Sounds
Crazy but… Distributing Free Prescription Discount Cards to Your Patients Can
Build Goodwill and Brand Loyalty
Consumers,
Medical Practices, Health Systems and Pharmacies Can Benefit
Think
about it. When was the last time that you went to a doctor or hospital and they
gave you something for free? What would you think if they provided you with an
opportunity to reduce your healthcare costs? Chances are you’d have a pretty
positive feeling about them.
Medical
practices and health systems can generate substantial goodwill and loyalty by
distributing free branded prescription discount cards to their patients as well
as to those that they touch in their service area through corporate, community
and congregational outreach initiatives and educational presentations. Every
time a consumer uses your branded discount card and realizes a prescription
savings, it will continue to reinforce in their mind the benefit of having you
as their healthcare provider.
There
are over 200 prescription discount card providers in the market, all of which
are geared to helping the uninsured save money on their prescription
medications. One company has taken it several steps further, providing savings
to not only those that are uninsured but also to those that are underinsured
with high deductibles, limitations or exclusions as well as to those with
prescription drug coverage and a generic co-pay of $10.00 or more.
Free
For All, Inc. launched its Equalizer Program in 2011 to assist consumers being
disadvantaged by their insurance programs. The Equalizer got its name because
it acts as a gatekeeper for all pharmacy transactions. This “free for all”
RxCut Equalizer card guarantees that card users receive the lowest price
possible on their prescriptions. Whether it’s their insurance co-payment, the
pharmacy retail price, or the RxCut discounted price, card users will always
pay the lowest price.
The
Equalizer Program was designed to stop consumers from being charged their
insurance co-pay when the retail price of the medication is actually lower.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are third party administrators of prescription
drug claims in the United States. They develop preferred drug lists for their
clients and negotiate discounts and rebates with drug manufacturers. PBMs
however are publicly traded entities interested primarily in shareholder value.
As a consequence they hold back a large portion of the rebates and pass through
the higher costs to consumers and insured groups, resulting in the inflated
pricing of prescriptions. Two PBMs control over 80% of the 3.6 billion
prescriptions processed annually.
Today,
more than 210 million Americans receive prescription drug benefits managed by
PBMs. Quite often those consumers are charged a co-payment for a generic
medication that is higher than the pharmacy’s retail price and the RxCut
discounted price. In fact the RxCut price on 19 of the 25 most frequently
prescribed generic medications is lower than an insurance co-pay of $10.00.
The
free RxCut card offers discounts up to 75% on prescriptions versus retail
prices. The card is accepted at over 54,000 pharmacies in the United States and
Puerto Rico, including major drug chains, supermarkets, box stores and 98% of
all independently owned pharmacies. There is no enrollment or activation
required, no expiration date and no personal information is collected so
multiple family members can use the same card. (The card can also provide
substantial discounts on all pet medications). When the RxCut card is added to
an individual’s pharmacy profile, they will receive the lowest prescription
price whether it is their co-pay, the retail price or the RxCut discounted
price.
Savings
with the card can be substantial. A health system in New Jersey distributes
branded RxCut discount cards to their patients at discharge from the ER. A
review of 4,500 pharmacy transactions using the RxCut card over a two month
period showed a savings to their patients of over $86,000, representing an
average savings per script of $19.37. A free discount card for your patients
that yields tangible savings like this will build brand loyalty to your
practice or system.
There
is no downside and no financial responsibilities as the cards are provided free
of charge to healthcare providers and can even be branded with a logo or
practice name. On a monthly basis, reports can be generated detailing all
pharmacy transactions using the RxCut cards that have been distributed with
your unique Rx Group number. The report, which does not include any personal
information, indicates the date the script was filled, drug name, generic vs.
brand, quantity, retail price, price paid by the RxCut member, member dollar
savings, member % savings and the pharmacy name and address where the script
was filled.
While
it may seem counterintuitive, retail pharmacies in a health system as well as
pharmacies within the community can also realize a benefit with the RxCut
discount card for their consumers with prescription coverage. Every time the
RxCut card is used to equalize the insurance co-payment and when the RxCut
price is lower than the co-pay, both the consumer and pharmacy win i.e. the
consumer saves money which builds loyalty towards the pharmacy and the pharmacy
nets more revenue because RxCut pays a much higher dispensing fee than the PBMs
and also passes through all negotiated rebates to them.
To
learn more about the RxCut card, to locate participating pharmacies or to view
RxCut prescription discount pricing, visit www.RxScriptDiscount.com
Contact:
Len LaMare
800-794-8072
info@rxscriptdiscount.com