Drug Coupons

Drug coupons are manufacturer-sponsored savings programs for brand-name prescription medications.

Pharmaceutical companies offer them to help commercially insured patients who lack drug coverage or struggle to afford their copay or coinsurance. They can reduce your out-of-pocket cost to as little as $0 per fill.

Drug coupons are also referred to as copay cards, copay coupons, or copay assistance programs. These terms all describe the same type of benefit — a manufacturer-funded program that reduces or eliminates the portion of your prescription cost that insurance does not cover.

A prescription discount or savings card (such as the NowPatient Rx Advantage Card) is used instead of your insurance — you pay a discounted cash price out of pocket at the pharmacy.

A drug coupon works differently: your insurance is billed first, and the coupon then covers some or all of the copay or coinsurance you would still owe. Drug coupons are only available to commercially insured patients, whereas discount cards are available to everyone regardless of insurance status.

Drug coupons are sponsored by the pharmaceutical manufacturers that make the brand-name medications. Each manufacturer sets its own eligibility requirements, savings amounts, and program terms. NowPatient’s Drug Coupon Service searches available coupons across multiple manufacturers and surfaces the results to you in one place.

Yes, completely free. You can search for available coupons and complete the eligibility quiz at no cost. You only pay the reduced prescription price at your pharmacy if you qualify and choose to use the coupon.

Drug coupons are available to patients who have commercial or private health insurance. They are particularly useful if your plan does not cover a specific brand-name medication, or if your copay or coinsurance is unaffordable. You do not need to be uninsured — in fact, drug coupons require that you have commercial insurance to use them.

Drug coupons cannot be used if you are covered by any government-funded insurance plan. This includes:

Drug coupons are also not available to uninsured individuals. If you fall into any of these categories, see the Alternative Options section below for programmes that may be able to help.

Not necessarily. Each drug coupon has specific eligibility requirements set by the pharmaceutical company that sponsors it. NowPatient’s short eligibility quiz is designed to quickly determine whether you meet those terms and conditions for your specific medication. If you qualify, you will receive access to your coupon immediately.

Once you search for your medication and select it in the app, you will be prompted to complete a short eligibility quiz. The quiz asks questions based on the pharmaceutical manufacturer’s requirements for that coupon — such as your insurance type and coverage status. It typically takes only a few minutes to complete.

Yes. Drug coupons are specifically designed for situations like this. If your commercial insurance plan does not include your medication on its formulary, or if you face a high copay, a manufacturer coupon may be able to reduce your cost significantly — sometimes to $0.

Go to the Drug Savings section of your NowPatient account homepage and locate the Drug Coupons Service Card.

Using the options button on the card, select ‘Search’. You will be taken to a search page where you can enter the name of your brand-name medication. If a manufacturer coupon is available for it, your medication will appear in the results.

If you qualify, you will receive a notification in the Notifications Section of your account homepage.

This notification includes all the information and instructions needed to access the documents required to submit to the pharmaceutical company, or a coupon card that you can download and use directly at your pharmacy. All documents are also stored in your account documents folder.

If your medication does not appear when you search, it means no manufacturer coupon is currently available for that drug.

This can happen with generic medications, which do not typically carry manufacturer coupons, or brand-name drugs whose manufacturer has not set up a coupon program. In that case, consider the NowPatient Rx Advantage Card, Canadian Rx Savings, or Patient Assistance Programs as alternative ways to reduce your costs.

When you arrive at the pharmacy to collect your prescription, tell the pharmacist you have a drug coupon before they scan your medication. Show them your coupon or card — either printed or displayed digitally from your NowPatient account. Your insurance will be processed first, and the coupon will then cover some or all of the remaining out-of-pocket amount you owe.

Once your prescription has been scanned and billed through your insurance, it can be difficult or impossible to apply a coupon to that transaction after the fact. Always present your coupon before the pharmacist begins processing your prescription to ensure it is applied correctly.

Once you qualify, your notification and all associated documents are available in two places: the Notifications Section of your account homepage, and your account documents folder. You can access them at any time to view, download, or print your coupon card or application materials.

Savings vary by medication and manufacturer. Some coupons reduce your cost to as little as $0 per fill. Others apply a fixed dollar reduction to your copay. If you qualify for a coupon, NowPatient will clearly explain the savings amount and any limitations before you use it.

Yes, coupon terms vary by manufacturer and program. Some coupons have annual savings caps, fill limits, or expiry dates.

NowPatient will present the specific terms and conditions — including any applicable caps — when you qualify for a coupon, so you know exactly what the benefit covers before using it.

This depends on your insurance plan and state regulations. In some plans, payments made using a manufacturer coupon do not count towards your deductible — a practice known as a copay accumulator adjustment. NowPatient recommends checking with your insurance provider to understand how your plan handles coupon payments.

Because drug coupons cannot be used with government insurance plans, consider these alternatives:

If you are uninsured, the NowPatient Rx Advantage Card and Canadian Rx Savings program are both open to you and can offer significant savings.

For free or very low-cost medications, you may also want to explore Patient Assistance Programs — manufacturer-funded programs for uninsured or low-income patients. You can search for these through the NowPatient Patient Assistance Programs service.

If you have already received a Medicaid denial letter, the following independent patient assistance organisations may be able to provide financial support with your copay or coinsurance:

Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) are manufacturer-funded programs that provide free or heavily discounted medications directly to patients who cannot afford them — typically those who are uninsured or underinsured and meet income requirements.

Unlike drug coupons, which work at the pharmacy counter alongside your insurance, PAPs often involve an application process and may supply the medication separately from the standard pharmacy channel. You can search for Patient Assistance Programs through the NowPatient platform.