Exploring Prescription Discount Cards’ Role in Medication Adherence

December 04, 2023 - Since prescription discount cards were introduced into the United States market in the early 2000s, patients and providers have leveraged them to combat rising drug costs and make medications more affordable. By enhancing drug affordability, prescription discount cards can improve medication adherence among underinsured patients, providing a more cost-effective option.

According to an article in the US Pharmacist, about 49% of people in the US use at least one prescription medication monthly. Adhering to prescriptions as directed by a licensed healthcare professional is vital to managing chronic conditions and improving patient outcomes, making medication affordability a crucial consideration for patient care.

Despite the importance of medication affordability, a 2019 KFF survey estimates that approximately 25% of Americans cannot afford prescription medications. Although patients with insurance may obtain prescriptions for a reduced cost, the out-of-pocket spending on these medications can vary dramatically, yielding a broad range of affordability.

Prescription discount cards may offer additional savings options for uninsured or underinsured patients.

Prescription Discount Cards

Prescription discount cards offer savings to patients with inadequate insurance coverage for branded or generic medications. Like the variations in prescription costs with insurance, the actual savings obtained from prescription discount cards can vary among pharmacies and cards.

Generally, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) creates a discount program and negotiates discount prices with participating pharmacies. After negotiation, the PBM works with marketing companies to promote and advertise the discount card.

Larger pharmacies, including CVS Health, Walgreens, and Walmart, use prescription discount plans to build patient loyalty and boost overall revenue from all items, not just prescription medications.

According to a 2022 white paper published by IQVIA, prescription discount card usage increased significantly between 2017 and 2021, accounting for 5.4% of prescription adjudications in 2021 compared to 3.3% in 2017.

Additional insights revealed that discount cards are more often used for generic medications than branded medications, with higher utilization rates in large-volume therapeutic areas.

Matt Herfield, chairman and CEO of BuzzRx, told PharmaNewsIntelligence that the patients who benefit from prescription discount cards the most deal with chronic conditions that require maintenance medications, including high blood pressure, depression and anxiety, heartburn, GERD, cholesterol, and asthma.

Medication Affordability

As drug prices continue to rise across the US, medication affordability has become a critical concern, interfering with access to care and medication adherence.

“I saw firsthand while running a point-of-care dispensing business. Patients — many of them with health insurance — struggled to pay for prescriptions. I frequently heard from doctors that patients couldn’t afford their prescriptions, and I was compelled to take action,” Herfield noted.

A KFF report found that one in five adults reported difficulty affording their prescription drugs despite the majority having health insurance. As a result, approximately 20% of patients turn to discount cards at least once a year to afford their medications.

Medication Adherence

Medication affordability is directly related to medication adherence, as costs present a significant barrier to obtaining prescriptions. The CDC estimates that only 20% of prescriptions written each year are filled, implying issues with medication adherence.

A large portion of medication non-adherence is due to high drug prices.

“Today, people still have to choose between medicine, food, and other necessities due to rising costs and financial burdens caused by the pandemic. There is a huge squeeze on household budgets right now, especially with the rise of inflation,” Herfield stated.  

However, cost-saving options can significantly boost medication adherence by providing more affordable, alternate prescription filling options.

“Cost is a major factor driving the lack of medication adherence as prescriptions remain unaffordable to many people in America. Prescription discount cards can boost medication adherence because it makes medication more accessible. Poor medication adherence can lead to avoidable hospitalizations,” he continued.

However, prescription discount cards can help manage these barriers. For example, BuzzRx provides cost savings to nearly 100 million people in the US with inadequate prescription coverage through prescription discount cards.

BuzzRx’s prescription discount card saves an average of $27.44 for patients with high blood pressure, $31.02 for patients with depression and anxiety, $79.11 for patients with heartburn and GERD, $86.20 for patients with high cholesterol, and $39.07 for asthma patients.

Discount Cards During COVID-19

Discount cards have proven to be a valuable tool for medication adherence among patients with chronic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted their critical importance as many patients experienced insurance lapses.

According to the CDC, 31.1 million people in America lacked health insurance in the first half months of 2021. Nearly 5.4 million American workers lost their health insurance because of record-breaking job losses.

At that time, discount cards were a valuable tool for patients taking medications for chronic conditions.

In 2020, BuzzRx conducted a survey to understand how the pandemic affected Americans’ ability to pay for their prescription.

“Half of the respondents who take prescriptions monthly reported that they struggled to pay for these prescriptions because of financial stress caused by the pandemic. This number increased to 69% when asked of survey respondents responsible for buying prescriptions for their family members with a chronic illness,” Herfield explained.

To combat affordability challenges perpetuated by the pandemic, BuzzRx collaborated with insurers to bring patients access to affordable medications. 

For example, BuzzRx assists Medicaid and Medicare members when a medication is excluded from the prescription discount card formulary. One partnership has already helped save the organization's members $2 million in medication costs.

Additionally, the company partnered with the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) to make prescriptions more affordable to American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

“Prescription discount cards will continue to be a staple tool for Americans. Skyrocketing insurance deductibles and more drugs falling off formularies result in more people with health insurance turning to prescription discount cards to fill the gaps and afford their medications,” Herfield concluded.