How to Use GoodRx to Check Prescription Prices
Summary
TLDRDr. Eric Bricker's video explains how to use GoodRx for checking prescription drug prices. The app offers discounted prices through various pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and provides an average wholesale price (AWP) minus a discount. For patients with high deductible insurance plans like HSA, GoodRx helps identify more affordable medication options. The video demonstrates using GoodRx to compare prices and suggests discussing alternatives with doctors to manage healthcare costs effectively without compromising health.
Takeaways
- 😀 GoodRx is an app or website used for checking prescription drug prices.
- 📲 The GoodRx app is the easiest way to access prescription price information.
- 💲 GoodRx prices include a PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager) discount, which is a reduction from the list price.
- 🔢 AWP, the Average Wholesale Price, is the top price from which discounts are applied to give the GoodRx price.
- 🏥 If you have an HSA (Health Savings Account) plan, you likely don't have a copay and should use GoodRx to check prices.
- 🤔 The GoodRx price is an estimate and may vary slightly at different pharmacies.
- 🔍 You can search for medications by name or by disease/symptom in the GoodRx app.
- 💊 GoodRx categorizes medications by frequency of use, making it easier to find common prescriptions.
- 💬 Discussing medication prices with your doctor during a visit can lead to more affordable alternatives.
- 💼 Use GoodRx to compare prices and negotiate with your doctor for a more cost-effective medication.
- 🛒 Even if the price at the pharmacy isn't exactly as listed on GoodRx, it's usually significantly lower than the original price.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of the GoodRx app or website?
-The primary purpose of GoodRx is to check prescription drug prices and provide discounts through a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) discount.
How does the GoodRx app provide discounted prices for prescriptions?
-GoodRx provides discounted prices by using a PBM to offer discounts off the list price of the prescription medication.
What does AWP stand for and how is it related to the prices shown on GoodRx?
-AWP stands for Average Wholesale Price, which is the top price of a medication before any discounts. GoodRx shows the discounted amount after applying the PBM discount to the AWP.
Why might the price of a prescription vary at different pharmacies?
-The price may vary because GoodRx uses multiple PBMs, and different pharmacies may have different agreements with these PBMs, resulting in slightly different prices.
How can GoodRx be used by someone with an HSA plan?
-A person with an HSA plan can use GoodRx to check the prices of different medications and compare them to find the most cost-effective option without a copay.
What is the significance of discussing the cost of medication with a doctor during a visit?
-Discussing medication costs with a doctor can help patients make informed decisions about their health care, potentially finding more affordable alternatives without compromising health.
How can a patient use GoodRx to find alternative medications for a specific condition?
-A patient can type the name of the condition, such as 'diabetes,' into the GoodRx search bar to find a list of medications categorized by drug type, and compare prices to find more affordable options.
What is the role of a PBM in the context of GoodRx?
-A PBM is involved in providing discounts on prescription medications. GoodRx runs the prescription through a PBM to offer the discounted prices to users.
Why might the actual price at the pharmacy differ from the price shown on GoodRx?
-The actual price may differ because the pharmacy may use a different PBM or have specific agreements that affect the final price.
How can GoodRx help patients with chronic conditions manage their medication costs?
-GoodRx can help by providing a price check for medications, allowing patients to discuss more affordable options with their doctors and make better financial decisions regarding their health care.
What is the recommended approach for using GoodRx when discussing medication prices with a doctor?
-The recommended approach is to use GoodRx as a price checker during the doctor's visit, showing the app to the doctor to discuss more affordable alternatives for the prescribed medication.
