YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi. My insurance just changed and I was searching for cheaper meds. I found an app called GoodRx (apple and android) http://www.goodrx.com. You can enter your location, med and dosage an) 1d it returns a number of local pharmacies and prices. They also have coupons from manufacturers that really reduce most prices.

Caveat: I have not tried to buy meds using the app yet, but wanted to share now so I might help others.

My local search for generic Zoloft (Sertraline) 100mg, 60 tabs showed prices ranging from $11.14 at Walmart to 52.14 at CVS, showing 6 pharmacies within 8.7 miles. Coupon cost for other pharmacies is 13.00. Pretty amazing for less than a 5 minute search after I downloaded the app to my smart phone.

Hope this helps!

Sometimes if you go to the pharma company's homepage there are financial assistance programs. I think the pharma companies do this for PR but why not take advantage if you qualify.

These discount cards don't actually pay the pharmacy for any part of the wholesale cost of the drug- they dictate a price and usually charge the pharmacy a fee. The prescription mentioned costs the pharmacy about $3-$5. If the "discount card" gives the patient a price of around $13, they're probably billing the pharmacy $5 and the pharmacy is making a couple of bucks. Not sure how this business model is is legal or helpful, but I suggest calling a local pharmacy and seeing if they'll beat the "discount" price- you and the pharmacy will both come out ahead.
ColemanSilk is right- big pharma companies usually have patient assistance programs for low-income folks- good if you're poor but uninsured. If you fill out the forms and meet their financial criteria, they'll ship the meds to your doctor's office at no charge. Go to the official website of the brand name med, i.e. zoloft dot com if you take sertraline, and look for the link for patient assistance or similar phrasing. I'm sure this is for PR or tax breaks or some shit but I've seen it work and it's certainly worth a try.