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December 10, 2021
SingleCare is a free prescription discount card service that helps you get the lowest prices on over 10,000 generic and brand prescriptions. Partnering with major pharmacies like Walgreens and Kroger, SingleCare can get you up to 80% off prescription prices. Using their free mobile app, you can easily compare prices by pharmacy, check for price changes, and get the lowest prices on popular prescription drugs without relying on insurance.
In this review, I’ll take a look at how SingleCare compares to other competing prescription discount card services like GoodRx and ScriptSave WellRx, and examine how it works.
Pro Tip: To learn more about prescription cards, read our rundown of this year’s best prescription discount cards.
With the cost of prescription drugs outpacing prices in other countries, many older adults are struggling to find ways to cover prescription drug price increases. Fortunately, there are many prescription discount services such as SingleCare that help offset these costs.
SingleCare works directly with major pharmacies to get you savings of up to 80 percent on a wide range of prescription drugs. This free discount card — an alternative to insurance — can be used at over 35,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Ralphs, CVS, and Walmart.
FYI: If you take a variety of medications, it’s important to meet regularly with your doctor and follow a simple medication management routine. For tips on medication management, read our guide: Medication Management for Seniors.
SingleCare is free and easy to use. Additionally, you don’t need to create an account in order to use the app and browse local pharmacies that carry the prescriptions you’re looking for.
The below chart gives you a comparison of retail prices against using your SingleCare discount card. I looked up the generic alternative to Zocor and compared it to the cost of using my SingleCare discount card.
| Pharmacy | Zocor retail price | Generic Zocor retail price | Cost with SingleCare |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVS Pharmacy | $288.00 | $29.21 | $25.93 |
| Rite Aid Pharmacy | N/A | $84.81 | $45.11 |
| Kroger Pharmacy | $305.10 | $22.23 | $13.41 |
Using SingleCare was easy and straightforward. The app has minimal pop-up notifications, and I appreciated the streamlined and user-friendly purple interface with large fonts for older adults and the visually impaired. Upon downloading the SingleCare app on my iPhone, I had the option to create an account. Even if you don’t create one, you still get access to all of SingleCare’s features.
Just for signing up for a SingleCare account, I received $5 to use toward my next prescription. I appreciated the fact that there were only three main features to navigate: search, saved searches, and account activity. Overall, I was pleased with the easy-to-use features, along with the FAQs I found while browsing my account activity.
From there, the app was really easy to navigate. Within their search menu, I was able to search for over 10,000 prescription drugs, such as Zocor or Fluoxetine (Prozac). After typing Zocor in the search field, I was given a list of pharmacies within five miles of me that offered it; they ranged from $9.00 to $68.93. The price disparities were astonishing, but it made me realize how important prescription discount services have become.
When I clicked on Walmart’s offering of Zocor, I saw that if I use my SingleCare discount card, I can get 20 mg, or 30 tablets, of the simvastatin for only $9. All I had to do was save the coupon and show it to my pharmacist at the Walmart Pharmacy in my area with or without insurance. For extra convenience, I added it to my Apple Wallet.
When I used the desktop version of SingleCare, I was able to search for Zocor and receive more information about it. On the mobile app, I was not able to access this information. I’d recommend using the desktop search if you want to get in-depth information about the medications you’re purchasing. For instance, the desktop search gave me information about Zocor, such as that it can decrease bad cholesterol levels and increase good cholesterol levels. It also provided helpful information about the retail cost of Zocor and how much it would cost if I were to use SingleCare.
The free SingleCare mobile app lets you compare price points for generic and brand-name prescription drugs using their search function. When I searched for prednisone, I was able to find a list of nearby pharmacies that were within walking distance from my home. I had a range of options to choose from, along with detailed pricing on each of the pharmacies that carried prednisone.
After clicking on Rite Aid — which was 2.2 miles from my home — I was able to get prednisone for $2.07 using my free SingleCare discount card. All I had to do was show the virtual (or physical) card to my pharmacist. I appreciated the diverse listing of pharmacies around my area that I could shop at for the lowest prices. Using this feature was easy, as I was able to refine my search to find the best discounts on prescription drugs. I was able to easily see the lowest prices (at Rite Aid) and the highest prices for prednisone (at Ralphs).
Although SingleCare doesn’t have as many features on its mobile app, it does have some helpful features, such as price alerts and the ability to modify dosage, quantity, and the type of prescription you’re looking for.
Price alert: Using the free SingleCare app, I looked up a prescription for lisinopril (generic) in 10 mg tablet form. I was pleased to know that there was a price alert setting underneath the name of the prescription drug with an alarm icon. When I clicked on the alarm icon, I could set a price alert, and SingleCare would let me know when the price changed by more than 10 percent. These alerts were quite helpful.
Home delivery: In addition to getting the lowest prices at pharmacies near your area, you can also opt in for the convenience of home delivery for eligible prescriptions. Through a partnership with GeniusRx, I was able to search for prescription drugs that qualified for home delivery.
Saved option: SingleCare has a helpful feature that lets you save prescription prices that you’re browsing. This way, you can easily compare them to make sure you’re getting the lowest prices.
Filling prescription perks: When you purchase prescriptions through the SingleCare app, you can earn $1 in additional savings on most prescriptions. I was pleased to get these extra discounts just by placing a few prescription orders.
You don’t need to have insurance in order to use SingleCare, but you can’t use insurance in conjunction with SingleCare. When you use SingleCare, you’re getting the lowest prices on prescription drugs, and you may even save more than you would by using your insurance. In many cases, the copay with your insurance may be higher than your cost with a SingleCare discount card. I’d recommend checking with your insurance company to compare copays and other costs.
In general, SingleCare works to help lower out-of-pocket costs when you have a Medicare coverage gap or you find yourself on a fixed income, or a medication is not covered by Medicare. SingleCare can’t be used in tandem with Medicare, but it’s a good alternative to Medicare when the prescriptions are significantly reduced or less than your Medicare copay.
FYI: Medicare is geared toward adults over the age of 65 and offers medical and hospital coverage. Read our guide: What Is the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?
While both SingleCare and GoodRx offer substantial savings on prescription medications, the two differ slightly in terms of participating pharmacies, prescription costs, and additional features.
| SingleCare | GoodRx |
|---|---|
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To learn more about our favorite prescription discount cards, be sure to check out our guides:
Yes, SingleCare is a legitimate company. It is able to offer affordable discount prescription drugs to members by partnering and negotiating with major pharmacies like Rite Aid and CVS.
If you use SingleCare, you can’t use your insurance at the same time. Because of this, it’s a good idea to check the medication cost through each option and choose accordingly.
The SingleCare app is free to download and use to browse prescriptions.
No, there is no catch to SingleCare. This service works by cutting out the middleman and working closely with pharmacies to negotiate prescription drug prices.
SingleCare receives a small fee from their pharmacy partners. This is why they are able to offer their service to you for free.
SingleCare can be used at participating pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Rite Aid, and Kroger.
