Saving Money on Prescription Drugs With Optum Perks

Saving money on the cost of prescription drugs has never been easier with the free Optum Perks mobile app.

This post is sponsored by Optum Perks but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Before you fill or refill another prescription, whether you have insurance or not, take a look at how easy it is to generate prescription coupons and compare prescription prices using the free @Optum Perks Mobile App. Whether you need a life-saving drug, a one-time antibiotic, or a monthly subscription, now you can easily compare the cost of medications without worrying about networks, coverage limitations, or deductibles.

My readers and friends know that my husband and I are empty-nesters and brand new grandparents. We are in a sweet season of life. Our daughter and her husband are expecting our first granddaughter and they just bought a beautiful home. We have been waiting to see where they would settle before we made our next move and now everyone is ready.

We are taking the plunge! The real estate market here in Southern California is red hot. After being long-time renters, my husband and I just put a deposit down on a condo we love and our days have been filled with plans to downsize and save money and both are challenging!

When they say it’s a seller’s market, they weren’t joking. We had to pass up a couple of the places we looked at because they already had so many bids and were involved in bidding wars. In order to make sure we could compete in the competitive market, we knew that we had to cut expenses and save as much as we could for the down payment. 

As the way it seems to go, as soon as we started saving, we had an unexpected expense come up. This time it was medical expenses. My husband ended up with a minor infection and needed the prescription antibiotic, Cipro. We just enrolled with new insurance and haven’t met our deductible yet so I knew we’d have to pay full price for the medication. So I could brace myself for the bill, I called my local CVS to find out how much it was going to cost and I couldn’t believe the price!. I quickly thanked the employee, hung up, and called my friend to vent. That’s when she recommended I check out the Optum Perks app. She said she checks it every time she has an RX to fill. 

I went to my App Store and downloaded the free Optum Perks app. It’s available for iOS and Android. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to start using the app. I didn’t have to enter any personal information since there’s no membership or fees involved with the app. I clicked on the “Find a drug coupon” button to start my search. It’s only 3 easy steps: Search, Find, and Save!

I entered “Cipro” in the search bar and was given a list of medications that fit that search. 

First, you choose the manufacturer, which means you get to pick if you want brand name medications or Generic. I prefer to go with generic since it’s typically the lesser expensive option but I like to be able to compare the prices before deciding which way to go. 

Next, select the proper dosage.  The app automatically defaults to the most popular dosage for each prescription so it’s important to make sure that you’re selecting the correct one as it can affect your costs and savings. 

You will also need to properly select the quantity that matches your prescription. 

Finally set your location to find the pharmacies near you. You can enable location to allow the app to automatically find your location or you can search by zip code. The app saves the zip code for you so you’ll only need to enter it before your first search. The zip code search feature can help you quickly find pharmacies when you’re out of town too. 

Verify all of your selections, then click the “see prices” button to generate the list of local pharmacies with the price that you’ll pay as well as the distance from your searched location so you can pick the pharmacy that best suits your needs. Or if you prefer you can select map view to see the pharmacy nearest you. 

Click on the desired pharmacy to view the coupon details and save it to your coupons so it’ll be ready to use once you get to the pharmacy.  Once you save your coupon, you can quickly search for your next medication if needed. 

Head to your selected pharmacy to pick up your prescription and take advantage of your savings. You can use the coupon at the pharmacy counter or at the pharmacy drive-thru, which I prefer, especially these days.  

I just showed my coupon to the pharmacy employee at the drive-up window and they processed my savings. Just like using a coupon at the grocery store. It really is that easy.

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