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RX Relief Discount Card...scam or a real thing?
My husband received a RX Relief Discount card from Healthcare Alliance in the mail. It says it's not an insurance card, but you can use it at pharmacies to save on prescriptions. He asked me to look online to see what I could find about it. What I found was very mixed: several postings of people saying they saved money; other posts saying it's a scam. No conclusive information. So... I told him I would post this on the Kitchen Table, because if anyone here had any experience or information, at least it would be from people that have I have seen posting to this website. Anyone know anything about this? I'll check back here Sunday afternoon!
What does your pharmacy say?
I have seen such cards, but like you am not quite sure.Also just be careful what information you release to anyone. So much of the information is being sold to others, and or even to your insurance companies that could be used against you later.
I'm a bit late on this? I've used the RxRelief Card, it was great. It saved me almost 50 percent on a recent antibiotic prescription - a huge help, since I don't have health insurance at the moment. It's totally free, so there is nothing to lose. I'm not sure what information they can actually acquire, simply because my personal information is not required to use the card. Ex. I share the card with my husband, and I have lent it to a friend. It's kind of like a permanent, re-usable coupon.
I just got these cards today and stumbled across this forum while I was researching it. Yes, I registered just to reply to these posts, so take it any way you want. As far as those posts saying that they don't have your personal information, stop and think about this - they have your name and address or you wouldn't have received the card. Your personal information is on your prescription when you go to the pharmacy. There are 4 different series of numbers on these cards.
You think they can't link any of those numbers on the card to the information they used to get the card to you in the first place? Now, chances are they can't get credit card numbers and that type of thing, but with just your name and address, for those who buy prescriptions frequently, they could very easily track your purchases and sell that information to third parties.
Personally, I think I'll keep researching.
I received a set yesterday and was just looking online for information about them.
f I could "like" JohnD's post, I would. Although these are free and they save you money without having your name on them-- the can track the purchases where the discount was applied. Chances are your name and address will be exploited for something and it's probably not just advertising.
In my world, it's a SCAM.
Here's some food for thought. If they are a legit company why can't I find them on the Better Business Bureau website? Don't give in to people like this. They can and will get your information cause they know there are people stupid enough to buy into it. Burn those cards. They will only bring trouble.
Hope I'm not too late on this, but was in my Doc's office yesterday reading CONSUMER REPORTS and these cards were discussed and reviewed...do not know the issue date but fairly current...I am subscribed to Consumer Reports online and use it all the time (just bought large TV and guess where...Costco!). Anyway - do Google CR and read up on them. Can't hurt. I didn't finish as I don't have any of them.
Hello every one, this is brief info from the BBB about the company sending out these RxRelief cards. NOTICE the start date of this business. One of the concerns from BBB.
BBB file opened: November 17, 2011
Business started: 10/01/2011 in NY
Business incorporated: 10/01/2011 in DE
Type of Entity
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Business Category
Alternate Business Names
The Healthcare Alliance
Here is a link that might be useful: Script Relief - BBB review
THere seem to be a number of people just registered on the day they post to slam this business.
FWIW, Better Business BUreau is a franchise busines sin each city that acepts money from the companies to post good ratings but will post bad things as they come.
Beware, BBB is not your friend, "BBB Accredited" means that a fee was paid.
Honestly, I have no idea why we are getting slammed with the negative reports from people just registered, but I'll report it to GardenWeb. Something is fishy.
Yes, I too just registered today to add my 2 cents worth to this conversation. I too, got a card in the mail yesterday and like the rest of you started doing searches on the internet to see how this company is making it's money. I called the 800 number and was given the same 'line' as someone previously noted "that they were working with the drug companies". I have been on Healthcare Alliances website and sent an email directly asking 'how do they make money in this'. I have not, as yet, received an answer, but then I only sent it an hour ago. sushipup, you are getting so much traffic on your site today because first, a lot of us have just gotten these cards and really want to believe in Santa Claus but saw Dad in the SUIT a few years back. Second, your site is having a lot of traffic and real discussion on the subject! We have been told time and again, the old adage. We need to be sceptical, there are very few free rides in this world. Now there is no doubt they can track the cards back to a specific person, they have a 'member number' on them and they know the name and address on that specific card, because it was attached and probably printed at the same time as the address. Now whether they are up to no good is what we are all trying to figure out. I for one will not use it until I know why they are being such good guys, what's in it for them! Everyone has an angle, what is theirs?
Thanks PlantMoma for clearing things up here. I figured the new members had found the thread via an on line search.
Years ago I received a similar discount prescription drug card through my United Healthcare Insurance. I never used it because I just never needed it and have since 'pitched' it. I remember the letter that came with the card said that they were not an actual 'part' of United Healthcare.
I think new member Darla7 may be onto something and said it best...It's kind of like a permanent, re-usable coupon.
If I'm understanding things correctly, there is a similar card available through AARP. See link below.
Here is a link that might be useful: Plus Drug Discounts Program Save 15 -55%* on prescription drugs not normally covered by Medicare Part D!
The Goodwill stores in my area (Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County, Pa) offer a discount prescription card. According to the linked article they have partnered with FreeForAll Incorporated to offer a discount prescription medication program to Goodwill customers, team members and their families. I doubt this is a scam. And they announce the program frequently on the in-store radio.
Here is a link that might be useful: Goodwill offers Prescription Drug Card
If I remember correctly, I received dental and eye care discount cards with my supplemental medicare coverage when I signed up in 2008. I've not had a reason to use them and eventually discarded them. These cards also stated that there was no affiliation with BCBS. I suspect the insurance company receives some benefit from including them in their enrollment package or why else do it?
Yes, I've been a sceptic all my life.
I am puzzled by the paranoia that some people have. Do you use a grocery store affinity card? Do you pay by check or debit or credit card? Then your purchase information is being collected, and all information collected is shared. I've received assorted mailings from my insurance company (I do not have Medicare yet) regarding my Rx's, and some mailings from drug companies, to the effect that "since you take XYZ drug, how about trying ABC?"
Your information is out there, folks. This is nothing new.
Or you can crawl into a hole, use only cash and a fake name when you pick up your prescriptions if your doctor (who shares all this information with your insurance company, too, remember) will give you a script under a phone name, oh wait, s/he can't do that.
You are naive if you think that using a discount card will suddenly compromise your personal information. It's already too late to worry about that. And yes, the drug company lobbyists wrote the Medicare Part D legislation in the first place,m and everything they do has an ultimate motive to make money.
So, I still don't get the highly paranoid posts of some these first day posters (not all), who never even came back to defend their positions. Hit-and-run posts are the hallmark of spammers, but I don't get this one.
Sorta like the Yelp extortion, people who will go into a business and threaten to post a negative review on Yelp unless they get free meals or services.
I am puzzled. Plantmoma, your post was not at all like some of the previous ones in this thread; thanks for your (real) input.
The company was founded in Oct. 2011 based out of NYC. The letter I got came from Washington DC and the return address when googled comes back to a UPS store. If you get this letter trash it, making sure to cut up the cards so someone else can't use them. If you use the card this is what will most likely happen. The pharmacist will call the number on the card. The company will ask to verify the patients info which would be name DOB and Social Security #. Then they will likely ask the pharmacist to check your Drivers License and probably have them read the DL # to them. There goes your identity.
sushi-pup: the issue here is that unlike the cases you mention, there is nothing to substantiate that Healthcare Alliance is a legittmate company. They could easily get information that you don't want shared. There is some expectation of your information being shared like you state, but that is done with your consent. You have no idea what this company is looking to do, because if it's not a scam then how do they make any money?
Mmmm, the pharmacist does not have my social security number.
Most all the other companies are arms of the pharma industry and act just like coupons.
Are there several legit companies with similar sounding names?
And mass-mailing on such a level would be virtually price prohibitive, I would think, for any but a legit company backed by a pharmaceutical or insurance company.
I got one over a week ago. My daughter works for a large law firm, I gave it to her to check out. She has so far sent a photocopy to their ins co to see what thet say, and an attorney is gonna do a follow-up on that to see if indeed it can in anyway cause any havoc to my life down the line.
I also got an email today about a book I supposedly won, will post separely about that.
Thanks, Aunt Audrey, Finally a good idea and a post from someone who didn't just register today.
Mind you, I'd not defending this discount card, I know nothing about it. I just thought it weird to have so many people sign up and make negative posts on the very first day they are registered, and then never return to discuss it or anything..
Let us know what your daughter discovers so we can all learn. I think another good source of info would be your pharmacist.
Here's an article about the Rx discount cards in general, and how they work. Again, I know nothing about this particular card mentioned by the OP.
Here is a link that might be useful: Discount Rx cards
I just got two cards today and I am a new member because this site came up when I googled it. Very glad to have found it for other reasons besides this. My son is an EMT and he looked at the card and said it's too good to be true and suggested I look it up. I also check the BBB. The company is not listed but there are also no complaints against it. I will continue to check back to see what the lawyer suggests. Also, my pharmacist of over 25 years has never asked for social security numbers and/or license numbers. In New York, I don't believe there are permitted to have that information.
I googled Rxrelief to check it out like the rest of you and ended up here reading posts and being amazed at the 'cliqueiness' of the forum. It seems that as a newly registered - blue state - tree hugger, nothing that I have to say will matter anyway but I'm going to give it a shot. The jury is still out but it appears to be a scam. The concern about sharing information is semi valid in that your information is already out there. Give me your name and address and I can get your DOB and SS# in seconds. Folks, everything that you've ever typed online is still online...everything. Anyway...just wanted to comment that this is not a welcoming group at all.
I also just registered to post a comment. rainnskittles has a good point. I, too, could find your DOB and SSN in a matter of minutes with your name and (not even your current) address. That is not the main problem with this item. Let's look at the mailing itself. These people already have your name and current mailing address. GOOD NEWS - YOU'VE BEEN ACCEPTED! (did YOU APPLY for anything?) peel off one of the cards... Why not put it in your wallet right now or "give it to a friend or family member?" My biggest problem with this: There is absolutely NO VERIFIABLE INFORMATION regarding this company anywhere. Yes, there is an address, but, as others have stated, it goes to a UPS store, not a valid PO Box or physical address of a business. I implore sushipup to call 1-800-776-0760 and place their unedited transcript of the call here for all skeptics to read. I am certain it will be very unenlightening, as has everyone else's calls.folks, "YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER" this feels like a Publisher's Clearinghouse letter with no clearly outlined reason for the mailing. Only one conclusion I can come up with: PHISHING AT IT'S FINEST!