Outlines
💊 Utilizing GoodRx for Prescription Price Checks
Dr. Eric Bricker introduces the GoodRx app as a tool for checking prescription drug prices. The app provides discounted prices through a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), which may differ from an individual's insurance PBM. The average wholesale price (AWP) is reduced by a certain percentage to give the price displayed on GoodRx. For those with Health Savings Account (HSA) plans, who pay out-of-pocket without a copay, the app is particularly useful for comparing prices. The video emphasizes the importance of discussing medication costs with doctors, especially when looking for alternatives that are more affordable without compromising health. An example is given where a prescription for 'guardians' costs $529 a month, prompting a conversation with the doctor about cheaper alternatives. The app also allows users to search by disease or symptom names, providing a list of medications sorted by frequency of use, helping users to make informed decisions about their prescriptions.
🛒 Using GoodRx as a Price Checker for Medications
The second paragraph continues the discussion on how to use GoodRx effectively. It explains that while GoodRx provides a ballpark figure for medication costs, the actual price at the pharmacy may vary slightly due to the use of different PBMs. The speaker advises using GoodRx to identify cheaper generic alternatives, such as a sulfonamide urea glycoside for $7, and then discussing these options with the doctor. The app can be used to search for medications by typing in pain or disease names, offering a range of options with associated prices. The goal is to find affordable alternatives to expensive prescriptions, understanding that the exact price may differ but will still be significantly lower than the initial high-cost option. The speaker clarifies that the GoodRx app is used as a price reference rather than a direct method of purchase, and that the actual transaction will go through the user's insurance, with the aim of securing a lower cost medication.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡GoodRx
💡PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager)
💡AWP (Average Wholesale Price)
💡HSA (Health Savings Account)
💡Copay
💡Generic Medication
💡Brand-Name Medication
💡Sulfonamide Urea Glycoside
💡Price Checker
💡Insurance
💡Pharmacist
Highlights
Introduction to GoodRx as a prescription price check tool.
Availability of the GoodRx app on the App Store and Google Play.
Explanation of how GoodRx includes the PBM discount in the prices it provides.
Clarification of AWP (Average Wholesale Price) and its relation to the discounted price shown on GoodRx.
The relevance of PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) to the pricing process on GoodRx.
Use of GoodRx for HSA (Health Savings Account) plans without co-pays.
The GoodRx price as a ballpark figure for prescription costs.
The variability in prices at different pharmacies and the use of GoodRx to compare.
Importance of discussing medication costs with doctors to ensure health without financial burden.
Example of using GoodRx to find alternatives to expensive medications for diabetes.
Demonstration of how to use GoodRx to search for medications by disease or symptom names.
The sorting feature of GoodRx that prioritizes drug categories from most to least frequent.
How to navigate GoodRx to find the most cost-effective medication options with a doctor.
The use of GoodRx as a price checker rather than a direct purchasing tool.
The significance of discussing alternative medication options with doctors to reduce costs.
The potential for significant cost savings by using GoodRx to compare generic medication prices.
The process of using GoodRx to inform insurance-based pharmacy transactions for cost-effectiveness.
Transcripts
hello this is dr eric bricker and thank
you for watching a healthcare z today's
topic is
how to use goodrx as a prescription
price check so as many of you know
good rx is an app or a website that you
can
use to check prescription prices now
the good rx app on your phone is
probably the easiest way to do this use
go to the app store google play you
download it right
the prices that good rx gives you
includes the pbm
discount so that's how good rx is able
to
discount you off of the list price for
the prescription good rx actually runs
it through a pbm
if you have insurance it might not be
your pbm
but it's still a pbm okay and we'll get
to the relevance of that
what that means is is that awp which is
the average wholesale
price right that is sort of the
fictitious top price
okay it's discounted x percent
and then that disk counted amount is
what you're going to see
on goodrx so it's a super helpful number
okay now if you have an hsa plan you've
got health insurance through your job
obamacare plan whatever if you have an
hsa plan
you don't have a copay i'm sure all of
you know that okay
the doctor doesn't know what this awp
minus x prices you don't know what the
awp
minus x discount price is so you use the
