feel comfortable asking for the best price on any medication they are prescribed. We may not be able to provide a lower price on every medication, but we are happy to help.
Not only do not have to pay a monthly fee at Medicine Center Pharmacy but also don’t have to pay an annual Prime Fee to even be eligible to get the lowest prices! But I am happy to remind our listeners that like Amazon Prime, we do deliver for free within a radius of each of our stores!
The high deductible plans were created with the intent of making consumers more cost-conscious about health care because they are paying more out of pocket than in traditional health plans. In our marketplace, the average deductible is approaching $3,000.00. In addition to low-priced prescriptions, we offer low-cost health screenings including A1C, Vitamin D, Thyroid TSH, Lipid profiles, and covid tests. We even offer free blood pressure checks to every customer who asks. Please check out the full list of services we offer on our website: medshoprx.com
The patient has the right to choose. Any patient that is concerned about their medication expenses are invited to participate in this program and simply has to ask the pharmacy for the cash price.
In some cases, if a Medicare patient has a deductible and they pay cash for a prescription, it may not apply towards meeting their deductible. However, consider that most drugs on this list are only $10 for a 90-day supply and due to the low dollar amount, the patient may not be concerned that it did not apply toward their deductible.
That is a really good point. It is important for patients to have all of their medications at one pharmacy for many reasons. First, so there is a complete record of all their medications to check for interactions, but the second and equally important reason is to have a personal relationship with their pharmacist - a trusted healthcare professional.
It is also why we work hard to offer a complete and comprehensive review of all of your medications to help you maximize your savings while simplifying your life.
We are happy to share that our compound lab in New Philadelphia recently passed a rigorous re-credentialing process to remain an accredited compounding lab.
All our programs are available on our podcast in your favorite podcast app. Look for Health Matters with the Medicine Center Pharmacy and please subscribe!
This episode of Health Matters features Amanda Archer MPH, Health Commissioner from Canton Public Health.