My medication went from $31 to $130.

[u/Space-Useful]

I'm really frustrated right now and I would like to know if anybody has experienced sonthing similar. So I'm on Methylphenidate and I would pick it up from my local walmart for $31 dollars. Starting this month, it randomly shot up to $130. I called my insurance, they said it was somthing up with walmart. Talked to my walmart pharmacist and she said that nothing has changed with walmart in terms of a manufacturing change and no changes to my prescription has been made.

I had to bite the bullet and pay to get the medication (I'm afraid of abruptly stopping it). I plan in calling my insurance again but this is just very upsetting.

[u/Hafford55]

Try good rx and see if the cost is better! Usually is if your rx is that price 😬

Trying to figure out what changed though is still a good idea though!

Did your insurance plan renew? Mine renewed April 1st, so I am back to square one on meeting my deductible and expect that to mess with my bills/rx prices as well, but it would depend on your plan. Sometimes plans change year to year as well, even if your insurance provider is the same.

[u/Abject_Replacement94 → u/Hafford55]

Walmart no longer accepts GoodRX on controlled substances, including controlled ADHD medication. This policy only started a few months back.

I was thinking maybe they were using GoodRX to begin with, that would explain the price jump. Do you think the pharmacy was using GoodRX this entire time because it was cheaper than using your insurance, but now that GoodRX no longer is accepted, they have to put it on your insurance? Do you have a large deductible?

[u/Suitable-Care-2743 → u/Abject_Replacement94]

This is exactly what happened with me.

It is more cost-effective for us to be on a high-deductible plan for our family, since we get a large HSA contribution from my husband’s employer for choosing the high deductible plan. While it’s nice that we have no monthly premium to pay, we essentially pay for everything out of pocket until we reach our deductible - including prescriptions.

With Walmart’s GoodRX price I paid $28/month for my ADHD meds for the last 3 years. With the recent change I pay $90/month for the same meds. Sucks real bad.

[u/Hafford55 → u/Abject_Replacement94]

What! Lame. My insurance is great, but two years ago GoodRX was a lifesaver. I went to my local grocery store pharmacy and then switched to CVS (when that pharmacy wasn’t getting my meds anymore during the shortage) though so never had to deal with Walmart policies…

[u/Jargon_Hunter → u/Abject_Replacement94]

That’s so ridiculous, what’s their reasoning??? Do you know if that’s the case for all prescription discount cards or just GoodRx? If it’s just GoodRx, maybe SingleCare would work?

[u/Bitter-Breath-9743 → u/Abject_Replacement94]

That is terrible

[u/Wicked-elixir → u/Abject_Replacement94]

CVS accepts GoodRX.

[u/Space-Useful → u/Abject_Replacement94]

I have BCBS and I do have a large deductible (about 3000).  Since my insurance is already on file walmart usually submits a claim before I pick it up. Up until this month, my claim would reflect that I had to pay $31.  Unfortunately,  GoodRx doesn't have any coupons for the walmart (s) in my area. The cheapest I could find is Walgreens, but I'd have to get my doctor to resubmit the prescription since it's controlled.  I do plan on contacting my Insurance again to get to the bottom of this today.

[u/narcolepticbeast → u/Space-Useful]

check if rxgo.com has any coupons for walmart in your area. if not, I'd say it may be worth it to change pharmacies if it's cheaper that way

[u/chrissymad → u/Abject_Replacement94]

Also fun fact is that you can't use a lot of these coupons (goodRX and mfr coupons) if you receive Medicaid or Medicare because of anti-kickback laws.