When Insurance Isn’t Good Enough: How This GoodRx Employee Saved 93% With GoodRx Gold

At GoodRx, we often hear or read stories about how we’re able to help people who are struggling to afford their medications. Every now and then, one of our own team members will share their own experiences with using GoodRx—like Garrett, who recently saved 95% on his prescription medications with GoodRx Gold, our premium savings program.

Before we dive into his story, here’s a bit more about Garrett (or Gare Bear, as he’s more affectionately known in the office):

Originally hailing from Los Alamitos, California but also having lived in the Bay Area for a few years, this California native and Survivor superfan loves skiing, scuba diving, and “anything that’ll get the adrenaline pumping!” With a keen interest in pulling back the curtain on the healthcare industry and helping patients take their health and healthcare spending back into their own hands, Garrett found a fit for his passions at GoodRx.

He told us, “In college, I volunteered for a camp for kids whose parents have cancer. I heard a lot of stories about how much stress the cost of healthcare puts on families but always figured it just was what it was—like healthcare had to be expensive. When I started reading more about the healthcare industry, I learned that it doesn’t have to be this way. GoodRx and the focus on transparency and mission to make healthcare more affordable aligned perfectly with what I was looking for.”

Garrett is now a marketing analyst on the Business Intelligence team, and his work helps optimize strategy in “experimental” marketing channels such as television, online streaming, radio, and billboard advertising.

Here’s his #GoodRxHelps story:

I’ve always been very lucky health-wise and haven’t had any firsthand experience with crazy drug prices. Any prescription medications I’ve needed in the past have been one-offs and almost fully covered by employer-sponsored insurance plans.

Throughout high school and college, I dealt with extreme daytime fatigue, but I figured it was due to sleep debt and an irregular sleep schedule. Post-college, the fatigue remained even after improving my sleep hygiene (sleeping more than eight hours a night and often 12 hours on weekends). I finally decided to see a doctor about this, and he prescribed a sleep study. The results showed unusually high fatigue, with light sleep apnea and potentially narcolepsy being the causes (more testing would be needed to determine this).

I was then prescribed modafinil to help with the sleep apnea and daytime fatigue. The retail price for 30 pills of 200 mg is $798—and it’s a generic! I also found out that it’s not covered by our company insurance. After a high out-of-pocket charge to meet my deductible on the sleep study and finally receiving a prescription to help, I was really excited to see how this drug would improve my quality of life. But, given the price, I would have far rather dealt with the fatigue than pay $800 every month.  

That’s when I found modafinil on GoodRx for $34, and it was even lower with GoodRx Gold. With Gold, I would only have to pay $26 a month, which is more than 95% off the retail price!

Even though I now had this discount, it took me a few tries to get my medication. The first couple of pharmacies I went to did not have my drug in stock, and when I found one that did, I realized my doctor had forgotten to date my script. Once I got that taken care of, I went to a CVS to use my GoodRx Gold card, but wasn’t given the Gold price. At that point, I called our Patient Advocacy team to understand the price discrepancy, and within minutes our agent, Antonia, explained that CVS has its own prices on Gold (something I missed reading on our site). I went across the street to Vons and I was able to pick up my prescription the next day.

Without GoodRx, I would have had to ask my doctor to create a new treatment plan, likely suboptimal to his original plan. For a lot of people, there aren’t other treatment options, and the drugs they’re taking are crucial to their health or even life-sustaining. I am proud to know that we at GoodRx are helping many people eliminate the choice between their health and their wallet.