Insurance and payment options

Paying for prescription and over-the-counter medicine

You may pay for your prescription and over-the-counter medicine by cash, check or credit/debit card.

• All pharmacies take Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Some take Discover Card.
• Allina Health employees may pay using health care reimbursement account.

Insurance

Allina Health Pharmacy accepts most insurance plans. We are a provider for most of the national plans, and all plans that are commonly used in Minnesota.

If you present an insurance card for which the pharmacy is not a provider, the pharmacy will try to become a provider for that plan for your future prescriptions.

Occasionally, the specific medication ordered by a physician will not be covered by insurance. Most health insurance plans have their own drug formulary (list of medications that they will cover). There are many similar drugs available for treating certain conditions. Each insurance will have at least one drug available to treat a medical condition. In most cases, the drug on the insurance formulary would be a good alternative for your medication. The insurance plans use this as a means of cost containment and thus keeping their premiums down.

Some prescription plans are set up with a lower copay for generic drugs and a higher copay for brand name drugs. Generally, the cost for generic medications is much less than a brand name product. The lower copay is used to encourage the use of generic products, if it is available. The generic product should be just as effective as the brand name product.

Some insurance plans have a higher copay for a brand name drug even if there is no generic available. This is because of the high cost of new medications.

Medicare

Medicare generally does not pay for most prescription medications.

For general information about Medicare prescription drug coverage, visit medicare.gov.

Part B

Medicare Part B may pay for the following:

• diabetic supplies and insulin
• oral chemotherapeutic agents
• immunosuppressant medications

Part D

Some Medicare Part D patients have supplemental insurance that may pay for a portion of a prescription. Check your policy to find out if you are unsure.