How do discount cards and resources affect my Medicare Prescription Drug plan?

Answered by 19 licensed agents

If you choose to use a discount card to pay for a prescription because it's cheaper than the Medicare Prescription Drug plan, you can use it for the cheaper price. However, it will not count towards your out-of-pocket expenses.

Answered by Aisha Saleem on March 13, 2025

Agent Licensed in MD & FL

Answered by Aisha Saleem Medicare Insurance Agent
They do not affect your Medicare insurance and they do not help your Medicare insurance.

Discount cards and programs line GoodRx are separate programs that work very well with purchasing inexpensive generic drugs in case you didn’t have a Part D drug plan.

Answered by Joseph Bachmeier on March 29, 2025

Agent Licensed in PA, DE, FL & MD, NC, NJ & SC

Answered by Joseph Bachmeier Medicare Insurance Agent
In most cases, discount cards or pharmaceutical company assistance is not available once a senior enrolls into Medicare Part D or Part C (with drug coverage). There are exceptions to this, but Medicare Part D/Part C can provide significant coverage support for most commonly prescribed medications.

Answered by Christopher Boyd on March 4, 2025

Agent Licensed in IN, KY, MI, OH, PA & TN

Answered by Christopher Boyd Medicare Insurance Agent
They do not have a connection to your coverage. It is usually one or the other. So if you think your co-pay is too high with insurance, try GoodRx.

Answered by Bryan Smith on March 10, 2025

Broker Licensed in UT, AL, AR & 35 other states

Answered by Bryan Smith Medicare Insurance Agent
some seniors qualify for LIS (Low Income Subsidy or SPAP (State Pharmacy Assistance Program) ..... Pemiums coud be reduced

Answered by Vincent Esposito on March 26, 2025

Broker Licensed in NY, FL & NJ

Answered by Vincent Esposito Medicare Insurance Agent
They can supplement depending on the availability of your Rx and a plan in a given plan area. Discount cards are another option when regular Rx plan options are not available.

Answered by Mark Maliwauki on March 4, 2025

Broker Licensed in ID, AZ, CA & 15 other states

Answered by Mark Maliwauki Medicare Insurance Agent
Discount cards can be a nice little hack for saving money on prescriptions, but they come with a catch, they don’t count toward your Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs. Sometimes, they’ll get you a better deal than your plan’s copay, but other times, your Part D coverage is the smarter choice. Think of them as a backup tool in your savings toolbox—use them when they work in your favor, but don’t rely on them to help you hit your deductible or out-of-pocket max!

Answered by Ruben Trejo on March 4, 2025

Broker Licensed in TX, AL, AR & 27 other states

Answered by Ruben Trejo Medicare Insurance Agent
Using Discount Cards like GoodRx on some generic medications can be cheaper than using plans you pay for under Medicare Part D.

Please remember if you have a Social Security amount under $1,883 and Assets(not including your home and car) under $17,220 you may qualify for Extra Help. This means covered drugs will not cost more than $12.15 for a month's supply. Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to get started. These are 2025 income/asset numbers.

Answered by Jim Schueth on March 25, 2025

Broker Licensed in NE, AZ, CO & 8 other states

Answered by Jim Schueth Medicare Insurance Agent
They don’t. They are as if they didn’t exist as it does not count toward meeting your prescription deductible or your maximum out of pocket. Their cost is totally on you.

Answered by David Wiley on April 7, 2025

Broker Licensed in GA & NC

Answered by David Wiley Medicare Insurance Agent
Good question! Here’s a simple answer. It’s one or the other. If you pay for a prescription using your Medicare Prescription drug plan card Then you work towards Medicare‘s catastrophic coverage (in 2025 that amount is $2K), Meaning that whatever you spend towards covered medication’s, gets you closer to hitting your $2000 out-of-pocket maximum a.k.a. catastrophic coverage. once you hit $2000 out-of-pocket you no longer pay a penny for any covered medication’s. Using your Medicare prescription drug coverage will typically give you a pretty big discount on your medication‘s as it is a pre-negotiated discounted rate between the drug company and the insurance company.