I am in California and I also got these cards. After doing the research I cut the cards up.
1. The address is a UPS store. Look on Google Street. Is someone working out of their home? I expect more from a legitmate insurance company.
2. Since when is something legit when the letter starts out "Here are the cards you requested". Pardon? I DID NOT request these. I have no need of these, I have health insurance through my employer.
3. The WHOIS registration shows the website was created in the last few months of last year.
Walks like a duck, smells like a duck..... its a duck.
I too just registered today so I could post here. I receieved these cards in the mail the other day and just now had the time to research them which brought me here. As for them being AARP, or insurance related - I have no idea, i do however recieve AARP stuff in the mail from time to time for my cousin's kid - whom by the way is 9 yrs old and lives in a neighboring city! So yes our info is out there and many people have it.
I had to get scripts for my daughter a few weeks ago and the pharm tech mentioned something about a discount. The script we purchased was not available as a $4 generic, we paid $28. Anyway when I received this i figured it was because my pharm tech applied for me when she offered to look into any discounts.... no idea.
I too will check back to see what the daughter/lawyer says.
I like this site and will visit frequently for other subjects as well. Have a wonderful night!
I posted earlier about having a discount card but I'm not sure that it is the RxRelief card. Mine came through my grocery store pharmacy. They offered the card for $10 and you got a $10 grocery credit (what's the point?) and they will offer to try it, when my Medicare prescription plan is not Medicare approved for a prescription, and it is usually less. Nothing has ever been astronomically less that I'm aware of but then the uncovered cost hasn't been awful either. For instance, last week I needed to renew the Rx for my vitamin E injections that Medicare doesn't cover. Three months worth was $28 with this discount card but I don't know what it would have been if I hadn't had it. If I remember, wish they had a memory pill!, I will call them and ask what the deal is.
I just called my pharmacy and she told me that their discount is through the grocery store itself. So, no help there. They have had customers try to use the RxRelief card and are not able to take it because of their own discount. She had no information on it or who sponsored it or if it was a scam or not.
Just a thought. Even though several have registered here recently, don't put them down. You may not agree with the advice they give, but several have given information that we can check out ourselves. Also it is always nice to get new members with different thoughts, ideas and information on any of our forums. Just read the rules, try to be informative and welcome. To the people who have been here awhile, try not to be negative, and if you don't like what is posted, just delete, and go on. All have a great day.
I have read a few of the other reviews and also followed up with my company's legal. Rxrelief DBA Healthcare Alliance is a company that used phishing and 3rd party mailing lists (magazine subscriptions, newspapers, etc.) to get list of multitudes of people's information. Follow ups from people claiming they received the discounts would be useful as most pharmacies listed on their website do not actually accept the card they sent in the origional mailing. You will fill out further paperwork that contains more personal information than your name and address. The user who commented about the link between the card's use and the information located on your prescription bottle is correct as well. Once your information is in their database they will sell your information as well. This is another way that criminals steal your identity and also ghost prescriptions are written to provide illegal abusers with medications and supplies. If you cannot afford insurance to help with the burden of cost for your prescriptions there are government funded programs and also affordable prescription programs that are legitimate business and will not sell your information. Using your pharmacy's prescription relief plan is legitimate, my pocket card is a legitimate prescription card, AARP offers a discount card, you can even check with the local medicaid office to see what programs they can offer. They do have programs for people who make enough to survive, but not afford costly prescriptions... If you receive something you did not personally inquire about - it is in all cases a SCAM... Shred the information and report the business to the FTC. If you have access to a legal team - give the documentation to them and let them handle these companies for you. DO NOT USE THE CARD.... It WILL give the company more of your personal information and you WILL be liable for any charges they DO NOT actually cover. You may pay a small fee when you pick up your prescription, but when the paperwork is filed and the pharmacy received NO PAYMENT from Healthcare Alliance - YOU WILL get the BILL...and unfortunately - medical bills do get filed on YOUR credit report if not paid in FULL.
I have had this card on my dresser for a few weeks,I am new here today too... and wondering if the card was legit. I googled the card name and found you all here discussing this. Gardeners are awesome people...Since it is a REAL people discussion and not a "professional" RX site, I decided to drop in and read. Thank you all for posting your opinions. They were very helpful. My concern was...I never receive something for nothing. People do not go to the expense of making up cards and mailing them out if they are not getting anything in return. I do not know if they get a kick back from the pharmacy, or phishers, or who knows...
so I probably will file them in the circular file.
But!! Wait!! I am a perennial gardener. I do it for myself and for others....This is a very cool site...After I read Sushipup's apology, I decided to stay for a while and check this out. I may find some other answers to things I have been needing to know.
I also joined today because I received the Cards over the weekend.
Can someone tell me what the deal is with these cards? Do you need to use it with a prescription? Cause if you do then it's obvious they collect the person's info!! I'll tell you I received 2 cards for the "family" and I am a single person with no family in this country, so...
But, if you can use it without a prescription, and no info is given on the person purchasing the meds, then it might be a promotional thing.
When was the last time THAT happened though??
Please give me your feedback, I am new here on th elite and JUST got the cards. Can someone who used them explain how it worked?
The discussion topic caught my attention because I too was looking into these mysterious cards that came by mail! I decided to read the discussion thread because of the confidence and trust carabubble had in the response she would find here. I was a little taken back by the "anti-new member" tone, but appreciated the information that those posts were new members (I had no way of knowing). I am glad I continued to read as the tone did change and I found valuable information. I agree with weedenator - this is a cool site and although gardening isn't what brought me here I am enjoying what I see! So I am a new member and new to gardening!
P.S. I shred my cards!!
Reas, please stick around and join in the discussions. Anything goes....we talk about ourselves, our family, our pets, show pics, tell jokes....it's all great fun and a whole lotta knowledge.
There is such a wide range of people here, we all learn something from someone.
So come sit at the Table....it stretches, so there is always room for more. Tell us a bit about you, stay a while.
Did anyone notice that the address and phone number on the paper work doesnt match the address and phone number on the website?
5505 Connecticut Ave. NW #312 Washington, Dc 20015
Sorry but it does seem too good to be true. And yes I got my sign up done at this very moment.
Ok so like most of the rest of the people on this form I have just joined today so this is what I have to say because I read so many of the forms and it seems that there is one thing that is making this thing a scam is that they have your information because yes they have a membership number on them but they don't have any link to any personal information other then if they got your name and address from something else because I have been into making money online this year and have learned a lot of things about finding a scam and for this reason I guess they have sent me more of the cards that I can hand out to friends and family as I wish and yes if they use the card then I will get paid like $10 per card so I just want everyone to know the facts about what Im trying to say here. Im not trying to promote the card just want to help. So the whole point of this post is that the cards that they gave me to hand out all have the same number on them so if I give them to someone without sending them through the mail so then they wouldn't have any of the information about the person using the card so the only way they could get the information is from the pharmacies so that is all I have to say and I'm still looking into it myself so not going to say its not a scam but Im also not going to say that it is a scam. But I really can't find anything wrong with it as of yet. I hope you find an answer that will make you feel better one way or the other.
I too signed up today...because I am researching this exact RxCard which I received in the mail yesterday. I worked in Advertising for years and am familiar with many different types of scams that can be played out.
I don't know yet which side of the fence I'm on but I'm leaning on the side of this being some kind of "phising" expedition. The cards have my name and address on them and several sets of numbers on them which makes tracing back to me child's play for them. (They are designed to look like a card you would get from a legitimate insurance company.) The information they garner through the pharmacy is one step closer to gaining access to my identity. Alot of "phishing" that is done doesn't try to gather all your information in one step.
I'm naturally suspicious and hopefully will stay that way since it has been a great asset to me through the years.
I will post anything legitimate that I find. I thank the people who have done research and reported it because a big red flag is that the addresses don't match up and their company is only a few months old.
Good Luck to us all.
I've received two of these cards in the mail and was just as curious as everybody else. I already participate in Walgreen's RX discount program. For a fee of $20.00 yearly, they provide a decent discount. I have severe rheumatoid arthritis, I'm on a number of medications, and although I'm not getting any of my scrips for anywhere as little as $4.00, I do get a fair amount of savings, making their small fee well worthwhile. I would be highly skeptical about using a no-name card from a "company" with no physical address, etc. These cards are getting tossed! Smells like phishing and info sharing to me.
Yes, I just registered today, as I saw the question when I googled Rx relief card.
I received 24 of these cards in the mail yesterday, with a letter saying if I give them to people, I will receive a check for $10 for each card that is actually used at a pharmacy.
Although the cards read Rx Relief, the package with the 24 cards came addressed directly to me at my home address (so someone has my address), but was from EzProfitRx, in Washington, D.C. I have searched, and find nothing on EzProfitRx however.
Probably a scam, as it sounds too good to be true, so it probably is, but I was just wondering if anyone else received multiple cards, or if any of you were given the card by someone.
There is actually a website for the Rx Relief Discount Card. From the site it looks like it is associated with Costco, Target, Walmart, CVS and several other pharmacies. here is the link:
I received these unsolicited cards (2 cards on one letter) from Healthcare Alliance in the mail this weekend. As with all things like this, I check them out before using them, and like so many here, yes, I registered to post and share my info. I know there are a lot of discount programs out there, and would certainly check with my pharmacy to see what they recommend before using an unsolicited card. This company receives their money from the pharmaceutical companies it gives the discount for (does that tell you how much of a profit margin those companies make?)
That being said, the reason I want to post is this----The information that they have on me is 4 YEARS OLD. The mailing address is correct however the name is not- I changed my name about 6 months after changing my mailing address. This makes me wonder where they are getting their information.-- As with anything...buyer beware.
Not sure how many people are still checking these posts, but I just got the letter in the mail two days ago with the cards inside.
Curious thing is the cards were mailed to my wife's name, but with my last name. She never changed her hast name, so the person the letter was sent to doesn't actually exist.
