GoodRx is not a scam

I'm one of the unfortunate folks who have fallen through the cracks of Obamacare, and I am without health insurance. I take some the blame, but I currently cannot buy health insurance. I was concerned I would end spending a small fortune on medications this year, until someone recommended I check out GoodRx. I've been surprised by how cheaply I've been able to buy my meds using this service.

I generalliy believe everything I see on the internet is a scam, and I
thought GoodRx was way too good to be true. I was wrong.

One of my complaints about our health care system is that the costs are opaque. Cost never comes up until after you've agreed to your treatment, and then you are handed a bill with no room to negotiate. I can accept this in an emergency situation, but not every health care decision is an emergency.

Unlike most retail products, pharmacies do not provide a menu of their prices, which makes cross shopping difficult. I don't claim to understand the inner workings of the pharmacy business, but what GoodRx has done is add a significant amount of transparency to the market.

GoodRx has, and, again I don't claim to understand how this works, negotiated group discounts with all the major pharmacies. You can then go to their website and GoodRx tells you which pharmacies in your area carry your meds at the best price. If your meds are on generic, the price savings can be huge. I am paying less than 10% of retail for one of my medications.

You are supposed to print out a "prescription card," but in my experience all the pharmacies already know about GoodRx, and if you mention GoodRx, they will just roll over and give you the best price. This will save me over $5000 in medication costs this year.

I'm generally not a fan of our health care system, but this was one case where I was shocked by how cheap health care can actually be in the US.