This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was a kid we had out of network insurance. My mom had my sister and I covered as beneficiaries under her PBA insurance, but since we were in North Carolina and she was in New York City it was just like not having insurance at all. Fortunately we were pretty healthy kids and didn’t spend much time in doctor offices.

That said, it’s hard to avoid getting sick and sometimes you’ve got to bite the bullet and drag yourself to the pharmacy to get something to knock out whatever it is. I’ve been insured pretty much non-stop since 2004 and grateful for the coverage. It’s why Scott only pays $20 for Synthroid.

I know not everyone is as fortunate as us. One day I was waiting for a prescription and an elderly woman in line in front of me was picking up a drug she needed. She asked the pharmacist how much it cost and was quoted a figure upwards of a hundred dollars. The woman responded “Oh! I can’t get that today, then. I’m driving around without a license.” License renewal will run you less than $40 in NC. If that little old lady didn’t have the cash for THAT there’s no way she could pay for that prescription.

The Walgreens and Express Script Termination
Prescription drug access gets even more difficult when your coverage changes due to no fault of your own.  If Walgreens is the the only pharmacy in your town and you have coverage through Express Script, you may no longer have an in-network pharmacy nearby. Boom.

Stuff like this happens all the time, you know? It’s all about business sometimes and unfortunately the result is that consumers lose choices or access altogether. It’s like me and my sister as a kid: what good is insurance if no one around you takes it?

It’s frustrating and sometimes infuriating to have to scramble for a new provider when you’ve found one that meets your needs and treats you well.

Walgreens understands this and is trying to help loyal customers stick around.

The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club was devised as a way to help Walgreens customers affected by the Express Scripts change to continue giving their patronage to the pharmacists they trust. The discount plan can be purchased for an individual ($5 for a limited time) or a family that includes kids and pets ($10). Savvy shoppers will probably earn their money back by the end of the year because they’ll earn special bonuses when they purchase Walgreens brand products. (If you’re in the store waiting on a script, you’re probably going to pick up toilet paper, too, you know?)

I think it’s a pretty good bandage to a frustrating situation.

Why not tell Walgreens what you think about the new plan? Follow Walgreens on Twitter and like Walgreens on Facebook. If you’re impacted by the Express Scripts changes I bet your opinion is worth a lot right now.