Since I signed up with CostPlus Drug in Jun of 2022, they have added a total of 128 more products to their library. This is spectacular because it means that more people with a variety of medical conditions can definitely benefit from the formulary expansion. If you search for “ncpdp id # 4940208” and it leads you here, it is because the NCPDP belongs to CostPlus Drug, and it assists you in contacting your doctor. Here is my blog, along with a few updates.
Hello friends, welcome back to my blog. Have you heard of the CostPlus Drug company created by Mark Cuban? Its mission is to provide the lowest possible price with complete transparency. As a pharmacist, I also aim to help patients get the medication at the lowest cost without any hassles. Today, I will compare the CostPlus Drug Company’s model with Rite Aid pharmacy, where I used to work, to see if there are any differences in wait time, conveniences, services, turnaround time, and cost.
How the system works
First, let’s understand the workflow of the prescription filling from A to Z.
- You’re sick
- You go to see a doctor at either hospital, urgent care, or the primary physician’s clinic.
- After waiting for a few hours (if you are lucky), the Doctor either gives you the paper prescriptions or faxes them electronically to your local retail pharmacy.
- With insurance, you pay a little bit of co-pay for your med
- Without insurance, the cost comes out straight from your pocket
- You head home, take your med for the duration that you were told
- Depending on the type of medication and your condition, you might have to head back and get another refill – and the cycle repeats again.
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How does Cost Plus Drug work?
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Find your medication in an online store by searching, browsing alphabetically, or by a medical condition.
This applies when you already know what medication you are currently taking. For example, If I am a diabetic type 1, my meds include Metformin. According to the site, it will only cost me $3.90 for a 30 days supply. The next step is to compare it with what you currently pay with or without your insurance. If you have to pay cash for your med, I would say this is a sweet deal.
If you don’t know what medication you are taking before seeing a physician, you can still search here to know the price once the doctor tells you what you will be taking. To know which is cheaper, I recommend you go through retail with your insurance, ask for the cost and compare with Cost Plus Drug Company.
Compare with Retail Pharmacies: Similar. Retail pharmacy can’t fill your prescriptions unless the doctor send them over or you still have REFILL. To know the price of the drugs, you can either CALL YOUR INSURANCE to inquire about the co-pay or ask the pharmacy to run the prescription through their system with your insurance to see how much it costs.
2. Once you’ve found your medication, sign up for an account.
Sign up process runs smoothly. You will receive an email confirmation to confirm your account. After that, you will need to fill out personal information such as an address, DOB, and allergies, … took me about 3 mins. If you are helping your parents set up an account, it might take longer because there is more information to fill out.
Compare with Retail Pharmacies: Similar. If you have never filled any medication at Rite Aid, you have to provide all basic information, including your prescription insurance.
3. Reach out to your doctor or provider with our provided instructions (costplusdrugs.com/contact-your-doctor) to receive your prescriptions.
There are two ways to ask for prescriptions from your doctor
- Option 1: Download the available PDF form. You can pre-fill all information prior to printing out the form.
- Option 2: Ask your doctor to write a new prescription that includes ALL of the following information: your name, email address, date of birth, and medications, Give your doctor this information for the pharmacy
NCPDP ID # 4940208 | Tel: 1-833-926-3384
Either way, you still have to contact your doctor’s office either by phone, fax, or in person.
Compare with Retail Pharmacies: Similar. Costplus Drug gives you the technology that enables you to reach your doctor. In retail, the pharmacy staff will ask you to call your doctor if there isn’t any refill or any prescription under your name. For instance, mom doctor’s office told her that they have already faxed the prescriptions to her local pharmacy but it was nowhere to be found both times. She had to contact the doctor’s office to find out what had happened.
4. Once we receive a prescription from your doctor, you’ll be notified to checkout.
5. Your medications will be delivered straight to your door in just a few days.
Compare with Retail Pharmacies: Similar. A retail pharmacy will keep your medication on the shelves for up to seven days. They have an automatic call/text system to remind you to pick up your med. Most pharmacies offer delivery services to stay competitive in the market. Many elderly have transportation problems which can be solved with delivery service.
Do you need to provide insurance?
No, you don’t have to because they can get the cost down very low without your insurance.
Compare with Retail Pharmacies: At the local pharmacy, insurance is how you can reduce your costs. Basically, you just have to compare the cheaper method: going through insurance at a retail pharmacy or without it at Cost Plus Drug Company.
How long do I need to wait before getting my medication?
If everything goes according to plan, Cost Plus said that the patient would get the med in a couple of days. Keep in mind that there are so many variables that could lead to delay. The most significant factor would be having difficulty getting in touch with your doctor. And you already know how ridiculous the wait time can be. For maintenance meds for conditions such as heart issues, diabetes, and blood pressure, your doctor is already known, and they can process it quickly. But for new drugs and new diagnoses, it might be a pain.
Once Cost Plus receives the prescriptions, TruePill is the one that will package your med and deliver it to your door. This means that Cost Plus also goes through a third party, which makes me wonder how Cost Plus still be able to keep the cost low.
Services
The patient can initiate an order, check the status, pay, return the med, and so much more simply using the online account set up. If the patient has questions, they can call TruePill and speak with a representative.
Can you really save money?
I definitely think so. The company highlights the exact cost for 30 days and how much you could save versus going through the traditional routes with your insurance. This transparency allows patients to either stick with the insurance or go with Cost Plus. You can use a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to pay for your prescription.
CostPlus claims that they can get the price low because they get it straight from the manufacturer. You also must understand that retail pharmacies such as Rite Aid get it from the manufacturer but also mark it up a little. Even with the insurance, the retail pharmacies work with them to get reimbursement.
Today, they carry over 200 of the most commonly prescribed generic medications and quickly add more drugs to their inventory. CostPlus does not have a brand name or specialty drugs at this time.
Take away point
I think that there is so much potential to grow. Cost Plus makes my dream come true as a pharmacist because this is an amazing way to solve medication cost issues and simplify the complicated pharmaceutical system.
Keep in mind that the patient has to pay for the cost of shipping and taxes. There are no couples available through Cost Plus. Narcotics is not available to order at this time.
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