by: Stephen Dayton

The newest thing in the American medical savings game is
prescription drug cards, where users pay a monthly fee (anywhere
from $10-100, approximately) that nets them discounts at their local
medical establishment. Doctors, pharmacists, dentists and even
hospitals are all jumping on the discount prescription drug card
bandwagon.

And although they sound like an excellent idea to most consumers,
these discount prescription drug cards do carry some risks. This
article will detail what to look out for so that you remain an
informed medical consumer.

How Does it All Work?
Usually, discount prescription drug card programs work in the same
way. The card company works on the clients’ behalf, getting
discounts at a variety of medical establishments. However, the
discounts that are ‘purchased’ are not done with the provider
directly, but rather with a ‘preferred provider organization’ (PPO).
At times, this system works so poorly that cardholders have walked
into their medical establishment with their discount prescription
drug card, just to be told that the institution has no knowledge of
the discount program.

Since there is no regulatory body for discount prescription drug
cards, the people who sell these cards need not be licensed or even
knowledgeable about the health care field. And when you do walk into
the pharmacy with one of these cards, it’s hard to even tell if you
are getting any sort of discount at all; many health care providers
do not offer any sort of price list for their services in the first
place.

Is There a Problem Here?
Well, some legislators in Georgia and Kansas think so. They’ve
passed laws stating that discount prescription drug card providers
state in ‘prominent type’ that they are not insurance programs,
since more than a few consumers were making this mistake.

Other states have taken legal action against these discount
prescription drug card companies. In one instance, Argus Health
Plans was sued because allegedly they signed customers up for a free
trial period, and then charged those same customers’ credit cards
with no prior authorization for a discount card membership. More
than a dozen other suits are still pending investigation or trial
with other discount card providers throughout the US as well.

So How Do I Save Money on My Prescription Drugs?
OF course, not all discount prescription drug cards are poor
consumer choices. However, without more legislation in place,
consumers are at risk to be scammed while trying to save money. Of
course, there are still other ways to save on your prescription drug
costs, such as:

- Keep dibs on the fluctuating prices of your prescription drugs, as
costs can differ

quite dramatically between pharmacies;
- Ask your doctor to prescribe the generic version instead of the
brand name version; and
- Try and get health insurance coverage if you don’t have it
already.

With a bit of know-how and investigative work, you’ll be able to
save on your medications without having to resort to discount
prescription drug cards anytime soon.

Copyright © Stephen C. Dayton 2005

About the author:
Stephen C. Dayton is the staff writer for
http://www.rxmexonline.com/A-mexican-pharmacy/discount-prescription-drugs.htmland
author of many articles relating to health issues helping the public
to be better informed of the options available to them in today's
online world.