GoodRx is offering 30 common heart health medications for less than $30 at more than 70,000 pharmacies across the country.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Among the generics now available are ACE inhibitors like lisinopril, beta blockers like propranolol, calcium channel blockers like amlodipine and statins like pravastatin. Brand-name medications available with discounts, which may require commercial insurance, include Entresto, Ozempic and Toprol XL.
As of December 2023, the company estimates that users of GoodRx codes at pharmacies save an average of 84% on generics when compared to the average list price at the same pharmacy without a GoodRx discount.
“Improving access to affordable medications is the most important thing we can do to improve Americans’ heart health. The second most important is ensuring access to helpful, accurate information,” Karla Robinson, M.D., medical editor at GoodRx, said in a press release. “Knowledge is power, so we create easy-to-understand content that people can actually use so they are better equipped to minimize the risk of disease, find affordable medications, stick to their treatment plans, and ultimately improve their overall health and wellbeing.”
In January, GoodRx released data claiming it has helped consumers save more than $65 billion on prescriptions since 2011. It also estimates it has prevented at least 140,000 ER visits and 110,000 hospitalizations for major adverse cardiovascular events. The company has a digital resource center focused on heart health.
About 3 in 10 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed at some point in the past year because of the cost. Tackling rising drug costs is among the few bipartisan issues in Congress. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act included historic changes to how Medicare pays for drugs, including requiring manufacturers to pay Medicare back for list price hikes above inflation and enabling Medicare to negotiate prices for certain drugs.
GoodRx is one of a growing number of companies with a mission to make prices more transparent and drugs more affordable. Last December, CVS Health announced it would be overhauling how it reimburses its pharmacies, shifting to fixed rates from pharmacy benefit managers. It attributed this change to macroeconomic pressures that have increased pharmacy costs. Branded drug costs keep rising, broadening the gap between generics and brand names, an executive said during the company’s investor call at the time.
The “cost-plus” approach mimics that of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., which aims to offer transparent and lower prices than traditional pharmacies. Cost Plus Drugs sells prescription medications at a 15% markup over their costs plus pharmacy fees. Last fall, the startup teamed up with Expion Health, integrating its dynamic pricing tech to help payers navigate specialty drugs.
Payers are also jumping on the bandwagon to try to keep costs down for members. Select Health, a nonprofit plan serving more than 1 million members and a subsidiary of Intermountain Healthcare, decided with its pharmacy benefit manager last fall to offer its members prescriptions through Cost Plus Drugs. Meanwhile, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are partnering with Civica Rx, a nonprofit pharma, to manufacture, produce and distribute generic meds, including insulin at a maximum of $30 a vial.