Using a Money Off Coupon... At the Pharmacy...

As I've ranted about previously, everything to do with healthcare in the US has a cost attached to it. The trouble is, it's never certain how much that cost will be. It fluctuates depending on the provider (what the insurance people call doctors), the pharmacy, the hospital and, of course, who your insurance is with, and whether you paid for the bells 'n' whistles package.

I got some medication prescribed by the doctor and after having learnt my lesson on previous occasion, stuck the name into Dr Google. Instantly, it came up, with people complaining that they had paid over $100 for said medication despite having insurance (OK, probably not very good coverage). In the same thread, one person kindly included a link from the manufacturer to a $20 off coupon.

Were my eyes deceiving me? Does that really happen? For a Brit, the thought of taking a random voucher that I randomly found on the internet to use alongside my prescription is ludicrous. Can you imagine going to myvouchers.com, printing off a coupon for a GSK-branded antibiotic and handing it in at your local Boots alongside you prescription? Imagine taking three quid off your eight quid prescription with the voucher; that'd be so weird.

So, as I have no shame, I trundled downstairs to the pharmacy and (sheepishly) handed the girl at the counter my prescription and my money off coupon supplied by Dr Google. Miraculously, the pharmacist accepted it and it brought my payment down from $50 to $30 (clearly, we only have average insurance coverage). Miracle of miracles!

America, you will never cease to amaze me.