The other comment is that I do have insurance, and I've had some costly visits to the hospitals recently (costly meaning going over the $4,000 deductible, and expecting to go over the $9,000 deductible in next two months)
Thing is, we never applied for one of these, and definitely not with that name/last name. My wife doesn't get any mail and doesn't expect any mail. She was terminated due to pregnancy, and doesn't apply for anything. I take care of the money part and had to request financial assistance at two hospitals given the costs due to the high deductibles. Even if they had ordered these for us, it'd never have gone to that name/last name combination.
Regardless of my story's background, I got the cards. Today, I brought them to work so I could investigate them. I did the google search like many of you and first link was this. So I read all the replies. I'm curious about the fact that some people did a first post and never came back. And those were commented about being a fraud. They could very well have been!
Now, my research didn't stop here. I did go to other sites to get more information. But it's more of the same thing. "You got it free, if your insurance doesn't cover it, try the card, if it works, it works". And the "that HAS TO BE a SCAM, don't know how, but it has to".
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm certain those are the two points of view, which makes total sense.
I found a news channel making a special report on these cards. Supposedly, they had a lot of talk about them and they say that they work and that, supposedly, they're not a scam: http://www.9wsyr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=3237087&navCatId=20808 (hope that I'm allowed to post links)
I, myself, will put them in this drawer. I'd hope never to be out of insurance and need medicine. I come from Spain where there's no need for medical insurance as you're covered by Social security regardless to whether you work or not, and all medical visits/surgery/everything else is free. Even cosmetic surgery, to an extent, is completely free. Of course the country is now going downhill, so I shouldn't brag about how good I would have had it had I been there...
Anyway, personally, I never ordered this, I have no clue how it got here, and how it was directed to my wife's name and my last name (people tend to assume she has my last name, or that I have hers, depending who gets presented first) therefore I'm going to store it in case shiit happens. Even then I'd be wary about using them, and I'd make sure I do not provide the pharmacist with any added information when using them. It'd be interesting to see if they do really provide with a discount.
I bid you all the best, and I advice others passing by to post their own findings regarding this matter.
Best regards,
Hello, Just joined. I found your site months ago,when I was looking for info on the Rx Relief Cards. I read everything posted, went to some other sites and then put the cards in my look at later pile. Last week I took another look at the cards. Rx Relief is partnered with Catalyst Rx. Catalyst Rx just welcomed Walgreens to their family.
If any of you have particiapated in a third party plan through a Pharmacy, where you can have up to 3 months of your medication at one time mailed to you, then you will be a little more intuned to what I am talking about.
Walgreens recently had a falling out with their company that was providing this service for them. From what I got from the news story is they, (Walgreens) wanted a bigger piece of the pie. ($$$ lol)They didn't renew the contract.
Looks like from what I have read, they went with Catalyst.
Thats another story.
Now we all know Pharmacueticals are big business.
And there are so many parts to this story that it would take me a book to say it all.
Rx Relief did a mass mailing and are still mailing cards out. From the west to the east coast and in between. This took some serious money. Yes, people are given 20-50 cards at a time and as far as I know get paid for the ones used, that they hand out. The cards do save you money at Pharmacies that honor them. I took days looking into this, because like you, I don't like scams.
I am not a reporter, just a semi-retired granma and gardener. So don't expect my research to be on a high plain.
I got to thinking of the HIPPA laws, the FDA and all the other licenses you need to be in compliance with, when doing this kind of business. I think we all would have heard on a big scale, if this was a scam. I also think it is a marketing tool to find the customers who are on medications every day, every month, for a long term.
What better way to find a new customer base. Yes, some will throw them out, others never use them, but the small percent that do and fit the model that they are looking for could and will be worth 100's of thousands to them.
They aren't looking for the casual 1-2 prescritions a year.
But the ones that have 1-5 medications a month, every month. We have a hugh population of baby boomers, I am one of them. I lost my insurance last year and have 3 more years until medicare. I used the cards and saved $56.00 on my prescriptions. That was a big deal for me. I get the same ones filled every month.
I am waiting now to be contacted for a follow up on a "let us give you a 3 month supply to your doorstep at a cost less than you are paying now. "
I will keep you posted.
I checked with the FDA and several Pharmacies. So far nothing to write home about being a scam.
I also gave thought to the large chain Phamacies that were accepting them and concluded that they wouldn't risk that many lawsuits if it was a scam, they also would be violating the HIPPA laws and could and would lose their licence to dispense drugs. I just couldn't imagine the large corp. that would chance this. But then again.
I will keep looking into this and if I find anything
of interest will keep you posted.
I plan to now explore the other areas here.
Have a safe 4TH OF July and bless you.
My thought are with anyone in the flooded parts of Florida and the ones in Colo. And the other storm ravaged areas.
I am in New Mexico and we are as dry as Death Valley, no fireworks for our street this year, just don't want to chance it.
I just signed up for the forum today because I wanted to say something. ALWAYS beware of ANYTHING that is free. Nothing is free. There's always a hook, angle, condition. Something. Like some of the other posters suggest, they might be collecting personal information for future use. Getting a big discount on a prescription is quite a thing. WHY would any company give it away. The drug companies do that sometimes but that's marketing. It sounds like the RxRelief card is a precursor to some kind of scam. Beware folks.
Here are a couple of things to consider:
This does not have to be a scam. The company is trying to build a database that it can sell to medication providers. The information can be quite useful because it tells them how many people use a certain kind of drug and who they are. This is better than media advertising because its more focused.
The card bears an uncanny resemblance to my daughter's Blue Cross/Blue Shield card. Even the logo which is a cross (sorry for the pun) between the blue cross and blue shield.
Hi...Ive been a member for years! Just got these cards yesterday and wondered what this was all about. I don't use any meds, so no use to me, but suspicious. The one who said it is the government spying on us, thanks for the big laugh of the day. They are going in the trash...
I am new here and very interested in the consequences as I leaped before I looked and used the card yesterday at Walgreens. My insurance is poor and does not give me much of a discount compared to the Walgreens discount card that costs $20 a year, so I asked the pharmacist what the Rxrelief card would do for me. My 3 month prescription was about $1 less with the Rxrelief card compared to the Walgreen's discount card, and I did not have to pay the $20. The savings with the Rxrelief card was 54% off of the retail price. If I can identify any negative consequences, I will try to remember to post about them here! Wish me luck!
Okay before I start, I just registered today to post on this. I received my cards as well and was researching these to find out if they were valid. I have decided that I will NOT use these. I'm not sure if anyone has thought about this yet but they will also have your DATE OF BIRTH. If you contact the drug store, the first question they ask you is your birth date. With that and your name, they can find out ANYTHING! Just saying.
I stumbled across this thread because I, too, received these cards. After reading all this, I'm going to dispose of them. BUT! Wanted to let y'all know that you can RECYCLE them, instead! There is a wonderful company that recycles the plastic these cards are made of, along with gift cards and store discount cards and all that. Mail them to:
Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.
25840 Miles Rd.
Bedford, Oh 44146
And they ask:
"Please just send plastic cards, no rubber bands, paper clips or paper."
As we are all disposing of these cards in large number, let's do what's best for the planet :).
I received these cards today out of the blue and the reason I joined this forum and am posting is these people know that prescriptions I use. To the right at the top of the letter it says "Start saving on "drug I take" and thousands more..."
I do not use insurance for this drug and only get it filled at CVS and Wal-Mart. So those are the only places they could have gotten this information. It is very upsetting to me and I plan to not only call these people, but CVS and Wal-Mart & find out who shared not only my address, but the prescriptions I take. It's against the law to release this information.
I signed up for the cards and on there web they had a list of drugs that you could get even more of a discount. I called there web phone # and asked if this was a scam. they said they get paid a small amount by the drug company for every drug that is discounted on the card. next I'm going to call a drug company and see if they do pay this company. let you know
It seems that this site is a very close-knit community, and I was very apprehensive about joining. But I went ahead and became a member simply because of the subject matter.
I did not receive these Rx cards out of the clear blue, like many others have stated. I ordered them through an offering on the PCH website. I've been out of work now for 8 months and my unemployment benefits were denied, therefore I have no insurance and no money to purchase any. Thought that this was a great deal...free!!
I have a prescription for a monthly medication (HRT) that costs $186 retail for the 30 pills. Outrageous!! Been without this med for over 6 months now and am not adjusting very well. Actually, my body is not adjusting to being without this med AT ALL. I need it.
When I received my Rx card, I was all set to jump on the bandwagon until I stumbled upon this site. So, the cards have been sitting here collecting dust because I'm still on the fence where this is concerned.
One thing for sure is that if I do decide to go ahead and make use of them, I absolutely refuse to give my SS# and date of birth on any paperwork. If that info is mandatory, then I'm sending this card right to the shredder.
And I didn't give a physical address when I signed up for these cards...only a PO Box. They don't know where I actually live. And the nearest pharmacy is 35 miles from here!
Well, I have to make up my mind sooner or later whether to use these or not. I probably will not post another comment, but rather keep an eye on this site for a while to read any updates...good OR bad...
Oh...and I LOVE gardening!!! lol
Hi everyone,
I think most here have not already realized the obvious. The concern of 3rd parties getting your information, It's a bit late for that, they already have it, it isn't that difficult for one to find and use your information, so that should not raise concerns. Each time you buy something or use a credit or debit card, at least 1 3rd party receives your information. If you use this card at a pharmacy, there is not much one can do to hurt you. They can never find out information on the type of medication you purchase nor your medical conditions. That information is highly protected through HIPPA, most pharmacies will not risk their license to release or give anyone easy access to your info. I say if you need a discount for prescription drugs, why not try it and see if it is for you. To not use it because you are afraid a 3rd party will get your information is ridiculous, if you use any social network, your info is already available to any 3rd party wanting it. If you buy a new car or house or simply fill out contest forms.
So this should be the least of your worries. Try it out once and if you save money that's just fantastic, if you start getting spam mail from 3rd parties, return it with a NATA or please remove me from your mailing list.
