For Beverly, Even Her Dog’s Pet Medications Are 60% Cheaper With GoodRx
When Beverly and her family rescued Ninja, a 13-year-old Shih Tzu, six years ago, she didn’t anticipate how expensive his pet medications would be. Ninja doesn’t have insurance, since he has a pre-existing condition — a heart murmur — that disqualifies him from coverage. But this is not uncommon. Less than 5% of pet owners have pet insurance, and most basic pet insurance plans do not provide prescription coverage. Many pet owners also do not know that GoodRx offers discounts on pet medications which can be redeemed at all pharmacies that accept GoodRx.
When Ninja joined Beverly’s family, he had scarring on his left eye as a result of not being groomed properly and his fur constantly scratching the surface of his eyes (a common problem for dog breeds with bulging eyes). He woke up one morning with a lot of drainage from that eye, so Beverly took him to a veterinarian ophthalmologist who found that his eye pressure was dangerously high. Ninja was diagnosed with a detached retina due to unattended glaucoma and needed immediate surgery. While they were able to save the eye, Ninja did end up losing his ability to see from that eye.
After his surgery, Ninja was prescribed two eye drop medications: dorzolamide (Trusopt) and neomycin / polymyxin B / dexamethasone (Maxitrol). Beverly found out through the vet that the two drops would cost just over $50 per month out of pocket. Since Ninja was going to have to take these medications long-term, his vet suggested checking GoodRx for discounts.
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With GoodRx, Beverly was able to find the dorzolamide drops for $35 per 3-month supply, and the neo/poly/dex ointment for $4-$9. That means an average of about $30 in savings a month for the two prescriptions.
Since then, Beverly checks GoodRx to find the lowest price for dorzolamide whenever she needs a refill, even if the discount she ends up using is not directly from GoodRx. That helped especially when the price of the medicine started increasing after Puerto Rico was struck by the hurricanes last year. Turns out, the drops are primarily manufactured in Puerto Rico so supplies became limited.
Through the GoodRx app, she also found that one of her own allergy medications, which would’ve otherwise cost $35, was available for free through a Publix program.
Beverly also has lupus, and she was surprised her own doctor never recommended GoodRx to her. When she asked why there were no GoodRx cards at her doctor’s clinic, she was told that there used to be until some patients said it didn’t actually save them any money. “I was shocked! I made sure she knew [GoodRx] had saved me a lot and that I won’t ever get another prescription filled without checking the app or website again.” As Beverly knows all too well, the price of medications change all the time, and can differ pharmacy to pharmacy. It’s always worth shopping around each time in case prices have changed.
At this point, Beverly is an expert at shopping around for lower medication prices. It’s important when you have a family of seven — including two kids and three dogs — who are on a high-deductible health plan. For example, before meeting the $4,000 deductible, Beverly’s lupus medication cost $115 a month, but GoodRx has been able to save her up to 70%.
Beverly really appreciates the value of GoodRx, saying, “As more and more people get moved to high deductible insurance plans, I think it is imperative for physicians to know ways to help their patients obtain these expensive prescriptions at a lower price. It could mean the difference between filling a much-needed medication and not. For some people, that could be a life and death decision.”
