This may be as close to a product endorsement as you see on this site. No, we’re not being paid, but, we think it’s good advice to download the GoodRx prescription discount app. We don’t even know quite how their business model works, but it seems to be the up-and-coming mechanism through which pharmaceutical manufacturers are offering some politically-important discounts. Blink Health has been set up for a similar purpose, but we got tired of waiting for their promised “40% off” Humalog discount, so we started researching other popular “coupon” techniques. On the GoodRX app our small family has discovered a number of discount prices on the short list of drugs we use or keep in stock at home. There are migraine medications, for instance, that have gone generic recently. They’re so cheap through GoodRx that we’re good about keeping a reasonable number of pills in the cabinet. We know full well we’re buying them ourselves, as these family members won’t hit their prescription deductible, so price is an issue.

You’ve read elsewhere on this site about the $25 insulin at Walmart and CVS. As of this writing (December 2018) the app notes these prices, and offers $30 insulin at other local pharmacies, Kroger among them. Make sure to read our cautions about ever using “old,” regular insulin, but in emergencies it’s available over the counter in many states without a prescription.

We haven’t yet figured out a rhyme or reason for which drugs are discounted and which aren’t, so download the (free) app and check for yourself. Odds are surprisingly good you’ll save 50 or 60 bucks on your first trip like we did. We’ll continue to research GoodRx’s business model for clues about what we might be able to expect in the future. In the mean time, please share your results about how your local pharmacies honor the discounts. If you have any trouble, let us know and we’ll look into it.