Ali: Young Mother’s Insurance Won’t Cover Her Son’s ADHD Medications

Ali is a witty and charismatic woman, with a knack for making impressions of the women in her life — her grandmother and her mother — as she shares anecdotes about her family and upbringing, often in a thick New York accent for effect. She is good at telling stories about her life and finding humor along the way, and her exposition about using GoodRx for the first time isn’t any different.

Back in 2016, Ali was a single mother in her 30s who worked as an aesthetician to support herself and her son, Dominic. Her job provided a steady income and reliable health insurance. However, her deductible was so high that it was nearly impossible to meet annually. Additionally, her prescription plan didn’t cover very much of her family’s monthly medication costs, so a large portion of her paycheck was going toward medical expenses. 

On top of already setting aside $200 of her monthly paycheck for her insurance premium, she had to pay another $300 out-of-pocket for a 30-day supply of her son’s medication. Ali’s son, Dominic, who was 5 years old at the time, had been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and the medication he needed to help manage his symptoms was especially pricey, even with insurance. Dominic was very bright and loved learning, but his condition was getting in the way of his success at school. 

As a mother, there was no question that Ali would continue paying for Dominic’s medication, even though it was eating into her other expenses. Then she happened to catch a TV commercial about GoodRx.

“It was almost hard to believe the commercial,” Ali says. “Just look up this coupon, type in the meds you need, and you get instant savings?” 

She went to the GoodRx website and, after a search for Dominic’s medication, saw how the price varied between pharmacies. “I was actually nervous on the way to the pharmacy counter! I kept thinking I’d get up there and they wouldn’t take the coupon, or that there was some sort of loophole that I was missing,” she recalls. When the pharmacist rang her up for $36 — about 10% of what she was paying before — she kept thinking, “‘Wait, is this going to come back as an expense to me somehow?’”

Since then, Ali has used GoodRx every month for the last 4 years, and she marvels at how much money she has been able to save.

Today, Dominic is 9 years old and is thriving in school, both at academics and sports. Ali is engaged to be married in the fall and is a new mom to an 8-month-old girl. When we spoke to Ali, her daughter was set to undergo eye surgery the next day, though she was in good spirits about it. “After the procedure, she will need prescription eye drops as part of her treatment. And you know I’ll be using GoodRx to help pay for those, too!” 

Ali has told her family and friends about GoodRx, hoping to spread the word so others can also benefit from these savings. “My parents and my sister use it now. I could probably walk down the street and knock on doors, asking people if they’ve used GoodRx yet!” 

Thank you for your advocacy, Ali! We’re so glad to know your hard-earned money is going back to providing for your family.