It’s that time of year again. As Americans prepare for the holiday season, they are also preparing to choose their health insurance plans. The open enrollment period begins Tuesday, November 1, 2016 and ends Tuesday, January 31, 2017. The Affordable Care Act requires every American to have health insurance, whether it's through your employer, Medicare, Medicaid, or by purchasing your own individual plan. It’s important you choose the plan that’s right for you – for your health and your wallet.
Take Command Health, a company that empowers individuals and small businesses to become savvy health insurance consumers, points out that studies show consumers choose the wrong plan up to 88% of the time based on their known needs, costing them more than $500 a year in unnecessary health expenses. These costs are magnified for businesses who choose a one-size-fits all plan for their employees or who choose to send employees to exchanges, where plan choices can be overwhelming. If you add it up, Americans waste about $75 billion a year because of poor plan choice.
Because healthcare is so confusing, complicated, and complex, Americans are wasting money on things they don't need. It's an all-too-common scenario.
That’s where RefillWise comes into play. With RefillWise for prescriptions, you may be able to sign up for a less expensive plan to cover other basic healthcare expenses.
Here's how it works. There are four basic health insurance plans: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Each covers the same essential health benefits and each will be within a few hundred dollars of each other. The Affordable Care Act requires each tier to cover a certain percentage of your health care costs.
Bronze plans cover about 60 percent (so you will pay about 40 percent of costs). Bronze plans have lower monthly payments, but higher out-of-pocket costs such as copays and deductibles.
Silver plans cover about 70 percent (you will pay about 30 percent of costs), unless you're eligible for cost sharing reduction. With the silver plan, monthly payments cost less than a gold plan, but more than bronze. Your out-of-pocket costs will be less than a bronze plan, but more than a gold plan.
Gold plans cover about 80 percent (you will pay about 20 percent of costs). With gold plans you have higher monthly payments, but lower out-of-pocket costs.
Platinum plans cover about 90 percent (so you pay 10). With platinum plans, you have the highest monthly payments and lowest out-of-pocket costs.
As Take Command points out, what really drives costs, and therefore your plan choice, are the things you know about: things like prescriptions, doctors visits, therapy, medical equipment, etc. So, instead of signing up for a silver plan that could increase your monthly payments, you might choose to sign up for a bronze plan with low monthly payments. Then, your out-of-pocket costs may not be as high as what you'd otherwise pay because rather than filing on your insurance, you would use your RefillWise card to pick up some of your prescriptions. If you rarely need prescriptions or need coverage for just one medicine, it could save you money to buy a bronze plan, then supplement it with your RefillWise card.
This month, RefillWise launched a new way to get prescription discounts. Now you can access instant prescription savings by simply texting RefillWise.
Here’s how it works: Text “Join” to 22822.
You will receive your RefillWise membership card along with a note welcoming you to RefillWise.
You can text “menu” to RefillWise at any time to learn more about how to:
- Use your card
- Receive a copy of your card
- View your points and rewards
- View your total savings
- Contact support
For each prescription you pick up, you'll earn 500 points! After using your card on 10 prescriptions, you'll receive a gift card via text!
You can now immediately receive your RefillWise membership card and earn gift cards from your mobile device.
You’ve created a RefillWise account, and you wonder, "What happens now? How do I get the most out of this?" (if you haven’t yet, that’s okay! Here’s a link to sign up). With our Reward program’s built-in benefits, you can access cash rewards on top of savings.
First Off, Who Needs RefillWise?
RefillWise is really and truly for everyone who fills a prescription medication in the United States, including your pets. "Everyone" includes people of all ages with or without insurance and people who are under-insured-- we understand your frustrations!
Start Using It
The very next time you have a prescription to fill, take your RefillWise card with you. This card information will give you another leg up on the ever-rising cost of medicine. When you drop off your prescription, just hand the card over to the pharmacy tech and ask them to check the price for you. You can even ask them to save that number to your account for next time.
Track Your Rewards
After you fill a prescription using your RefillWise card, you can keep track of the points you earn in your online account. If you don’t see it right away, don’t worry. It takes a few days for us to receive updated information from the pharmacy. For every prescription you fill with our card, you earn 500 points. Watch your points add up to 5,000 and earn a $5 gift card.
Additional Benefits
You can set reminders and keep track of every prescription you fill with RefillWise in your account. We also have a team ready and available to help you get the most out of our program. If you ever need help with your account or at the pharmacy, email us at support@refillwise.com or call (855) 279-9027.
Now that you’ve officially given your RefillWise card information to your pharmacist, you’re ready to save every time you fill a prescription! You’ll find it’s important to make RefillWise part of each pharmacy visit even when you’re not picking up meds for yourself.
Remind Your Pharmacy Tech
It’s a good idea to get into the habit of reminding your pharmacist to check your RefillWise price, just in case they forget. You can always show them your card at the off-chance they didn’t save your information to your profile last time.
Earn Rewards with the Family
If you’re the person who manages prescriptions for your family, you can use your RefillWise card for their medications, too. The benefit to this is you don’t have to manage multiple accounts online for each family member and even better, you earn points faster together. Team up with your family to earn your Rewards!
Save On Pet Medication
If your furry best friend is under the weather and needs a prescription, you can use RefillWise for their meds, too! All the same rules apply and you can earn points for pets every time they need extra care. Let’s hope it’s not too often.
Other Important Benefits
You can set reminders and keep track of every prescription you fill with RefillWise in your account. We also have a team ready and available to help you get the most out of our program. If you ever need help with your account or at the pharmacy, email us at support@refillwise.com or call (855) 279-9027.
Of all the errands you run in life, a trip to the pharmacy seldom makes the “Most Pleasant” list. We completely get that. Considering this trip normally takes longer than you’d like, we decided to share some quick helpful tips that will make your life a bit easier (and help you save money).
Tip 1: Be Prepared
Before you make the trip, double check that your RefillWise card is handy. Paper version or a digital version will do the trick. Choose the version you prefer.
Tip 2: Choose the Right Line
Some pharmacies have designated consultation windows that are separate from the pick-up line. If your pharmacy has a consultation line, save a few minutes by going there first. They'll be happy to save your RefillWise information for your next visit.
Tip 3: Speak the Lingo
Your pharmacy tech will be familiar with the term “Prescription Discount Card.” You’ll save a few minutes by describing your card accordingly.
Tip 4: If You Have Insurance...
Ask the pharmacy tech to compare prices. Before you complete your purchase, ask your pharmacy to compare the RefillWise price to your insurance price. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll save more with our card!
Tip 5: If You Don't Have Insurance...
Ask the pharmacy tech to save the card as your primary plan. Your pharmacy can run prescriptions with your RefillWise card every time you need to pick up a prescription-- easy as that.
Save Wisely
Best of luck with your next pharmacy visit! We hope these tips are helpful. If you need extra assistance, feel free to email us at support@refillwise.com or call directly (855) 279-9027. A member of our customer support team will happily help you.
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