Walgreens offers digital prescription savings tool
Walgreens is helping customers find lower prices on medications from its pharmacy.
The drugstore and pharmacy giant is rolling out a new digital tool called Rx Savings Finder, which is designed to help customers save money on prescription medications. Rx Savings Finder finds free, third-party discount cards that enable customers to lower prices on their Walgreens medications.
The Walgreens Rx Savings Finder delivers savings on thousands of medications, as well as provides transparent pricing before customers check out. Available online via a dedicated page on the Walgreens e-commerce site, the solution is available to all Walgreens customers for free, with no monthly subscription or yearly membership.
Customers obtain access the discount card prices by text message or email, which can be presented to a Walgreens pharmacy associate so the savings can be applied to the price of their prescription medications.
In addition to reducing prescription cost and consolidating the discount search process across multiple discount card websites for customers, Walgreens also intends to lessen the workload of its pharmacists with the solution.
“Inflation not only impacts our pockets but can have serious implications on health,” said Rick Gates, chief pharmacy officer, Walgreens. “Over one-third of Americans have avoided a prescription refill to reduce costs and with over 131 million Americans taking at least one prescription medication, this is very concerning. That is why we have launched Walgreens Rx Savings Finder – to empower our customers with transparent prescription costs and help them save money on medications.”
Rx Savings Finder is now available at Walgreens pharmacies nationwide.
Walgreens increases presence in discount prescriptions
The Rx Savings Finder is the latest step Walgreens is taking to establish itself in as a low-cost provider in the lucrative – and increasingly price-competitive – $300 billion-plus prescription market. In. September 2023, the retailer expanded an existing collaboration with prescription drug savings platform GoodRx to reduce prices on nearly 200 prescription medications by an average of 40%, with higher savings available for select medications.
Meanwhile, both Amazon and Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-star of the TV show "Shark Tank,” are attempting to compete on price in the prescription market.
In January 2023, Amazon Pharmacy launched RxPass, a new offering for U.S. Prime members which allows them (in most states) to order as many prescriptions as they need from a list of 50 generic drugs — for a flat monthly add-on fee of $5 to Prime membership, with no other mark-ups.
Amazon also began automatically applying manufacturer-sponsored coupons directly to Amazon Pharmacy orders from eligible customers in March 2023, and added instant savings on more than 15 insulin and diabetes care brands in August.
In addition, Cuban launched an online pharmacy with an initial inventory of more than 100 generic drugs, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug (MCCPDC) Company, in January 2022 and partnered with digital drugstore Alto Pharmacy in October 2023.
And vitamins and supplements retailer GNC is expanding its GNC Health virtual health care program, which includes more than 400 eligible prescription medications at a $0 copay, plus up to 80% discount on thousands of other medications at retail pharmacies nationwide.
Walgreens is included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail organization, and operates nearly 9,000 retail locations across America, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.