Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1755

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Parker-Pope T.
Latest Craze in Coupon-Clipping: Free Trials for Prescription Drugs
Wall Street Journal 2002 Apr 16

Full text:

Looking to save money on prescription drugs? Try the way people have been saving on toothpaste and cereal for generations: shop the sales and clip coupons.

Battered by patients and policymakers alike for the high price of medications, pharmaceutical companies are trying a tact consumer products companies know well: offering coupons, rebates and free trials for dozens of brand name medicines.

Although drug firms have offered free samples to doctors for years, these coupon and rebate programs are aimed directly at patients, part of the industry’s aggressive new direct-to-consumer marketing efforts. The practice likely will increase as big name drugs, like Prozac, start facing generic competition for the first time.

Right now, consumers can get a free six-pack of Viagra — nearly a $50 value. For dieters, there’s the weight-loss drug Xenical; the manufacturer now offers a free three-month supply, worth $356. Have heartburn? You can get a free seven-day cache of the drug Prevacid (ordinarily about $32). Additional coupons and rebates promise more modest savings of $5 or $10 on other drugs.

But there are restrictions and caveats to keep in mind. Drug coupons always require a doctor’s prescription so people can’t sample medicines on a whim. Also, since the companies usually allow only one offer per household, the coupons aren’t a long-term solution for people who don’t have insurance coverage for prescription drugs. But even people with drug coverage can benefit because many of the coupons, rebates and sample offers are for so-called lifestyle drugs — such as those for sexual dysfunction, birth control, weight-loss and hair loss — which aren’t covered by most insurance plans.

The coupons often carry a high price — privacy. To get them, customers usually have to agree to give personal information to the drug’s manufacturer. To request a $5 coupon for Ortho-McNeil’s Ortho Tri-Cyclen birth control pills, for instance, a woman must fill out a form with her age, name and address. A week later, she’ll receive the coupon in the mail.

A more troubling consequence is that the promise of big one-time savings may steer consumers away from generic alternatives, which work just as well but in the end cost far less. For instance, drug maker Eli Lilly is offering a free month of Prozac Weekly, worth $75. That brings the annual cost of the drug down to about $825. But patients who ignore the offer and opt to take the generic form of Prozac, fluoxetine, which is available only as a daily dose, would pay only about $552 a year.

Not every drug has a coupon or rebate offer all the time. The best deals tend to be found for drugs with generic competitors or drugs competing against another big brand for market share. The allergy drug Allegra is offering a $10 rebate. Its competitor, Clarinex, has a free seven-day trial, worth about $15. To compete with Prevacid, the heartburn drug Nexium, which costs about $30 weekly, is also offering a free seven-day trial.

Here are a few tricks for finding drug coupons.

Go to the Internet. The best way to find a coupon or free offer is on the Web. Most drugs have Web sites listed under their brand name, or their sites can be found easily through a search engine such as www.google.com.

Check drug company Web sites every month. Promotions and coupons change all the time, so if your drug brand doesn’t offer a coupon this month, it’s always worth checking back later.

Sign up for the free information kit. Most drug Web sites offer users the chance to send away for additional information, but they don’t tell you that those kits often contain coupons for free or discounted drugs. For instance, consumers who log on to www.lipitor.com won’t see any information about coupons, but they can sign up for more information about lowering cholesterol. Those who do will have the chance to complete a survey and be r ewarded with a $10 rebate.

Ask your doctor for coupons or samples. Some drug firms only promote their special offers or discounts through doctors. The weight-loss drug Meridia, for instance, is making its Meridia Milestones discount program available only through physicians. Users save 25% the first month and 40% the next five months, or about $188. Doctors are sympathetic to the burden of high drugs prices, so don’t be embarrassed to ask if they have coupons or sample packs.

Shop around to get the best price. Drug prices are rising all the time, but sometimes, pharmacies offer lower prices because they stocked up on a drug before the price increase. Last month, the online drug store 1-pharmacy.com, offered a special on the heartburn drug Nexium, lowering the price by $1 per pill. And although most of the drug coupons are being offered by the manufacturers, some drugstores give discounts to shoppers who consolidate all of their prescriptions in one store. Right now, drugstore.com offers a $10 rebate to first-time users.