Your Medicare Advantage plan may not allows a switch to the cheaper-than-generic branded medication, so be sure to download our free discount card just in case.
A recently published study in Health Affairs (paid subscription required) shines a light on a peculiar quirk of the Medicare Part D benefit structure: For some high-priced specialty medications, seniors might pay less out-of-pocket for brand-name drugs than their generic counterparts. The study found that, assuming a 61% discount between brand-name and generic drugs, Part D beneficiaries with prescriptions costing between $22,000 and $80,000 per year would have lower out-of-pocket spending if they use brand-name drugs over a generic.
However, health insurance plan pharmacists interviewed stated that while it does happen, the frequency that a Medicare Beneficiary may encounter this phenomenon is rare and that the majority of medications purchased under Plan D are not pricey specialty pharmaceuticals. Fair enough. Opposing viewpoints are always invited.
What to do if you take medications regularly for a chronic condition
Click the image to take you to our prescription discount card application where you can check generic and brand name medications at pharmacies near you (select up to a 25 mile radius), and download your free, ready-to-use prescription card. It doesn’t matter if you already have another or multiple discount cards. Always give the codes to the pharmacist for all the cards you have and they will run a courtesy comparison across all your cards and find the best prices and biggest discounts on each medication for you. (They don’t mind, because they actually get a little something from every card.)
