Prescription savings

I had heard about (and used) GoodRx as a tool to help get lower prescription prices, but last year when we were in Mesa, I found that the local Walgreens had multiple prescription discount tools that they might use to try to get me the lowest price. When I went in this year, I noticed this sign:

There is a QR code, but you can also just type in the website: https://walgreens.rxsense.com/

For example, for some reason that I don't understand, the prep solution for a colonoscopy is not covered by our prescription plan. They looked up the best price using one of the discount tools (Hippo had the cheapest price for the prep solution) and that is what they charged me.

For another medication, even though my doctor has prescribed it (and I have taken it for years), sometimes my insurance won't cover it, or won't cover it at the dosage that my doctor, in conjunction with me, has determined is the best for me. Walgreens will let me know that insurance isn't going to cover it but let me know that they have found a discount price.

If you go to that website, and put in a prescription name (like the suprep for colonoscopy prep), you'll find that there are a number of different discounts -- GoodRx is one of them, but it isn't the absolute cheapest (there are two others about $1 cheaper). 

I don't understand how the prescription discount companies provide the prescription medications for so much cheaper. We had one experience (again with the colonoscopy prep) -- the nurse at the gastroenterologist's office had given us a couple of GoodRx coupons for a couple of different pharmacies -- the prices were slightly different at the different pharmacies, and the cheapest was Bashas' - a grocery store that has a pharmacy in it. We decided to try there -- when we got there, the pharmacy was not open, but it was due to open in about 3 minutes. We waited, and when it finally opened, the guy wasn't ready to help anyone. About 10 minutes later, he finally would allow us to speak to him -- we showed him the GoodRx coupon that indicated it was valid in Bashas'. He said that he could not honor the coupon, that the price they indicated we would be able to purchase it for was under what he had to pay for the medication. We left there and went to Walgreens - and, as I indicated, they got us even a cheaper price than GoodRx. Bashas' looked like a very small pharmacy; maybe Walgreens makes it up in volume? (I remember hearing someone saying when I was working, "We lose money on every sale but make it up in volume!" -- I don't think that's a staying-in-business plan!)

Anyway - I thought it might be helpful to others if you are finding some of your prescriptions are still very expensive even though your insurance covers it, or you have prescriptions that your insurance does not cover.