You’ve seen them in junk mail, doctor offices and grocery stores. Prescription drug discount cards are ubiquitous and said to offer up to 75% savings on prescription drugs at retail pharmacies. Is this really true? Of course not. In fact, prescription drug discount cards are one of the most misleading facets of the consumer drug industry.
Prescription drug discount cards are targeted for two sets of people: uninsured and under-insured patients. Typically, no personal information is required as the cards are prepared in advance with all the necessary information. For the purpose of this post, I consider participants of a HSA or other CDHC (consumer-directed health care) plan as under-insured.
It’s not too difficult for drug discount card companies to gain access to large pharmacy networks of 55,000 or more. Furthermore, many of these drug discount card companies don’t have much infrastructure at all. In some cases, they are run from a home office giving one the impression they’re a huge company with hundreds of employees and equal buying power. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here is how the prescription drug discount card works. One simply picks up a card at their doctor’s office, grocery store or dry cleaners – there is no registration required. If a particular card requires registration undoubtedly the information is used for marketing purposes and not to activate the supposed discount guarantee. At the time of a new or refill prescription, the card is taken to the pharmacy and presented to the pharmacist for any applicable discount. The pharmacist or pharmacy technician will then enter the BIN, Group and Member ID numbers.
Now the bait and switch begins. The discounts promised by the cards are in many cases accurate. But, the starting point (original cost) is misleading. The discount is based upon AWP or average wholesale price. AWP is not the cost of the drug for the patient, pharmacy or manufacturer. It is an arbitrary price used, in my opinion, to mislead the public and other non-informed purchasers of prescription drugs.
For example, the AWP for Metformin 500 mg x 90 is $125.00, but the actual cost to the pharmacy is only $6.50. Your discount card offers 50% off ($62.50) Metformin and you think wow I saved $62.50 ($125 – $62.50)! Unbeknownst to you is Joe’s Corner Pharmacy, without a card, would’ve agreed to a negotiated price of $12.50. That difference or $50 is essentially a shared profit between the card issuer and network manager. You’ve effectively been hustled.
In the past, it was hard work; sweat and tears which gave people a big advantage. Today, it is knowledge. Those who have it win and those who don’t get duped. Think of the AWP as MSRP or manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Would you ever pay MSRP for a new automobile? Strive to be well-informed about all your health care purchasing decisions and you’ll avoid being a patsy.