Hope I was helpful.
hi, all!
i just joined this site so that i could join this discussion. i rec'd my (unsolicited) RXrelief card a month or 2 ago and had occasion to use it for the first time today. my prescription (w/o insurance) costs $247.17 retail. if i paid $20 for the one-year membership in walgreens' prescription club, i would save about $50 on this 3-month prescription. instead, i used the RXrelief card and saved $210.78!!! UNLESS Healthcare Alliance comes after me for a premium payment OR Walgreens comes after me for a shortage in what they thought Healthcare Alliance would pay, i figure it's a GREAT deal! unlike some other posters, i am not worried about the prospect of someone getting my personal info or of getting my name on a bunch of mailing lists (or of being tracked by the gov't looking for uninsured people --- WOW! paranoid much?!!). for $210, i'll gladly deal with whatever inconvenience comes with getting some extra spam or junk mail. i promise i'll post a follow-up if i do get billed in some way so as to cut back on the amount i saved. i'll need some other prescriptions refilled in about 6 weeks, so i'm hoping to know by then if there's some hidden downside to using the RXrelief card.
Just like many others, I too joined this site so that I could post my findings on the RX Relief Discount Card. I'm a recruiter and I know how to dig deep and find people, places, and facts, and I'm very tech savy when it comes to what can be found in cyberspace.
This company is the same company as Script Relief which is now owned by Catalyst Health Solutions. I found this link on Yahoo Finance and after reading their 10K (financial report) have decided to trash the cards. The link will be below but this is the part that states how they make their money:
"We provide our clients access to a contracted, non-exclusive national network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies. Our primary business is to provide our clients and their members with timely and accurate benefit adjudication, while controlling pharmacy spending trends through customized plan designs, clinical programs, physician orientation programs, and member education. We use an electronic point-of-sale system of eligibility verification and plan design information, and we offer access to rebate arrangements for certain branded pharmaceuticals. When a member of one of our clients presents a prescription or health plan identification card to a retail pharmacist in our network, the system provides the pharmacist with access to online information regarding eligibility, patient history, health plan formulary listings, and contractual reimbursement rates. The member generally pays a co-payment to the retail pharmacy and the pharmacist fills the prescription. We electronically aggregate pharmacy benefit claims, which include prescription costs plus our claims processing fees for consolidated billing and payment. We receive payments from clients, including applicable claims processing fees, and make payments of amounts owed to the retail pharmacies pursuant to our negotiated rates. Total claims processed, excluding administrative services only (ASO) claims, increased to 92.5 million in 2011 from 69.7 million in 2010. ASO claims were 45.2 million and 0.5 million in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our revenue increased by approximately 42% to $5.3 billion in 2011 from $3.8 billion in 2010."
Note the keyword in here is "aggregate", they also do alot of telephone solicitation apparently. I do not trust them and I will stick with my current RX Persription services through my medical insurance plan. If you do not have an RX Plan, please speak with your pharmecist to see what they can offer and even your doctor may have trial packets or coupon cards that you can use - many legite parmaceutical companies offer assistance in paying for your meds if you just do some research. Do not allow these companies to have access to your personal information, medical information or ability to submit bills to your insurance providers.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Real Story about RX Relief Discount Card and Script Relief Company
Just like many others, I too joined this site so that I could post my findings on the RX Relief Discount Card. I'm a recruiter and I know how to dig deep and find people, places, and facts, and I'm very tech savy when it comes to what can be found in cyberspace.
This company is the same company as Script Relief which is now owned by Catalyst Health Solutions. I found this link on Yahoo Finance and after reading their 10K (financial report) have decided to trash the cards. The link will be below but this is the part that states how they make their money:
"We provide our clients access to a contracted, non-exclusive national network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies. Our primary business is to provide our clients and their members with timely and accurate benefit adjudication, while controlling pharmacy spending trends through customized plan designs, clinical programs, physician orientation programs, and member education. We use an electronic point-of-sale system of eligibility verification and plan design information, and we offer access to rebate arrangements for certain branded pharmaceuticals. When a member of one of our clients presents a prescription or health plan identification card to a retail pharmacist in our network, the system provides the pharmacist with access to online information regarding eligibility, patient history, health plan formulary listings, and contractual reimbursement rates. The member generally pays a co-payment to the retail pharmacy and the pharmacist fills the prescription. We electronically aggregate pharmacy benefit claims, which include prescription costs plus our claims processing fees for consolidated billing and payment. We receive payments from clients, including applicable claims processing fees, and make payments of amounts owed to the retail pharmacies pursuant to our negotiated rates. Total claims processed, excluding administrative services only (ASO) claims, increased to 92.5 million in 2011 from 69.7 million in 2010. ASO claims were 45.2 million and 0.5 million in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our revenue increased by approximately 42% to $5.3 billion in 2011 from $3.8 billion in 2010."
Note the keyword in here is "aggregate", they also do alot of telephone solicitation apparently. I do not trust them and I will stick with my current RX Persription services through my medical insurance plan. If you do not have an RX Plan, please speak with your pharmecist to see what they can offer and even your doctor may have trial packets or coupon cards that you can use - many legite parmaceutical companies offer assistance in paying for your meds if you just do some research. Do not allow these companies to have access to your personal information, medical information or ability to submit bills to your insurance providers.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Real Story about RX Relief Discount Card and Script Relief Company
I work in a pharmacy and we have had several customers call/come in wanting to use these cards, stating we are listed as a participating provider. We have never signed a contract with them agreeing to accept these cards, however we somehow able to use them. One thing that we have noticed though, is that Rx Relief charges a fee to use the card each time, and adds that on to the customer's "copay" or discounted price. In our pharmacy, we do a lot of cash prescriptions, versus through insurance, so our cash price is less than the discounted price through Rx Relief once they add on their fee.
I am a an avid gardener who is currently gardenless, living in an urban apartment, but I signed up here because this was one of the first Google hits I found when I researched the Rx relief cards that arrived in the mail at my company this morning. I was very suspicious and the discussion here was one of the richer discussions I found, so I've decided to join in.
Here's what I found on my research. Some fact, some piecing together patterns and assumptions.
These cards are sent out by a Pharmacy Benefits Management company. Definition & explanation of a PBM - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacy_benefit_management
One of the tasks of a PBM is to negotiate prices with drug companies for their members. Buying drugs is kind of like buying Health insurance. A small company or individual pays more because their buying buying of their small buying pool doesn't have any great leverage. The bigger the pool of buyers, the better negotiating position a buyer is in. The PBM world is very, very competitive, so the more members or individual buyers a PBM has, the greater their buying and negotiating power is, and the cheaper they get drugs for their members.
There are lots of uninsured people in the US, with the number rising on a regular basis and they usually don't have a PBM, because insurance companies quite often are the ones that set individuals up with that. I think these cards are quite an ingenious way of reaching out to uninsured people and getting them included in the pool of this PBMs buyers. All the "bought for cash" prescriptions in the US by people that use these cards will be included in this PBMs drug buying pool.
Of course, there are additional benefits for the PBM. I don't know the pharmaceutical drug industry, but I bet there's some kind of kick back to them from the drug manufacturer when their drugs are bought. So good in fact that this PBM markets these cards as a business opportunity. http://ezprofitrx.com/
They pay $10 to a person the first time one of the cards they handed out is used.
Also, I imagine the marketing information they can provide to the drug companies is invaluable. Imagine if you will, a new drug comes out, ads all over the place, but what type of person is buying the drug? How can they better target their advertising? What market segment are not seeing the message about their drug? With modern data mining techniques they can put together the trending info from purchases at pharmacies with more detailed demographics. We generally only see this data mining at work when they make a slip up (the poster above who received something with his first name and his wife's last name, me receiving marketing in my ex father in laws name for mobility chairs and such like because I used my in-laws address for some mailing for 3 months whilst I was relocating from overseas, etc)
In fact, not using the card will give them as much information about your habits as using it will. They will probably make the assumption that you are either not a regular prescription drug buyer, or already have insurance, and that information has value in the pharma industry, I imagine.
I think where they slipped up was by giving these things out for free in a mailing. That is what kicked of my big misgivings. I thought "For free? Nothing is for free. What's the catch? It feels scammy". And it still does, but I think the money they make off the back end of this card more than compensates them, so next time I need a prescription, I might just give this card a shot, depending on how much it saves me.
Also, looking at all the different hits I got on google, I suspect this PBM has employed online "reputation managers" to try and manage the inevitable discussion of these cards. I think that was a mistake and they should have just let the discussion happen organically, and people's experiences speak for themselves.
Me? I work for my fiance's small company. I'm a Brit who has been here in the US for 20 years, this year, and my background is in accountancy. I still haven't come to terms with the medical system over here and haven't, so far, had to have much contact with it, so I research the hell out of new things I come across that confuse me, so I don't make a mistake that costs me thousands ;)
i just called the phone number on the letter that came with the cards.. listened to their recorded message.. sounded good.. then pressed 3 to talk to a person.. who came on right away and was very nice.. she said the drug companies pay this company a small fee per use of the cards.. and the drug companies benefit by having more customers buy their drugs.
Like anything on the net or in "real" life, it is buyer/user beware. I'm too lazy to go back and read all that was said here, but the #1 very first thing you do is read their "Privacy Policy". When you deal with a truly legit company, ever notice their Privacy Policy states: " We never will sell your information to anyone including 3rd parties". Now, I wonder what Healthcare Alliance's Privacy Policy is. ( tick tock tick tock, enter Jeopardy Theme now). Take a wild guess. That is how they make their money.
Now can you get a discount...yes. Once you activate the card can they sell any information they have on you to anybody that is willing to pay them for it...yes.
So there is your trade off. For me, off to the trash they went. If you have no problems with them selling your info, and you have no formal insurance and need a discount on meds, it may be for you. As always...buyer beware.
Hi all...I am new here as well, I also received the Rx Relief card about 5 mnths ago...I am using it since ,I have friends in pharmacies and ask them about it..They said they got payed for every click on the website, also when you use the card...Well..I can not afford insurance..and my Job doesn't provide us either...It saved me a tons of $$$$!!! And I do not have to provide my SS# or Drivers license...either my DOB...It would be illegal to give it away from any pharmacy any way...Big pharmacies wont risk the chance...Point..Period..Its a good savings on meds...especially when you need them...
Ps: I got no Junk mail or anything..Everybody's info is out there anyway...I could track you down in seconds if i want to just by your name...that's not a biggie with this technology...so the Its a SCAAAM!! is not new Anymore... Everything is a Scam this days...Cant do anything about it unless you got payed cash...and you pay by cash...and use A Diff name..or stay home....So it is a new generation...Either we like it or not...It is happening......There is nothing you can do about it...
