The rising cost of prescription medications has prompted many Americans to seek ways to save, with one of the most popular solutions being the use of a prescription discount card. GoodRx, now a publicly traded company, has long been the market leader in the prescription discount card space, but is it necessarily the best option?
As Matthew Herfield, Co-Founder and CEO of BuzzRx, a competing prescription savings service, explains, his company has some noteworthy aspects that make it a better choice than GoodRx.
Completely Free Prescription Discounts
While both BuzzRx and GoodRx offer free prescription discounts at pharmacies nationwide, GoodRx isn’t always entirely free. In fact, many of the best discounts available through GoodRx are locked behind its “GoodRx Gold” program, which costs $9.99 per month for individuals and $19.99 per month for families. GoodRx recommends this program for individuals who use multiple prescriptions.
“With BuzzRx, our program is completely free, and we always offer the best possible discounts our pharmacy contracts allow. Anyone can access these savings at no cost, regardless of where you live, whether you have insurance coverage, how much money you make, or any other factors,” Herfield says.
“We want to maximize the accessibility of our prescription discounts, and we believe the best way to do that is to keep our program completely free, no matter what kind of prescriptions you need or how many you take.”
While the GoodRx Gold program offers additional benefits, such as free home delivery on select medications and licensed healthcare provider visits, it can also be confusing to navigate — particularly since the paid program is not accepted at all pharmacies that accept the standard GoodRx card. Even with these added benefits, by requiring users to pay a monthly fee to access the best deals, base-level members aren’t able to save as much as they otherwise could.
Ease of Use
Another notable advantage of BuzzRx is its overall ease of use. This applies to all aspects of the BuzzRx prescription discount program, from requesting a card or coupon to applying the discounts at your local pharmacy.
“All you need to do to start using BuzzRx is visit the BuzzRx.com website or download our free app. From there, search for your medication by strength and quantity to compare savings across multiple pharmacies. Choose the best price and request a coupon,” Herfield explains.
“If you do not know your medication details, you can simply request a card, and the same great savings apply. This card can be used on all medications and comes pre-activated and ready for unlimited use, with no expiration date or lengthy qualification process. You can present your digital or physical discount card at your pharmacy to receive instant savings on your prescriptions — whatever method works best for you.”
He continues, “We also try to make it as easy as possible to find the best prices for your prescription by ensuring our app and website are as user-friendly as possible.” No matter what type of prescription you need, this straightforward process makes it easy to use a BuzzRx card at over 60,000 pharmacies that accept it.
While GoodRx also has a straightforward signup method, using its discount benefits can be a little trickier. As noted earlier, many benefits are locked behind the GoodRx Gold program and aren’t available at all pharmacies that partner with GoodRx.
Limited options for accessing coupons and uncertainty about which discounts apply to the free plan versus the Gold plan — along with which pharmacies accept them — can make it more challenging to fully benefit from using GoodRx.
Giving Back to the Community
Finally, one area where BuzzRx truly stands out from its competitors is its commitment to supporting charitable causes in local communities. “At BuzzRx, we offer prescription discount cards co-branded with one of our nonprofit partners, which include Make-A-Wish, the National Kidney Foundation, the ASPCA, and 16 regional food banks,” Herfield explains.
“Each time a BuzzRx user saves with their card benefiting a nonprofit partner, we donate $1 to that organization. Thanks to our cardholders, we’ve donated nearly $10 million to these causes, which help improve community health across the country.”
Aside from unlocking discounts that benefit users personally, saving with BuzzRx allows cardholders to make a positive difference in their community by supporting a health-related nonprofit. While GoodRx has its own charitable initiatives, they aren’t directly linked to cardholders’ usage of its discount cards. Using a BuzzRx card gives individuals and families an easy way to do good at no cost to them.
Exploring Your Options
While Herfield is quick to tout the potential advantages of BuzzRx, he says, “Ultimately, we want to help people find the best savings possible for their prescription medications. Sometimes, the best discount will be available through BuzzRx, and other times, it might be offered through another discount card company. As long as a person can save on their prescription expenses, that’s what matters most.”
Even though prescription drug prices cause a significant financial burden for many, between health insurance coverage options and prescription discount programs like BuzzRx, it is clear that there are many ways to make these expenses more manageable.