Walgreens launched a new digital marketplace designed to help customers save money on prescription medications.
The Rx Savings Finder tool finds free, third-party discount cards on prescription medications and enables customers to compare prices on thousands of medications. The tool also provides transparent pricing before checkout. The tool is available to all Walgreens customers for free, with no monthly subscription or yearly membership needed, executives said.
“Inflation not only impacts our pockets but can have serious implications on health,” said Rick Gates, chief pharmacy officer, Walgreens in a statement. “Over one-third of Americans have avoided a prescription refill to reduce costs and with over 131 million Americans taking at least one prescription medication, this is very concerning. That is why we have launched Walgreens Rx Savings Finder—to empower our customers with transparent prescription costs and help them save money on medications.”
Walgreens teamed up with healthcare technology company RxSense to roll out the new tool. "RxSense is focused on delivering technology solutions to the market that offer price transparency and lower drug costs to our partners and their patients, and this new website will empower more consumers with access to deeper discounts on their medications," said Rick Bates, founder and CEO of RxSense.
During an 11-month pilot program, Walgreens and RxSense's new program saved patients almost $70 million on their prescriptions using the Rx Savings Finder when compared to the cash price, according to Walgreens executives.
"The response to our pilot program has been overwhelmingly positive, with both customers and our dedicated pharmacy staff reporting significant time and cost savings. One striking instance involves a pharmacist’s recent account where our Rx Savings Finder tool helped a customer save over $75 on their prescriptions during a single visit,” Walgreens' Gates said.
Patients can access the discount card prices by text message or email, which can be presented to a Walgreens pharmacy team member and can be used at any of the nearly 9,000 Walgreens stores.
Insured and uninsured patients can use the new online tool to search for the lowest prescription prices for generic and name-brand medicines. Rx Savings Finder cannot be combined with or applied to prescription drug insurance, but Walgreens executives say the prices available through prescription coupons can be less expensive than a copay.
The online service comes at a time when over a third of Americans aren’t filling prescriptions due to cost. By tapping into third-party discount cards, patients can potentially save up to 80% off the retail price of prescriptions at Walgreens pharmacies, executives said.
The move from Walgreens comes as brick-and-mortar retail pharmacies are feeling the heat from new online pharmacies that focus on lowering the cost of prescription medications. These new pharmacy models are impacting the way consumers are shopping for medications.
Amazon's pharmacy business rolled out RxPass, a prescription drug subscription for Prime members, as well as a new feature to make it easier for consumers to use manufacturer discounts on branded meds by integrating the coupons into the checkout experience.
Amazon RxPass acts like an additional subscription on top of an existing Amazon Prime membership. The cost is $5 per month and includes access to numerous generic medications at no additional cost.
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company works directly with drug manufacturers to bypass middlemen and lower prices. For consumers, the price of each drug includes a 15% markup as a profit margin, a $3 pharmacy handling fee and a $5 shipping fee. Cost Plus also transparently displays what it pays for its medicines.
The company now sells more than 1,100 generic drugs at discounted prices. And it just inked its latest partnership, joining forces with Expion Health to address the rising cost of specialty drugs.
There's also GoodRx, a prescription drug savings company that offers a comparison pricing service for consumers. Walgreens actually teamed up with GoodRx to offer further discounts on 200 drugs at its pharmacies.