I am enjoying the benefits of this Card...
And by the way..I am a Gardener as well...
I am 34 y/o male, Industrial Engineer and Iraq Veteran as well. Next month I will be unemployed as well as my 3 months pregnant wife. I just got the cards by mail. I did read approx. 70% of the postings which I found very interesting. I know that people are worried about identity stolen, also everybody has that gut feeling that something is fishy, I do have that feeling too. Everything about this cards is fishy, the "last chance" stamp, the "here are the cards you requested", the UPS address, the: it is too good to be true. I can conclude that there is obviously some gain for them for the use of it, but, it is relative to each person and the risk and the how much we are willing to take or to share. I had my identity stole three times already... I got delivered to my home a money ordered for $925 US dollar for a "secret shopper task" where I was to earn $200... big scam !!! it is a fake money order... I got the same feeling with these cards, I was tempted to change the Money Order but I sat and studied the case and I did a Google research an i found out about the scam. Anyway, my point is that I will not use them right now, but, when my pregnant wife will need meds and I will not be able to afford them, then I will use the card, that is the key of the game, there will always be people needing something. When you do not need it, then you use your insurance card, of course and you will trash the mentioned cards, but when millions of people with no insurance are paying the price, then these cards will be used, because the cards are needed for the discount. Bottom line, whoever need to use the cards then go for it !!! and if you have private insurance card then don't bother and trash them !!!! I will put them away to use them when I need them. Thank you all for the tremendous input and the information shared...God Bless.
I just registered today to comment on this post and I may or may not return to follow up on all of this (mostly due to the numerous post about people doing just that! LOL don�t call the internet blogging police on me please! LOL)
I just received a card from Walgreens. She said the drug reps asked them to hand them out. This one uses you home ph # as a member #.
My 2 cents...
Everyone needs to remember that there is NOTHING in life that is free. Every (individual or company) is trying to get something for everything thing they do, else what would be the point of doing it? While it could be that it is for a good thing � like personal satisfaction from helping someone, more than likely it is to get money.
The ones that come as a result of your insurance company or you membership in a group like AARP might be legit and simply a way of making their customers happy. Check with your company or group.
Others that are affiliated with charities or government agencies also may be legit since these are ultimately paid for with donations, tax dollars or tax credits to the drug companies.
But all of the other ones well I am sure they are just trying to get you on a calling or mailing list to sell you something else. Companies do pay money for this information.
Point is there is always a reason for any freebie and you need to ask yourself why and can I trust this company. Just be careful who you give ANY information to or else you might find yourself on one of those ROBO CALL list getting 10 calls a day from "Rachel at card member services" !!! These companies do not abide by the Do Not Call list and are virtually unstoppable by the FCC.
The answers you all want:
This card is marketed by a company called Loeb Enterprises, started by Michael Loeb, a wealthy NY socialite who sold his previous company, Synapse Group, to Time Warner for about $500 million. Loeb Enterprises is located in Midtown Manhattan.
Synapse was in the business of re-occurring magazine subscriptions, basically opt-out marketing - or deceiving people into paying for something that they didn't want but are too lazy to do anything about.
After he sold Synapse, him and his partner Rich Vogel started Loeb Enterprises and tried incubating a few different new business ideas, none of which ever really took off - except the pharmacy discount card.
It's a volume game for them, they spend millions mailing these cards to Americans every few months and invariably, x% take them to the pharmacy and use them. Every time the card is used, Mike and Rich make a few bucks. They've partnered with Catalyst Rx, now called Catamaran after a merger with SXC Health Solutions. Script Relief LLC is joint venture among LE and Catalyst/Catamaran. Healthcare Alliance is simply a brand that sits on top of Script Relief LLC to make the product feel legitimate. Rx Relief is the brand on the card itself.
Your Info:
How do they get it?
Loeb simply purchases lists from catalog marketers based on some demographic criteria. They don't keep an internal database of card users - until the card is used, at that point they have some information on file - your full name, birthdate, location of the pharmacy you used the card at, and the drug class of the prescription you purchased (note drug class, not the specific drug). If your address is in the pharmacists system, that may or may not get passed through - it depends on the pharmacy.
Your information is not sold or shared with any third parties- infact, HIPAA compliance deems it illegal for them to do so. Catamaran is a public company, so they're very adamant about keeping information secure.
Your information is used internally for re-marketing. Loeb can see what prescriptions by drug class have been redeemed, your age, location, and will use that data to send you more cards or personalize collateral.
Is this a scam?
No - it's a legit product. They just market it in a way that looks shady because they've had a lot of success using that marketing style, both with Synapse and with this company.
It seems too good to be true.
It's not - for the customer, but for the pharmacist, it can be detrimental. In fact, the pharmacist does not get reimbursed for any part of the discount - they absorb the whole discount. In some cases, pharmacists might actually lose money because the discount on the drug will be greater than the wholesale cost. Many pharmacists will outright deny accepting the card (which is within their right) because they'll lose money on it. Some pharmacists will call this a scam because of this fact. And though there's nothing technically illegal about it, the pharmacists is being unfairly squeezed for the benefit of the customer, and ultimately, Loeb & Catamaran.
So how does this thing work then?
Catamaran, who administers the card, basically aggregates a whole slew of people (brought in by Loeb's sweeping marketing efforts) and channels them through their insurance network, but at discount rates that are not as strong as with insurance. The existing relationship Catamaran has with pharmacies is being leveraged in generating additional transactions by people who would normally be paying out of pocket. The card is an instrument to bring an out of network payer in network.
There are many similar and competing pharmacy cards in the marketplace. Loeb's is quickly becoming so popular because they have a ton of financing and are able to permeate the market simply with mass volume of getting these things out there
You're not at risk for using the card, there's no real danger for ID Theft, you'll just likely keep getting mail from them. You should try not to use them with local mom/pop pharmacies, as this is the type of thing that will only help them go out of business. Try to use it at the Walgreens and CVS's of the world, those companies who make their money off packaged goods.
I received this discount card.
One of the medicine by name "Flonase" (Fluticasone) is available in the pharmacy for $ 30.When you present your card, the pharmacis says the patient has to pay $ 68.08. I feel this is a big scam targeting poor patients. It is a shame where these businesses have the freedom to target the needy people in this free country. Everything is legitimised here in the name of business contracts and agreements. Then i called the 800 number on the card.She told me the card is issued by "Alliance Health" and gave me address in New York city. No such business name was reflected at that address. So used google to find the name of the business at that address. It went through so many recodings and advertising messages. Finally somebody talking live. The business there was being run in different name but she recognised "Alliance health" being theirs. When i told her about my problem, she said somebody will call me later. She could not give me the name of the person who will call me back. Still waiting. I checked with NY state division of corporations webise, which shows that the corporation was opened few years ago but managed by an attorney team out of connecticut. Some one need to get up and STOP this!
Even the pharmacis i spoke to said " it is big scam "
Hello everyone! Guilty - I just joined to comment on this forum, though I do love gardening and will be reading those forums as well. :) I received 2 cards in the mail about a month ago and set them aside to do some checking into. Now a month later, having read all your posts and info elsewhere on the Internet, and still being without any sort of health/prescription coverage, I decided to try the card at Walgreens today. Let me just note that I gave out way more personal info (email and DOB, for example) to register on this forum than anyone requested to honor the card, and I don't really understand the paranoia. I already use Walgreens membership program and save some money on generic meds through them that way. Today, my Rx was $26 with Walgreen's discount, but went to $12.08 with the Rx card. The tech and pharmacist were familiar with the card and did not bat an eye in running it through. I am happy to save anything on medications for my husband and myself at this point, and if I get more junk mail because of it, so what? I'll recycle it like I do all the other junk mail I get each week. Obviously, this is a very small sample size, but I will use the card again in the near future, and will be back here to post an update. Take care!!
All I know is that I started receiving these cards AFTER I got a membership with Costco. Seeing as Costco has a pharmacy, they probably sell your info to their "partners" or "third party affilates" and VOILA, you get a couple of these discount RX cards in your mailbox. So there's at least ONE of the culprits contributing to these "mystery" cards!
I use prescription discount cards. Have for 2 years now. I still have my identity intact. I use about 3 different ones and save at least $300 each month. One of them I actually PAY 4.95 ea month, but SAVES me $75 each month. SOOO worth it!! My husband is in a lot pain everyday and I do what i can to get him the medications he needs to give him some relief. I have no health insurance. I am self pay. I also go to pharmaceutical companies to apply to their patient assistance programs. Most of the discount cards are not scammers. Most want the American dream of business success just like we all do. ( I would work from home if I could come up with something ) Yes, I'm sure they are trying to make money, aren't we all? ( Will you shame Bill Gates for wanting to make money? He wasn't always BIG Microsoft ) The pharmacy companies pay the discount card companies a fee. Not all pharmacies accept them, because of the fee, but most will. (Walmart does) They enter them into the computer just like insurance cards. And, you can even use them for your pets at regular pharmacies.
Hello, yet another person who signed up just to comment on this here. I recently got a letter with two of these attached to it and it immediately set off my fishiness detector. The letter says I requested them, but I did not. The weirdest part is that the first name it is addressed to is not my legal name. Nobody but close family has called me by this name in decades, yet it was sent to my current address. I don't recall ever using it when signing up for anything. It's not the name on my driver's license, SS card or birth certificate. Any database entry it came from would have to have been from my very early life, around elementary school years. If they already had my info, why wouldn't they address it to my official, legal name? And why are there so many posts around the web with the same message of, "Sure I was skeptical at first, but I tried it, and it really works!". It screams too good to be true, and my guess it is an identity theft attempt, or at least an attempt for some company to aggregate and profit from even more of our diminishingly private data.
I think i will throw these cards away...after I cut them. I'm a skeptic. I was once almost scammed out of $2000 on craigslist. Luckily, I became suspicious and did some investigating. Turned out my intuition was correct and I informed the scammer that the money orders were being investigated by my bank's fraud dept. I never heard from him again. Please, only accept cash for CRAIGSLIST sales. I sell numerous items there and get hit by scammers on a daily basis! They're EVERYWHERE!!!
