Forex Articles

If you have health insurance with prescription drug coverage, you may not worry much about – or have much control over – the cost of your medication. But at some point, you're likely to need a drug that your insurance either doesn't cover or only covers partially.

Shopping for prescription drugs is no easy task. Often, you don't know what you'll pay until you reach the cash register. Unlike other products, drugs aren't on shelves with price tags and trying to find, much less compare, prices online is difficult to nearly impossible when you factor in your insurance. Different pharmacies in your own neighborhood could charge wildly different prices for the same medication. Lipitor, one of most commonly prescribed drugs, has an official price tag of $196 but can cost as little as $10 for a 30-day supply in some areas. (For more, see 5 Best-Selling Prescription Meds of All Time.)

A few entrepreneurs are trying to solve this problem and their solutions are for your benefit. These apps are trying to make shopping for prescription drugs more like any other retail experience. (For more, see Prescription Drugs: How to Spend Less on Them.)

GoodRx is one of the best-known companies in the space, but it's not a pharmacy. You can check prices for free through its site or mobile app, but you can't purchase drugs.

Let's assume you're going to use the mobile app. Open your GoodRx app and type in the name of the drug, the dosage, and your location. The app can use your current location or any location you choose. Once you tap submit, the app will display local pharmacies in your area. It can show a cash price, price with a coupon that the app supplies, or Medicare pricing for a drug if you indicated that you're a Medicare insurance patient. Tap on the pharmacy of your choice to reveal more information. If the price included a coupon, you can tap to get the free coupon and also view the cash price to know how much you'll save.

You can also view information about the prescribed drug, any news related to it and images so you can know if the pharmacy gave you the right drug. Don't take your medication without first comparing the picture with the drug you received. In addition, you can also save your drugs in the app. Once you do that, the app will send you push notifications if the price of your drug changes or if there's any news about the medication. You can remove drugs from your profile at any time.

What do other users say about GoodRx? The reviews aren't overwhelmingly positive or negative. But since the app is free, there's no harm in giving it a try.

Blink Health is similar to GoodRx but with one important difference: You can actually purchase your drugs through the app. If you're a new customer, Blink offers a coupon for $5 off your first purchase – an enticing offer to anybody willing to give the app a try.

Once you download the app or log onto the website, it works in much the same way as GoodRx. Type in the drug name, the dosage and quantity as written on your prescription. But that's where the similarities end. Instead of a list of pharmacies with prices and potential discounts, you are shown a single price, a Pay button and a Save to My Meds button. If you choose to pay, the app asks you to set up an account; once you pay, you'll receive a digital copy of your Blink voucher. Bring the voucher to your pharmacy and ask the store to process your Blink card, which is an alternative to your insurance co-pay and will be processed just like your regular health insurance card.

According to the company, the Blink price for a medication is the same at every pharmacy, and 40% of medications purchased through Blink cost less than $5. Blink appears to know that consumers are likely skeptical of buying drugs like this. That's why you find language all over its site saying that every purchase is completely refundable.

Like GoodRx, reviews are largely mixed with nothing overwhelmingly positive or negative. Customers complain about the app crashing and prices not being any better than the ones they currently receive, and many say they use both GoodRx and Blink to compare prices.

Even if you already have good health insurance, either of these apps could potentially locate drug prices that are lower than your copay. Since using them is so easy, there's no reason not to type your prescription into them and do some comparison shopping.

Caveat: If you're taking brand-name medications with no generic equivalent, neither app will be of much help. However, according to IMS Health, a consulting firm cited by the New York Times, about 90% of all prescription drugs dispensed in the United States are generic. This means you're likely to find either or both of these apps useful.