Blink Health Review – How to Find Legit Cheap Prescriptions
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Prescriptions can be costly and oftentimes unavoidable. They can take a tight budget and squeeze every last penny out of it. In my Blink Health review, I look at a company that’s trying to fight the status quo by the numbers.
Having a surprise sickness while you’re paying off debt is not fun. Not only do you miss out on work and lose out on income, but the cost of doctor visits and prescriptions adds up fast.
I see myself as a pretty healthy millennial. I’m not stressed, I eat a primarily plant-based diet, and I do Crossfit 3 times per week. But I still need prescriptions filled at least twice a year.
I had shingles and that was three prescriptions, bronchitis that was four prescriptions, and I’m on birth control, which I try my best to buy in bulk.
Even the healthiest of us need to get prescriptions filled and Lord knows they’re not cheap, even when you have insurance. And it sucks when the pharmacy with the lowest price is all the way out in Timbuktu while the pharmacy down the street’s prices make you want to just cut your bronchioles out.
I’m not the only person upset by this. Brothers Geoffrey and Matthew Chaiken founded Blink Health to make premium discounts available to uninsured and under-insured individuals.
What is Blink Health?
You’ve used Groupon, right? (If you haven’t you should get on that.) Blink Health is like Groupon for medications. They’ve negotiated contracts with pharmacies to bypass the insurance company and pass the savings to you.
They partner with 35,000 nationwide pharmacies and it’s free to use.
How Does Blink Health Work?
Pick Up Blink Health from Your Local Pharmacy
If you’re prescribed one of the 15,000 medications Blink offers discounts on, you can choose one of the 35,000 pharmacies they partner with to have it filled. You can drop it off or have it called in by your doctor’s office.
You have your doctor send your prescription to Blink Health. You then look up your medication on the Blink Health app or website and pay through there.
You’ll receive a receipt with a barcode that the pharmacy scans when you pick up your medication. You pay nothing at the actual pharmacy. You pay it on the Blink Health website.
There is no fee for you to use Blink Health. You just pay for the prescription.
Blink Health Home Delivery
Now, you don’t even have to go to the pharmacy for your medicine with Blink Health.
They have also added delivery to their list of services. To get your medicine delivered to your doorstep with Blink Health, just follow these steps:
- Order your medicine online through the Blink Health website or app.
- Blink Health’s pharmacy works with your existing pharmacy to transfer the medicine to their pharmacy.
- Medicine is approved and delivered to your house.
How to Find a Participating Pharmacy for Blink Health
Popular Nationwide Pharmacies that Partner with Blink Health:
- Acme
- Albertsons
- Bartbell Drugs
- Costco
- Fred Meyer
- Fry’s
- Giant
- Giant Eagle
- Hannaford
- Harris Teeter
- HEB
- HyVee
- King Snoopers
- Kmart
- Kroger
- Meijer
- Osco
- Safeway
- Shopko
- Smith’s
- Stop & Shop
- Vons
- Walmart
- Weis
- Winn-Dixie
To find a complete list of pharmacies that partner with Blink Health, click HERE.
Is Blink Health Legit?
Blink Health is definitely legit. They can offer low prices on prescriptions because they have a contract with pharmacy benefit broker MedImpact. They use MedImpact’s network of over 35,000 pharmacies to lock in a single price for consumers wherever they fill their prescriptions.
So now medication prices that were previously reserved for people with cream-of-the-crop insurance policies are available to everyone.
Can I use Blink Health Without a Prescription?
No, you cannot use Blink Health without a prescription. All medicine purchases must have a doctor’s prescription.
Reasons to use Blink Health:
The Blink price is lower than your insurance copay.
The Blink price could be lower than your copay. This can happen from time to time depending on what your insurance charges for preferred prescriptions (aka premium). That’s usually when there isn’t a generic for your medication.
If there is a generic, you might be better off using your prescription coverage. You can always check and just use the cheapest option.
Blink can also be cheaper at the beginning of the year before you meet your annual prescription deductible. You know when you get sick in February and you have to pay $150+ for flu meds? This would be a great time to check around for prices.
Most of the time people who only get prescriptions a couple of times a year and you end up paying higher prices because you haven’t purchased enough medicine to meet the deductible.
It’s always a good idea to just open up the Blink Health app and check the price of your medication and compare it to the cost after your insurance. You can do this for free on the Blink Health app.
The medication isn’t covered by your insurance.
Sometimes the medication isn’t covered by your insurance. In this instance, you would be responsible for paying the full amount of the prescription cost and Blink Health is likely cheaper.
You don’t have any prescription drug coverage.
Blink Health is amazing if you don’t have prescription drug coverage. Instead of you trying to figure out which coupon to use to get the best deal, you just buy your medicine through Blink and let them worry about the deals for you.
Can I Use Blink Health as a Supplemental Insurance?
No, you either have to use your insurance or Blink Health. You can’t use both on your medicine purchase.
How much do you actually save with Blink Health?
According to Blink Health, you can expect to save 80% on your prescription medicine.
Is my medicine available with Blink Health?
To figure out if Blink Health can give you a discount on your prescription, just type it into the search box on their website. They will give you a price quote for purchasing it in the store and home delivery.
It’s worth mentioning that Blink Health likely won’t have savings for medications that are higher-priced and/or new to the market.
Blink Health Reviews
In the past, I’ve used coupon codes from GoodRx to get cheaper prescription prices. Blink Health is different from Good Rx in that you pay the same low price no matter what pharmacy you go to. No more driving out of your way to save money.
And medications might be the one thing people don’t like delivered to their door. Unlike online pharmacies like Health Warehouse, Blink allows you to pick up your meds at your pharmacy, with your pharmacist.
There’s no medication sitting out in the heat or potential for important drugs to be stolen. Your prescription is safe at the pharmacy until you pick it up.
Blink Health Complaints
While Blink Health partners with most major pharmacies it doesn’t partner with Walgreens or Duane Reade, which could prove inconvenient if you like those pharmacies. Other than that, all but one of the reviews I’ve read have been positive with no problems using the bar code and everyone saving a significant amount of money, insured and uninsured alike.
And if for some reason you fill your prescription at a non-partner pharmacy, all prescriptions on Blink are 100% refundable.
As more people sign up for Blink Health the prices will continue to decrease, as the company will have more leverage to negotiate with MedImpact. And everyone gets $15 off their first purchase, no expiration and no coupon code required!
So unless you’re Bruce Willis’ character in Unbreakable, I highly suggest signing up for an account and giving them a try the next time you have a prescription to fill.
c
Jen Smith is a personal finance expert, founder of Modern Frugality and co-host of the Frugal Friends Podcast. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Lifehacker, Money Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Business Insider, and more. She’s passionate about helping people gain control of their spending.
This Post Has 6 Comments
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What an awesome resource!
Agreed!
Checking this out! thank you so much for sharing. We couldn’t afford health insurance this year so we ended up on a private cost sharing plan that doesnt cover prescriptions. And between all of our monthly meds we spend about $150 a month. I’m going to look and see if this site will help us save on them!
You’re welcome Brittany! We are on healthcare sharing as well and I’m always looking for ways to save on what they don’t cover.
Aww man, I read this right after I picked up my prescription! Pinned your post for next time, though! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome info.
Bummer! You’re welcome for next time Becky!