First let me say I do not work for RX Relief and have absolutely "NO" affiliation with them in any capacity. Recently, I received a Rx Relief Discount Card in the mail. I researched their company and its discount card and found the following:
1) The card was a blind mailing. In other words, the card
did not have a specific name on the envelope but
rather it was sent to "Current Resident." This means
it was a blind mass mailing address obtained from a
mailing list,probably obtained from a marketing
mailing house and/or indirectly or directly from USPS.
Keep in mind, each time will fill out information,
make store purchases, use ourcredit cards, file taxes,
etc. we give out our mailing address. Unless we "Opt-
out" many of these businesses will use or sell your
mailing addresses to third parties, i.e., mailing
houses who in turn sell it to business for marketing
purposes. Most people can be found on-line because
they file taxes with their mailing address and/or fill
out online information, etc. No one questions how they
get junk mail apparently Healthcare Alliance followed
a similar method to send out their discount cards
using a mass mailing.
2) RX Relief's parent company is CATALYST HEALTH
SOLUTIONS, INC. They're based in NY with another
location in D.C.
3) They are able to offer discounts based on volume or
bulk purchases from drug companies which is
facilitated by their partnership with various
pharmacies. They claim this is how they can afford to
offer the card free and discounts to consumers. (I do
not work for them and so I am not privy to their
internal company policies and/or business agreements
and cannot verify proprietary infomation). However,
this is explained in the letter that comes with the
4) There is an 800 number listed on the card. I had "NO"
trouble or wait time connecting with their customer
service call center for questions and answers.
5) If you use the card, you will get a discount based on
the type of drug and the cost of the drug charged by
the pharmacy. The discount amount will vary depending
on the cost of the drug but the typical range is UP TO
75% with the average discount at 40%.
5) In the past there were major pharmacuical companies
that were part of a coalition to provide "FREE"
prescripion drugs. The program is called "Prescription
Assistance Program" for low income and the uninsured
under age 65. This program provides medication 100%
free. Google it to find out more information, learn
the criteraia and how to apply. http://www.pparx.org/en
6) The BBB list RX Relief in their database. RX Relief is
not accredited by the BBB but that is a voluntary
choice by the company. RX Relief has 7 complaints
filed with the BBB compared to companies with triple
digit complaints. All of the complaints are about
advertising non of the complaints were related to the
new discount card. A BBB complaint is not unusal,
people complain all the time but what you have to
check for are the types of complaints and if there are
hundreds are thousands of complaints, how long the
company existed, has the company changed its name in
the last 5 or 10 years, is there a rating and if the
company volunteered to be accredited with the BBB most
companies do not. I did not check the company's prior
history, e.g., did they do business under another name
in the past, were they scanstioned by the government or
if they had another business was it a scam or did they
change their business model around to become
legitimate, I'll leave that up to you but so far I have
not found evidence of a scam. However, I suspect they
will obtain your name and address at some point since
the pharmacy will probablly send them a report of the
prescriptions they filled at a discount. Again, I am
not privy to company information that might indicate
how they use your name/address, e.g., for marketing
purposes, etc.
7) I contacted Walmart, Target, Walgreens each said they
accepted the card. Most pharmacy drugs are not listed
on their $4 list. Even some generic drugs are not on
this list and will cost more than $4 to get filled.
For example, I had two prescriptions one cost $25 with
the 40% discount card it cost me $15. The second
prescription was $110 but with the card I paid $59 it
was not free but much less.
These are "FACTS" folks. I hope everyone will do their own detailed research and not let negative nay-sayers (people) think for them because they could be doing themselves a disservice by ignoring something that could be beneficial. I hope this is helpful.
Well wether a scam or real, I received a set of two cards and they arrived a week after I just got my ss#, and it was the first time ever that I used my married last name when I went to the social security office to apply for it. I don't have insurance and I pay for prescriptions but I haven't changed my last name on any medical stats yet. So, how do they know? How coincidental is that the first thing I get with my new last name are this cards? Mm isn't that suspicious. Keep posting your experiences people!
Like many of you, I just rec'd. these cards today (4 of them)and also registered for this website. I called the 800 number and was told that the drug companies send RXrelief a payment for every RX filled using their discount card. They then told me because I called into the 800 number I was eligible for a $25 WalMart Card. Bottom line - to get the gift card I had to subscribe to a magazine (1mth free - no obligation). So - looks like they sell magazines along with giving discounts....lol
I didn't subscribe to any mags - but based on some of the research found on this site - I may consider using the card. I will ask my pharmacy what they know about it and if they have had experience with it I will likely use it.
For easy read I will offer up facts and opinion. Here goes: 1. I received six discount cards in the mail today on one letter head. 2. My envelope's return address was from Washington D.C. 3. The sender used my maiden name (with a particular format) 4. Maiden name is ten years in the past- yet duly noted can be sold included on a list in the D.C. region (where I used to live) from i. a bank ii. a passport iii. a college. Very interesting. Do note that 5. my health care is all under my married name. 6. Opinion: I am cautious and guarded. I do know (so far) that the numbers on the card and the address etc on the envelope do mean that we are each now included on a data base which would be definitely populated with any more information we would share with it by using the cards. Conclusion: by using the cards we would be legally (with generalized consent basically) adding to and /giving up our general information on the following our location, pharmacies, up todate insurance info, meds used, health care providers, etc etc. I hope that provides helpful.
7. I love that I now am a member of this great gardening site - now that is a plus and a definite win!!!
I received these cards in the mail a few months ago and decided to keep it, for what reason I don't know because I have insurance. Well today fiance had to go the hospital and was prescribed 3 different meds and he was worried about the cost of medication (he has no insurance). I took his rx to RiteAid and told the Pharm that he had no insurance and could she tell me how much they would be. After about 5 minutes she gave me printout with the meds and their price (she discounted them with I guess would be the RiteAid Rx discount). The price for just one med was $101 and the other two were under $30. When I went back to pick up the meds I remembered I had this card in my wallet that was collecting dust so I asked her if this Rx card could help. (The lady cash register stated "well it's probably not much different than out Rx discount but I'll let the Pharm see if it will help-she was skeptical because she had never seen one before as she later stated). Well in about 2 minutes I received a blessing, the med that was $101 dollars was now $31 (you do the math)and my total savings came to $85. So I'm wait to see if we receive a bill later but the Pharm stated that the card was legit so I'm keeping it and sharing with others.
Here's my story, and I've been a member here for awile. I trust this site and was pleased when it came up 1st with a Google search.
Our insurance recently changed, and the price of our presrciptions went way up under our new policy.
We needed a solution. I found that 2 of the prescriptions were available in their generic form from Walmart under their $4.00 for 30 days program. Both of those had been around $12 and $30. The third one was $47 from Walmart (a little cheaper than Walgreens),but no other discounts. So I ordered from Canada where I got 6 months for $88 ($14.67 for 30 days). But, I waited too long to order and ran out before the shipment arrived so my wife went to Walmart to pick up 30 days worth.
Unknown to me, she had received these cards inside boxes of plants from Michigan bulb (they frequently add advertising to their boxes, much like the Sunday paper).So they obviously did not have our
She took the card to Walmart when picking up the prescription and presented it. The Pharmiscist simply swiped the card without batting an eye and the price went to $14.46. That is a very large savings.
When my wife came home and told me, I didn't believe it, and assumed we had picked up another presrciption by accident (a cheaper one). I made my wife verify the prescription, and when correct, call Walmart and find out what happened. Walmart replied it was the discount card that did it.
Like everyone else I firmly believe that there's no free lunch, and am very suspicious. On the other hand, the discount was enormous, and having read every post in this thread, not a single instance of anyone getting scammed.
So, we are going to keep using it. Next we're going to try it on my wife's asthma inhaler meds, which are brutally expensive.
There is a catch here somewhere, as it does seem too good to be true, but if 9 months worth of research by Gardenwebers hasn't found it, we'll take the savings and keep a sharp eye out.
I registered just to put this link up here for all those skeptics out there. I too, was very skeptical about this when my Dad received this card, so I did some research. Oh, and for those of you who feel that your personal information isn't out there, better think again. Do you think banks are keeping track of our information with paper???
Check out this link, I found it very informative.........
Here is a link that might be useful: Rx Relief Discount Drug Card - Real or Marketing Ploy?
I see the people that call others who are concerned with who have their information, paranoid.
Think about this, who sold them your information in the first place, to make this mailing possible?
Then, think about using that card, they already have your info, what do they have to gain from there? Well for starters, its a good possibility these folks are gathering data on your medications. Using that data to then sell to big pharma to help them optimize their prices and product lines. And optimization for them, rarely beneficial to you.
So yes, you may save money now, but then you're helping a company that probably got your info through less than ethical means, and helping them to gather medication data and sell it to the highest, and probably less than ethical bidder.
I guess the moral of the story is, if the only time you need meds is an occasional bout of antibiotics, probably doesn't matter... but if you take meds for a condition you don't want people to know about, this would be unwise to use.
I picked up a card from a display at my doctor's office last week. I went to Walgreens today to pick up some prescriptions. The card was accepted but I only used it for a prescription that was not covered by my Part D insurance through AARP/United Health Care because the AARP/UHC discount was better.
The prescription was $34.99, using the RXrelief Pharmacy Discount Card, the price was reduced to $14.45. The Pharmacy staff said that none of my personal information was sent to Rxrelief.
It's not a scam. Go to their website, enter your zip code to see what pharmacies accept the card.
Hello to all. RX Relief Card brought me to GardenWeb. I too was searching information about the card. That is not why I became a member though. I recently relocated and now I am a member of a family of gardeners and canners. I am loving country life and gardening. I hope this site will be of information for me and my family members.
On the RX Relief Card, I will tell you there are many discount prescription cards out there similar to it. I never asked the questions most have posted. I had never heard of this card, so googled it.
My knowledge is this...whether you have prescription insurance or not, it pays to have these cards in your purse or wallet or on file, in case you are prescribed a medicine that has an outrages copay or for some reason your insurance will not cover a medicine.
Other cards similar to this RxRelief Card have saved myself, friends and family, hundreds of dollars when insurance would not cover a medicine for one reason or another, or a friend or family member did not have insurance. Walgreens prescription program is yet to save me as much as one specific card I and others have used and my pharmacy thinks it is great and gladly accepts it.
