Need affordable prescription options as a travel nurse? I’ve been there!
You finally found a health insurance plan that works for your needs. Phew! That was a lot of work. Then you head to the pharmacy to pick up your prescription and…crap. Your health insurance either doesn’t cover your prescription or the co-pay, or your deductible is crazy-expensive.
It’s okay, it’s okay!
Take a deep breath.
This doesn’t mean that you made the wrong choice with your health insurance. There are a ton of affordable prescription options for travel nurses out there. In this post, we are going to explore just a few of the prescription options that we found helpful. But this is (in no way) an exhaustive list.
Blink Health
The first program that we suggest is Blink Health. It is a free program for anybody who has the following challenges:
- A high prescription copay
- A high deductible
- Your health insurance doesn’t cover prescriptions
- You’re on Medicare
- You have no insurance at all.
You start by signing up for a free account online and enter your information as it appears on your prescriptions. Next, you search for your prescription drug name from their list of over 15,000 medications (yeah…odds are that they have your medication!). They cover both name brands and generics. Then, you can easily pay online or through the app. You will receive proof of purchase, which you can print out or show on your phone. You can save up to 95% on your prescription costs and they offer a $5 off promo for your first time.
Blink Health is partnered with thousands of pharmacies all over the country so odds are that your pharmacy accepts it. (I promise, we aren’t paid to advertise for them!) To pick up your prescription, you just need to go to your pharmacy and show them your Blink Card with proof of purchase, and… voila! That’s it! This program is easy to use and totally safe.
Walmart $4 prescription list
Where do you go when you don’t know where else to buy something? The handy-dandy Walmart of course!
Walmart seems to carry everything you could desire… and you might not have known that cheap prescriptions are included in that list too! Walmart pharmacy has a program called the $4 Prescription List. You don’t even need health insurance to take advantage of this. Simply ask your doctor to prescribe you a version of your prescription that Walmart has on its list. After your doctor calls the prescription in for you, you don’t need any kind of card or receipt to pick it up for the discounted price…it’s automatic.
Ahhh… the little things that make life a bit easier.
Any prescription on the list is $4 for a 30-day supply and $10 for a 90-day supply. However, there are exceptions for a few women’s medications. Some are $9 for a 30-day supply and $24 for a 90-day supply. But these prices don’t break the bank! The only real downside to this is that not all dosages and drugs are covered. Also, this program only covers the generic version of the drug, no name-brand versions.
Don’t let generic drugs deter you. The reason they can be cheaper than their name-brand counterparts is that they don’t need to be re-tested to be approved by the FDA. Generic doesn’t necessarily mean that the drugs are made with Grade B ingredients. And if you don’t believe us, just check out the FDA! Their info on generic drugs is here.
Nurx
This one is for all the ladies out there! Nurx is a birth control delivery program that will deliver your birth control straight to your door. It works whether you have health insurance or not. Just sign up, select the brand of birth control you use, and enter your shipping information. The request is sent to a doctor in your state to write the prescription for you. They also try to provide a 3-month supply for convenience purposes.
And the best part…there’s no delivery fee. So if you do have insurance that covers the prescription, then this service is completely free!
The only thing to keep in mind is that birth control requests can take 1-3 days to process then another 2 days for shipping. The total process can then be 5-7 business days. So just make sure you don’t wait until the last minute or you’ll probably have to pay an expedited fee!
PPARX
The next website we’re going to talk about is a little bit different than the previous two. PPARX isn’t a prescription assistance program in itself. It’s more like a resource to help you find a program that best suits your needs. If we’re being totally transparent here the way that PPARX works is a little bit time-consuming.
First, you’ll fill out an online questionnaire that asks about your current medications and drug coverage. Then the website will match you with any programs that you qualify for. Finally, you’ll print out and complete the applications for any programs you want to apply for. And mail them out. Which isn’t the most convenient process. But you’ll have the potential to qualify for nearly-free medications, savings cards, service animals, diabetes supplies, etc. And the process is totally free.
Are you convinced yet?
See, we told you not to panic! If your health insurance does not cover your prescription you do not have to change your coverage. Before you start looking into new plans, try looking into some of these prescription assistance sites first. Odds are that one of these sites (or another one not listed here) will be able to help you get those costs down and avoid a lot of hassle.
The other good thing is that these sites work nationwide. So no matter where your travels take you prescription assistance is on the way!
Cheers to more affordable prescription options for travel nurses!
