In this age of high-priced drugs and complex health care systems, a trip to the pharmacy can spark worry. How much will it cost? How much will insurance cover?
It’s not all bad news, though. Some pharmacies offer freebies as incentives to develop loyal shoppers in a competitive industry.
Following are some things you can find for no cost at certain pharmacies.
1. Some medications and supplements
While the practice isn’t as common as it used to be, a few pharmacies offer certain medicines or vitamins for free, as we detail in “3 Pharmacy Chains That Offer Free Medications.”
2. Prescription delivery
No need to stand in line for your medications or even use the drive-thru. If you can wait a few days, pharmacies like Walmart and Amazon offer free shipping for prescriptions ordered online.
For a complete list, see “11 Pharmacies That Still Deliver Prescriptions for Free (Including Costco).”
3. Senior discounts
At Walgreens, customers age 55 and older get 20% off their store purchases once a month, on what’s known as Senior Day. Periodic online discounts are also available through this program.
To take advantage of these offers, sign up for the myWalgreens 55+ program, which you can do for free.
If you use a regional or local pharmacy, ask whether it offers senior discounts.
4. Vaccinations and immunizations
CVS and Walgreens are among the pharmacies that offer certain vaccinations, like flu shots, for free to eligible customers.
Ask your pharmacy what vaccinations you’re eligible to receive for free.
5. Flavoring for liquid medicines
If you or your kids can’t stand the taste of certain liquid medicines, CVS will make them more palatable for free thanks to a partnership with FlavorRx.
6. Rewards
These pharmacies are among those that offer rewards programs that are free to join and can pay off with free services, discounts and in-store credit:
7. Personalized pill packaging
If you take multiple prescription medications each day, especially if you must take them at different times of day, personalized pill packaging like that offered by Amazon Pharmacy’s free PillPack service might help you keep track of which pills to take when.
If you use this service, your pills will come in bags labeled with the day of the week and time of day that you should take them.
8. Health screenings
Through its Project Health program, CVS offers free biometric screenings to help spot chronic conditions.
Also, Texas-based H-E-B stores will check your blood pressure and blood glucose for free.
9. Drug disposal
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises that unused and expired medications be disposed of responsibly, noting that the safest option is to give them to a take-back program.
You can search for a drug disposal location near you on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s website. Or, you can simply ask your pharmacy if it accepts unwanted medications. Walgreens and Publix are among the chains that have drug disposal kiosks at some of their pharmacy locations.
10. Synchronized refills
If your household members have multiple prescriptions, ask your pharmacy if it offers free refill sync. This service enables you to pick up all of your household’s medications at once.
One pharmacy that offers free refill sync is Publix, which even includes pet prescriptions when syncing refills.
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