I have used the same pharmacy now for 7 years. A pharmacy tech actually told me about the free drug cards at a time I really needed a discount on some prescriptions that my insurance stopped covering.
I have not received any junk mail or any problems associated with the cards....like someone said above, they are like a reusable coupon that does not expire.
That is just my two cents about the free drug cards...now I am on to explore GardenWeb. I hope to find some good gardening advice and expand my knowledge to share with my family members.
I love Okra and ours got about 10-12 feet tall before they stopped producing this year!
People please... We received the card and USED it! It was a blessig to have received this card because we were paying $108 for one medication and with the card we only have to pay $60 which is a big saving for us. We also buy another medication but realized the store discount was better. Have been using the card for a couple of months and have never ever been charged for using it and haven't had any id theft. So calm down everyone. As far as BBB, they helped us close a case against Romano's Jewelers in Glendale, CA and we are so grateful for their help.
I downloaded a coupon off the internet saying I would save up to 87% off the price of Diovan. I took it to get a refill of Diovan today. I got $4 off the price for 30 tablets. I had to pay $116.00 for those 30 tablets.. regularly $120. I would advise anyone not to waste your time. No telling what kind of junk I will be receiving in my mail box and e-mail account from now on.
I've been reading these posts with interest, not just because I received the exact same offer this week, but because I have a background in marketing (broadcast radio and TV in particular) and know a few things about how these outfits operate. I would not exactly call them "scams", but they are deliberately misleading. To determine the motive behind this mailing, first look at a few things that are obvious:
1) No company, unless they're a registered charity, is in business to give things away for free. Nothing is free in retail. You may pay for it in less obvious ways than the up-front out-the-door cost, but rest assured they're not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts and will realize a profit one way or the other. The only reason any company exists is to make money. Black Friday is a good example; whip the public up into a buying frenzy with a few "loss leaders" to get them in the store, then make up the difference in volume or sales of other products. Even though the card claims they only want to "help American families with their prescription drug expenses", this is just a feel-good claim to try and get your confidence so you won't ask "what's in it for you guys?"
2) Look at the envelope the discount card came in; most likely it's addressed to "Our Neighbor at 123 Main St." or something similar -- no name. They send these things out bulk mail by the millions, and chances are everyone in your apartment complex or zip code got one too. They could care less whose hands these cards wind up in -- which is why they send out multiple cards per mailing (I got four) -- but they're not going to cross-reference the ID on the card (they're likely all the same anyway) with the address they sent it to. They don't have to.
3) The payoff comes when you, or anyone, takes the card to a pharmacy to use it. The druggist is going to have to call the company to verify that the discount is valid, and to do that he's got to give them, at minimum, your name, address, and the drug you're buying. Aha! They just hit pay dirt. Now this company knows you, where you live, and what drugs you're taking. Even though the drug store is prohibited under HIPAA regulations from revealing any details of your medical condition, they can make a pretty statistically accurate guess as to what your ailment is based on what drugs you're taking -- and they use very sophisticated computer algorithms to do so.
4) They also know one more very important fact about you: you don't have prescription medical insurance coverage. If you did, you wouldn't use this card in the first place, because your insurance co-pay is almost always going to be less than any "discount" you might get from using the card. Put it all together and they can deduce a lot about you from just a few simple pieces of information.
5) These companies are not in the pharmaceutical business, they are engaging in what's called "data mining". They will sell the information they obtain about you and thousands of others through this program to marketers who will contact you to sell you insurance, durable medical equipment relevant to your condition, and God knows what else. That is their real motive.
If you already have any kind of prescription medical insurance, throw this card away. If you have no insurance, you might save a few bucks here and there but ask yourself if it's worth giving up a large chunk of your privacy for. Most of the big name stores -- WalMart, Target, K-Mart, etc. -- have discount programs that only charge $4 or so for most generic drugs. That's a far better option than these dodgy "pharmacy discount cards".
Paranoia, Skepticism are alive and well.......GOOD, that's the way it should be.
I was searching for a place to purchase drugs at a lower cost. My AARP United Health Care will begin Jan 1, 2013. I started checking the cost of my drugs in their book and got sticker shock. A generic I was paying $10/90 day supply from GHI Medicare [BTW, GHI has also raised their prices using the same Tier system] will now cost me $124.50/90 days. I checked with the Costco Pharmacy and the cost would be $59/90 day supply and that was WITHOUT using my insurance. The next statement is NOT political...The higher cost is due to ObamaCare, and from what I have been told by MD's and Pharmacies "you ain't seen nothin yet". Enough said on that.
What everyone should understand is that you MUST shop for your prescription drugs. Buying from Canadian sources is not always cheaper. AARP reps will tell you that you have to shop and not blindly send for your meds.
I printed a discount coupon for a generic using the Rxrelief website. I did not give any info, I just typed in the name and up pops up the coupon, I hit print and voile, out came the printed coupon. I will now go to CVS and see what they have to say.
What I do not understand is---Why disclose info and then question the company you gave the info ???? I will not call anyone names but they are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. If the shoe fits.......you know the rest.
im amazed at this post about rxcards. these websites partner with pdms to provide the cards with their own personal sites. there are about 50 pdms total.
no names or numbers are tracked just that the cards are used in a state for medicine.
people that use the cards love the savings. pharmacys sometimes love to hand them out to keep their customers.
brought to you because the drug makers make a deal with the pdms to get you a lower drug cost
yes i work for a pdm :-) im not saying all cards are the same as mine but before your a weary skeptic ask your pharmacist.
Here is a link that might be useful: http://discountpharmacycard.us
For sure rxrelief is not a scam, CVS pharmacist was about to charge me today $196 for just one medicine, when I gave her the rxrelief card info the price dropped to $29.4 VS $196, that is exactly %85 off.
I still don't believe what happened.
I really love such scams if they would save me that much.
By the way rxrelief wasn't accurate, they said up to %75 off but in fact I saved %85.
funny that there seems to be an awful lot of people with join dates the same as the dates of their first posts. what a coincidence that they all say how great the cards are!
the shills for the rx card are alive and well.
garden web should poof this whole thread since most of it is spam!
In response to the comment that people are signing up on this site the same day they post a comment: You must be a member to post a commment. I had never heard of this site before and was doing a search about these RX relief cards. Here's why I was suspicious: All documentation that came with my cards was in Spanish. I'm Italian.
In response to the comment that people are signing up on this site the same day they post a comment: You must be a member to post a commment. I had never heard of this site before and was doing a search about these RX relief cards. Here's why I was suspicious: All documentation that came with my cards was in Spanish. I'm Italian.
Hey the catalyst
I am not a scam, I am positive.
I paid $29.4 VS $196 because of this card.
However later I paid $116 VS $135 for a nasal spray.
You have the right not to believe it but this doesn't give you the right to call it spam. It is very logical that many people here "like myself" registered only in order to participate in this discussion after they were surfing the web to know the truth about the card.
Why do you waste your time by distrusting and disrespecting people by calling their posts spam? if you ever get the card take it to any pharmacy to see if it would work! otherwise shut up.
It's just a way to circumvent HIPAA -- by doing an end run to trick you into releasing your personal health information to drug companies so they can target their marketing. So if you want to beat the system, just leave your card at the pharmacy and let them give all their customers the discount. That way they'll never know which is your medication and which is someone else's.
Just a little info.
Yes, I also received these cards in the mail today in with advertisement flyers. This company Healthcare Alliance is registered with the BBB in NY but the address on the letterhead is 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #312, Washington DC 20015-2604. Going on Google Earth with this info this address is Chevy Chase Flowers. I Google.com'd Chevy Chase Flowers and bingo that website is 5614 Connecticut Ave. It's a 1 story building. I would think they are not totally legit.
I received a set of 4 of these RX relief cards a couple days ago and it says anyone in the household can use them. I have health insurance already, so I checked on their website www.rxreliefcard.com and it says "If you have insurance, you should bring both your insurance and RxRelief Card or print-out to your pharmacist and ask which gives you the better discount. Our program is not designed to add discounts to discounts you are already receiving from your current provider, nor is it designed to reduce your co-pay. Please keep in mind that many insurance programs do not cover drugs for which we provide discounts." So, it sounds like something my family and I can use for any prescriptions that my insurance doesn't cover. I use Walgreens pharmacy so I'll bring it in to them and see if they say it's okay; if so I'll just the cards on hand to use in case any new medications any of us might be prescribed aren't covered by my insurance for some reason.
I have used this card , depending on what discount you already have it can save you a lot on some drugs and cost more on other drugs Have your drugist run the member number you rec from rxreief to see if you have the chearest plan or not only takes a few minutes to see. I saved over 100.00 today on one refill
This company already knows my names and address. By using this card I'm letting them know a hell of a lot more about me and my family. By using this card they are able to keep track of your meds and health. I'm not going to use this card. Like someone else already said, it's phishing at its finest!!!
Now how many other people filed bankruptcy and then received this card? I filed 3 months ago. Hint hint people. 3rd party!!
Dear Saltlakecity,
My credit score is 789 and I never filed bankruptcy.
I joined because I received the cards and this is the most helpful forum I found. When I planted flowers in a row, they look at each other sadly. They know they are on a deathrow so my membership here won't last long.
After spending over an hour reading, I recommended it to my brother who has nothing to lose to identity theft or phishing. He needs to survive and get well.
I also called my pharmacy who assured me they would accept the card without questions.
As to identity theft or phishing, as some indicated, too late for that. Even to sign up here, they have all the info they need to find me. It's easy to find anyone, seriously.
Here's more info so you can also judge for yourself:
It would appear to me a lot of "plants" are here...no pun intended! HA! Seems a whole mess of people signing up just because they so happened to find this thread and just had to sign up so they could tell everyone how wonderful this is. Seems very "phishy" to me! Was there anyone that was actually a long time member here that used this and said it was OK? I am a member and have been for some time, I got these in the mail about a week ago and while googling this I came upon this thread which just seemed like tons of spammers using this.