goodrx app
to look it up now that good rx price is
going to give you a
ballpark okay so when you actually go to
the pharmacy and get the prescription
it's not going to be that exact amount
but that is okay again because you don't
know
what pbm they're running your
prescription through because
good rx actually uses multiple pbms okay
so you might have cvs caremark you might
have optum you might have express
scripts
um cigna right so you don't know
but typically you're if you're
prescribed to bring any episode when
they write your prescription you don't
know if it's paranoid or generic you
know
it's called blah blah blah blah blah you
don't know what this stuff is called
so you need to look it up so you type it
into the goodrx app in your doctor's
office and if it's a brand new
medication it's probably gonna cost
about 200
or 300 or 400 or 500 for 30 pills for
chronic medication
now let's go through an example so for
diabetes
let's say the doctor writes a
prescription for guardians right and you
look it up on the
good rx app it's 529 a month
now you can see at walmart or at your
grocery store or at the pharmacy
and it might vary a little bit from 529
to 531 to 550 but whatever right
but the point is okay hey doc
is there anything else that's not gonna
i have an hsa plan
that's about i mean i'm exactly but
guess what that's probably around what
i'm gonna have to pay
is there anything that you could give me
for my diabetes
that's gonna cost less than
dollars a month and that right there is
like
the most important conversation that you
could have
to be a better steward without
compromising your health
during your doctor's office visit
because the doctor might say
no you have to take the guardians
okay or the doctor might say whoa
i had no idea it was gonna cost 429
this is what you do next so in the same
search bar in goodrx where you typed in
guardians
you can also just type in disease
names or symptoms names you can just
type in diabetes and it gives you two
choices type 1 and type 2
type 2 is the more common type of
diabetes which people probably have
so you're going to click on type 2
diabetes
and then it's going to give you the drug
types or the drug
categories and what's interesting is
that good rx has prioritized them
in the most frequent drug categories to
the
least frequent drug categories it's an
it's an
incredibly helpful sorting tool so all
you have to
do for the drug categories is start at
the top and you
type you touch by guanides what the heck
is a big one
nobody knows what big one it is you
don't have to know what a biguanite is
your doctor
probably should know what a bighuanite
is but they may not know
you just hit by guanide and what does it
take you to it takes you to metformin
the most commonly prescribed medication
for diabetes
it's in the category of bicoin lines
it's five dollars a month it's been
around for forever aha
a lot of people with diabetes are
already on metformin
so the doctor be like well look you're
already on metformin so fine so you go
back out to the other categories
and you do this here's the key you look
at the app
with the doctor you look at the app with
the doctor this is going to take no more
than 90 seconds you can do this super
fast
and you click on sulfur urease and you
click on glyphize or actually you'll see
that it'll list them it'll list all the
different sulfur ureas
and they'll say look clippers say hey
doc
what about this sulfonate urea glycoside
for seven dollars
hey that'll work fantastic you can go
through that same exercise
for asthma for adhd for
heartburn it's even good for pain in
that search bar
you can just type in pain and it
actually gives you
different classifications of pain
medications and then different drugs
within those
those classifications and it gives you
like the ballpark price
now what you're shooting for here
obviously these are so inexpensive
because they're generic
now because of your specific plan even
the generic price for you might not be
exactly five dollars
it might not be exactly seven dollars
maybe it's 12 maybe it's
three who knows but the point is it's
not 529
so you're not going to use the actual
good rx
app right so in the goodrx then you have
to give this like code to the pharmacist
in order for them to run it through
goodrx
you're not going to do that so you're
not going to actually use the goodrx app
goodrx app itself to get the to
to get you the actual price you're going
to go through your insurance
but what you're going to do is you're
going to use goodrx as the price checker
and you're going to say okay this
medication is about 529 dollars i really
don't want that one
and my alternatives are about five or
about seven
and then when you go to the pharmacy and
it's not that exact amount
you're like i understand that i expect
that and even if i'm paying 12 bucks i'm
not going to make a big deal about it
because it's a lot less than 529
and that's how to use goodrx as a price
checker
and thank you for watching a healthcare
seat
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