If you were to use something like goodRX, you may get a discounted medication but there is no cap to what you may pay throughout the year. Everyone’s situation is different, so for some folks, I’m a huge fan of good RX but for others I strongly encourage sticking to using your Medicare prescription drug plan.

Answered by Gregg Matheny on March 25, 2025

Agent Licensed in AZ & UT

Answered by Gregg Matheny Medicare Insurance Agent
Normally Discount Cards (Good RX and others) may discount your Prescription cost at certain pharmacies. This may be a way to save on Prescriptions when there is a higher copay. These companies may gather your information and market Medicare plans.

There are State Resources available to help with Prescription costs. There are many generic medications that could be $0 copay in Medicare Advantage or Standalone RX plan. Brand Medications can have copays.

State programs have an application and can take up to 2 weeks to 4 months to be approved. These programs have income guidelines to qualify. Most do not consider assets.

NJ PAAD

PA PACE

If you have questions on the state resources, please contact me for more information.

Answered by Leslie Helene Sussman on March 31, 2025

Broker Licensed in NJ, DE, FL & PA

Answered by Leslie Helene Sussman Medicare Insurance Agent
A good pharmacy will try all discount plans that could save you money...and this has no impact on your Prescription Drug Plan.

Answered by John L Herman Jr on April 2, 2025

Broker Licensed in MD, DE & PA

Answered by John L Herman Jr Medicare Insurance Agent
They do not. You can use one or the other but most advantage plans ask that you use their plans. It is ultimately your choice.

Answered by Gretchen Morris on March 4, 2025

Broker Licensed in MN, AZ, FL & WI

Answered by Gretchen Morris Medicare Insurance Agent
You are only able to use a Drug Discount card if you are paying cash for your prescription.

You may not use the discount card in conjunction with your Prescription Drug plan .

Answered by Tammie Rutledge on April 3, 2025

Broker Licensed in WA, AZ, FL & ID, MT, OR & TX

Answered by Tammie Rutledge Medicare Insurance Agent
You can't use prescription discount cards with your Medicare Part D benefits, but you can use them instead of them if the discount offers a lower price than your plan's cost.

Answered by Peter Yeh on March 21, 2025

Agent Licensed in CA & TX

Answered by Peter Yeh Medicare Insurance Agent
Discount cards can be helpful in certain situations. Just be aware that any prescription purchases on discount programs do NOT count against your annual maximum out-of-pocket limit, so if you are trying to get to the limit as soon as possible so that your drug costs fall to zero, you may want to avoid discount cards.

Answered by Michael Crocker on March 28, 2025

Broker Licensed in SC

Answered by Michael Crocker Medicare Insurance Agent
If you use any type of discount cards or resources outside of your Prescription Drug plan, your costs will not count towards your Deductible nor towards your Maximum Out of Pocket.

Answered by Mary Hiatt on February 11, 2025

Agent Licensed in NE, AZ, IA, MO & TX

Answered by Mary Hiatt Medicare Insurance Agent
You cannot use a discount prescription drug card in conjunction with Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. You must choose either to use your Part D prescription drug card or the discount card, you cannot use both at the same time.

Answered by Linda Bolan on March 12, 2025

Agent Licensed in IN

Answered by Linda Bolan Medicare Insurance Agent
You can use them to possibly save money on prescriptions. However they will not go toward your deductible if applicable. Sometimes the savings is well worth using them. Always ask the pharmacist which option will give you the best deal.

Answered by Randy Hill on April 1, 2025

Broker Licensed in OH, AL, AZ & 7 other states

Answered by Randy Hill Medicare Insurance Agent

Tags: Advice for Seniors Medicare Part D Prescription Drug

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