Research: buying insulin out of pocket without insurance

Michel
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 01:48:35 +0000
Insulin

There is nothing that worries me more than thinking that my son may one day (when I am dead…) be without insurance. @Sam also felt that we would not be #UNLIMITED if we did not feel able to work through lack of insurance. @Sam approached me, and we decided to work together to look into the best ways to buy analog insulin without insurance in the US. The bulk of the research was done by @Sam. My portion was largely that of fact-checker and number-cruncher.

First we investigated US prices in different locations and for different insulins. We quickly found out that using GoodRx negotiated prices was always cheaper than the listed price we got on the phone or in person. So we switched to using GoodRx for pricing info.

We also found out that one has to be very thorough and careful when investigating GoodRx pricing, because there are several dropdowns with search options for every med, and one has to check every combination of options to get to the best prices.

Note: what is GoodRx?

GoodRx is an organization that negotiates prices of (prescription) medicines with retailers and issues any internet user with coupons that will provide discounts on medicine prices. To obtain GoodRx pricing, search for the medicine you need on the GoodRx web site, print the coupon and present it to the pharmacy chain for which it applies (or simply show that coupon to the pharacy on your phone)

GoodRx web site: https://www.goodrx.com/

(To be continued)

47 posts - 15 participants