Prescription drug costs in the U.S. remain high, and consumers are constantly looking for ways to save. We recommend verified online pharmacies, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com.
However, if you need your medication immediately, an online or mail order pharmacy won’t cut it. Luckily, there are many other options to save; for example, many chain drug stores offer low cost generics and manufacturers offer coupons for their products.
Discount drug cards also offer savings and can be used in pharmacies across the United States for a wide variety of brand name and generic drugs. They seem like the perfect solution if you need medicine right away – just print the drug card, bring it to your local pharmacy, and count the savings!
But just because they can be used quickly, doesn’t mean they offer the best price on your medicine. Different drug cards carry different discounts. While one offers 70% savings on a drug, say Lipitor, another card might not have any savings at all.
There is no way to easily find the best price among different drug cards, and for some you can’t even find out the price of your medicine until you have a prescription. We investigated the prices for three different drugs for three different cards and compared them to the cash price at a local pharmacy and prices from PharmacyChecker.com-approved international online pharmacies.
As shown below, we found the average savings using the lowest-cost online pharmacy was 82%, but savings averaged only 23% across the discount drug cards. We recommend using a PharmacyChecker.com-approved online international pharmacy for brand name medications and for many generics. If you need a medicine right away, though, it’s best to print out a few drug cards and head down to the local pharmacy.
| Drug | Bricks and Mortar Pharmacy* | RxFreeCard.com | EasyDrugCard.com | RxSavingsPlus.com | PharmacyChecker.com-approved Online Pharmacy** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lipitor 40 mg (30) | $225.99 | $184.68 | $178.09 | $189.64 | $35.00 |
| Plavix 75 mg (30) | $257.99 | $214.00 | $203.85 | $216.74 | $49.20 |
| Simvastatin 40 mg (30) (Generic Zocor) | $49.99 | $4.00 | $13.36 | $33.30 | $12.30 |
*Local Pharmacy in New York City, prices collected 8/20/2012
**Lowest price as listed on PharmacyChecker.com on 8/23/2012