Hello everyone...yes, I am new on your forum too...I took the time to register only because I have been reading these posts and wanted to tell you my experience with the Rx Relief card. I understand everyone's concerns regarding phishing and letting your personal info get "loose"...however, as stated many times in this post, our info is already out there if they sent us these cards with these id numbers on them....albeit NOT our SS numbers or Driver's license. O.K., that aside...THIS is why I wanted to write...I have had two of these cards sent to me and given them to friends in need because I have insurance. They took these cards to a local chain pharmacy and used them to THEIR GREAT advantage!! Both called me delighted telling me thank you SO much as meds they could not afford before this card now became affordable.
I do not know HOW this company does this, and agree nothing comes for free...but I DO KNOW this card offers great relief to those in need and have had it proven. I have not seen a down side and it has been 5 months now since they started using them on a regular basis. This is just my experience and wanted those who need it to know it DOES work. Good luck!
Just got the card and went online to research it. The link here is their own site but seems simple enough. I don't see a problem with it. They ask for no personal info, only asking you to present the card to your pharmacist and accept the discount.
Here is a link that might be useful: Healthcare Alliance FAQ
I too got one of these cards in the mail. I am not on any medications so I won't use the card. It seems to me that views on the card vary from legitimate to scam. I would think most of us would use our best judgement. If you are unsure of the ramifications of using it then don't. If you feel good about it then use it. Pretty simple
I am a longtime member of Gardenweb, because I am a gardener, but I have no idea what this forum is. I got here by googling RxRelief. I am very glad that we have actually gotten to the bottom of this topic - there are some very good posts here.
But let me say one thing - Heath Care Alliance shows the power of bulk purchasing (plus statistics.)
I don't believe I've ever seen a thread with so much spam in all my life...HAHAHA! Every person that is saying how great it is, registered just for that one purpose...just to post how great it is.
I say just go to Walgreen's and sign up for their RX card...I just saw on their sign a few days ago that they have one there.
I just got two of these cards and automatically started to cut them up as I do most unsolicited offers I get. Then I wondered what if it works? I spend almost $600 a month in prescriptions and I have no medical insurance at this time so any little bit will help. I am going to try it when I refill my scripts and I will come back to let you know what happened. As for them getting my information, what are they going to get? I don't give the drug store my SS# and they already have my name and address. Be back in a couple of days to let you know how it turned out.
Hello, I received two of these discount cards in the mail addressed to my wife but "good for the whole family". Took them to the pharmacy and they put the numbers in their database. Usually I am pretty good about researching scams but for some reason didn't until afterward and found this site. The following information is from the Healthcare Alliance website, Catamaran website and Wall street Journal, July 21, 2011. This is the first forum I have ever responded to - I think because it seems like a very civilized discussion place and because for the first time I read someone apologize for possibly raising ire. VERY COOL!
Healthcare Alliance (sent the cards) site says it is part of Catamaran Co..
From the Catamaran website
13 billion dollar industry, Mark Thierer, CEO
"Catamaran is the coming together of SXC Health Solutions and Catalyst Health Solutions (in 2013)... We connect pharmacists, doctors and caregivers with prescription data to improve health outcomes... a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management services and healthcare information technology solutions to the healthcare benefit management industry.
Wall Street Journal July 21,2011
"Pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBM's) process prescriptions for the groups that pay for drugs, usually insurance companies or corporations, and use their size to negotiate with drug makers and pharmacies."
"PBMs, act as an intermediary between the payor and everyone else in the health-care system. They generally make money through service fees from large customer contracts for processing prescriptions, operating mail-order pharmacies, and negotiating with pharmacies and drug makers. Their contracts can include incentives for cutting costs."
"Some of that savings gets passed on to customers and some of that becomes their earnings," said Kevin Gorman, managing partner of Putnam Associates, a life-sciences strategy consulting firm."
Hope this helps.
For those interested, this is the link to the company that RX Relief has partnered with. They are called Catamaran RX and they are a PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Management) Company. Make your own decisions based on what you read on both the RX Relief and Catamaran web sites. Also, per their web site, Catamaran shares prescription data with doctors, pharmacists, and caregivers. They collect usage data just like any business does and use that information for their everyday operation.
Here is a link that might be useful: Catamaran RX
I see a lot of negative reviews on here, but I'm not sure why. I'm as big a skeptic as the next guy, and regularly visit snopes.com, but to just assume that a card is a scam without no proof is just as poor judgment. In my case, I have insurance, but my cat doesn't. She has diabetes and her insulin costs $150 (for about 6 months). If I can get ANY sort of discount on that, I'll take advantage. If the card business decides to sell the information I give to the pharmacy (basically, that I have a cat with diabetes), there's not much that can be done with that info, really, except send me "offers" in the mail relating to this issue. NBD - just goes in the trash if I can't use it, or perhaps I'll get a coupon for cat food or litter. What's the harm in that. If you've got insurance, by all means don't use this card. But to bash a company just based on your "suspicion" that it's a scam, well, that's exactly why I came on this forum - to find some FACTS. And all I've read so far is OPINIONS.
I was reading one of the posts that mentioned that they contacted the company and felt like they could not get a straight answer on how this gets paid for or where do the discounts originate from. All I can say is "WHO CARES" I used it and it took my nearly $100 perscription down to $32 and it cut my daughters bill in half on medication she needed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this card and the only people that I could think of that would have issues with it would be people that believe someone like me does not deserve any help as I am currently without insurance as I have been out of a job for a while. I had one pharmacist tell me that he does not take them. I told him that is sad that they are not in the business of patient care and just "in business" and went to a Walmart down the street and they accepted it with no problems. People without insurance for whatever reason need programs like this. I personally don't care who has a problem with that. Thanks RX Relief and Healthcare Alliance for being there for the people that need this help.
A question for all you "brand-new, just registered today" type posters.
If you're SO VERY HAPPY with the service - why are you seeking out people/forums to defend it to?
You like it, use it. Dragging up a year+ old thread in a relatively small forum seems like a useless, time-wasting activity for you. Why bother? The company certainly doesn't need your defense.
I see this thread is a little old, but there's a show on ABC 15 in Phoenix, AZ called "Let Joe Know" that will be on tonight talking about Rx Relief Cards and whether or not they're a scam. This reporter Joe Ducey goes around the Phoenix area and helps out PHX consumers who have been scammed, so it should be interesting to watch and find out if you live in Phoenix!
Here's the story.
Here is a link that might be useful: Let Joe Know
I work as a nurse, and know a little about HIPAA - that's the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act... which means it is illegal for any medical service provider to share our protected health information with anyone, ANYONE, unless... here's the catch... unless that information is something that can be shared between persons that the information is pertinent to for performing a medical service for us. Which to me means, although I'm not slamming Healthcare Alliance, if I use their discount card - they are providing a service to me regarding my healthcare, and would be entitled to certain types of information about me. Although they are entitled to receive only certain types of information about us, this still includes personal information used to identify us, such as name, address, social security number, etc. They then have the ability to further share this information, with others who might have "pertinent medical needs". All in all I personally don't feel secure with my personal information being shared with others without my written consent. Just something to think about...
I just registered though I don't really consider myself new. I have read the GardenWeb for years but just never joined. My vet gave me one of these cards today and thought I would check it out. I have 4 elderly rescue basset hounds and they are all on meds. I will keep searching for info.
I'm an avid gardener in AZ. I've gardened in Germany, Virginia (became a master gardener), West TX, TN and other places. Learn new things everywhere I end up lighting.
It seems to me that using this card will not provide any more information other than what is already out there about each of us (other than the name of the Rx being purchased). If you are worried that information about you is getting into the wrong hands via the use of this card I believe it's too late to stop it as anyone with some resourcefulness and a little knowledge of computers can unearth just about anything he/she desires to know about you or me or anyone within earth's cyberspace! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there is no such thing as complete security anymore... But here's the good thing; if you're not rich or famous or important to society in general I wouldn't worry about internet security simply because not many people would care much about you or me or most of the average citizens. If someone wants to find you or empty your bank account without your authorization it can be done. I don't know how to do it myself because like 99% of the people I couldn't care less about emptying your bank account. So, why worry about using this card if in fact it really does save you some money? I'm sure the company that puts out these cards has an angle to make money but that in itself is no real cause for alarm because an angle is not necessarily a scam. Break out that card and save a little money... no one is asking you to send in a membership fee or any fee for this card... Those are the typical signs of a scam.. do you see any other signs that this is a scam other than the fact that you seem to be getting something for nothing: a real discount on medications?
Okay First off, yes i registered today, i found this discussion via Google.
I too got cards in the mail, but unlike many here, they were addressed to my home with my "RN" following. the letter "asks" me to give the cards to my patients who may benefit from the discount. I knew nothing about this company and will admit i am less than sharp when it comes to the ins and outs of insurance coverages and medication coverages. I admit we have someone in the office whose sole function is to deal with that aspect of our business.
That being said... yes the address on the letter is different from the website, it is also different than the one posted by someone else here : 5614 Connecticut Ave, NW#312, Washington D.C. 20015-2604.
given the fact that the population I deal with has a long history of being underserved and taken advantage of, i will most likely add these cards to my pile of papers headed for the shredder.
there is an old saying: "If someone sells you a diamond ring for a dime, you got a ring that is probably not worth ten cents"
I received one of these cards today in the mail. What raised my suspicion was the address, no name, house number, city, state, zip. All it said was Mail Service Code 2548754P in the address box. So I'm thinking what kind of new scam is this? They must bulk mail these things all over and hope someone bites. What a bummer, I'm still waiting for my millions to show up form the Nigerian prince I helped get his inheritance out of Nigeria. Anyway, somebody is making money off this and it ain't you or me so treat accordingly.
Why are the dates on this thread from two years ago?
I have nothing to add as far as the RX Relief card goes, but I would like to offer this.
This is a website that lists the lowest price in your area for a prescription.
You just give it you zip code and the name and dose of the medication,
and it will show you the available options around you. My CNA uses it.
My wife is going to use it on her next refills. I looked up one of her medicines and she could have got it for half the cost she payed for it.
Just something to consider.
That was interesting Pooh. I wasn't surprised though to find anything I take available at Walmart cheapest - their $4 plan. I don't fill my prescriptions there but for reasons that may only apply to our local store. Friend in public health here tells me that current pharmacist makes more mistakes than are typical. That, and the line/wait to pick things up keeps me at the privately owned Rexall I've used all my adult years. If I were prescribed anything expensive you might hear differently from me and I agree a useful site. Thank you.