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General Pharmacy Tips
- Your insurance will often cover the prescription in full, so make sure you have your current insurance on file with the pharmacy.
- You can ask the pharmacist if they have a coupon that is better than the GoodRx coupon you have if you are wanting to pay out of pocket in order to get your medication more quickly.
- If your prescription is too expensive, even with a coupon, you can ask for a partial fill. This may be useful if you anticipate not needing all #30 capsules for a generic extended-release stimulant trial (e.g., Concerta or Adderall XR).
- Once we are on a stable, optimized dose regimen, we recommend switching from a brick-and-mortar pharmacy to a mail-order or home-delivery pharmacy, but until then, it will often be best to send the med trials to a local brick-and-mortar pharmacy.
When your pharmacy says insurance won’t cover the prescription
- Pharmacies often make it sound like there’s no other way to get your prescription filled immediately and cheaply. This is an example of why your pharmacy might tell you: “Your insurance will not cover your prescription ending in xxx1852 unless your prescriber contacts them and provides additional information and requests authorization. We will ask your prescriber to contact your insurance provider or select a new medication. You will receive another message when the issue has been resolved, and your prescription is ready for pick up.”
- We recommend calling your pharmacy before you pick up your prescription to confirm they have filled it.
- Sometimes, a pharmacy will neglect to fill a prescription if it needs a “Prior Authorization” to be covered by insurance. A “Prior Auth” could take 1-2 weeks to complete, so we recommend asking your pharmacist to fill the medication without the Prior Auth and paying for your short-term 1-3 week trial medications with a GoodRx coupon instead of your insurance if a “Prior Auth” is necessary for insurance coverage.
- We make this recommendation because, without insurance, the medications we trial cost $9-38 at most pharmacies in WA if you use a GoodRx Coupon. Even with insurance coverage, the medication may still cost $5-10. Most of our patients report they would rather complete their trials 1-2 weeks sooner than save $9-38.
- If we do need to wait for a “Prior Authorization,” please make sure that we have your full and current insurance information on file. If there is any question, upload a photo of your insurance card through the patient portal, as this will allow us to advocate on your behalf with your insurance company.
GoodRx Coupons for Medication Trial Dosages
**GoodRx Coupon - Dextroamphetamine IR 10mg (Dexedrine/Zenzedi IR)**
**GoodRx Coupon - Dexmethylphenidate IR 5mg (Focalin IR)**
**GoodRx Coupon - Methylphenidate IR 10mg (Ritalin IR)**
**GoodRx Coupon - Amphetamine salt IR 10mg (Adderall IR)**
**GoodRx Coupon - Dextroamphetamine Spansules ER 10mg (Dexedrine ER)**
**GoodRx Coupon - Methylphenidate LA (Ritalin LA)**