Lantus savings program. Got Sebastian's Lantus for $99 instead of $250

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Justin & Sebastian

Justin & Sebastian

Member Since 2019
www.insulinsvalyou.com

My dad's a Physician Assistant, and he was in town last weekend and we got to talking about the price of insulin. He was disgusted to hear how I've been paying between $250-$300 for Sebastian's Lantus, when he looked it up it only costs them about $3 to make a vial. He posted about it on his Facebook and one of his other doctor friends mentioned a new savings program for some non-insurance covered insulins, Lantus being one of them, that she had gotten a stack of cards for. She sent me one, all I had to do was call the phone number and go through the automated system to activate it, then took it down to Walgreens where they accepted it with no hassle and I got the bottle for $99. I didn't go through the whole process but it looks like you can get your own card through the website. It's good for one vial ($99) or box of pens ($149), per month, for 12 months. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the U.S. since I'm sure almost none of us have our pet's insulin covered by any kind of insurance.

Edit: Don't get turned off by the "paying cash" thing. Not sure why it says that, I used my credit card, no problem.
 
This is amazing!! Do you know whether you could get a new card after the year is up to continue buying it for that price? I would definitely be interested in switching to Lantus as long as it stayed that price.
 
Getting lantus (box of 5 pens) from Marks Marine in Canada is the same price. Box of pens is also more quantity than bottle. 5 pens is 15 ml in total, one bottles is only 10 ml. More for your money with the pens. Added bonus, they don't break if dropped or banged. You always have a spare if something happens to one, it's always fresh.
 
Panic said:
This is amazing!! Do you know whether you could get a new card after the year is up to continue buying it for that price? I would definitely be interested in switching to Lantus as long as it stayed that price.
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Yes, it says on the back of the card that after the 12 fills are up, get a new card by going to the website or calling their number. I wouldn't assume the price is guaranteed to stay at $99, however since Lantus has such a long shelf life if in the fridge, even longer if unopened, I'm considering using some of the purchases to stockpile some, considering I actually only go through like 2-3 bottles a year.
 
I hope it will continue to work for you. In the past I've used it, but when they found out it was for a pet they wouldn't accept it any more.
 
This sounds like a great plan, thanks for sharing.

I do have a question, though.
I'm assuming the card is in your name, but the lantus scrip will be in the cat's name (at least this is how my vet does it). Did you have any problem using the card to fill a scrip for someone other than yourself?
 
Autumn'sMom said:
This sounds like a great plan, thanks for sharing.

I do have a question, though.
I'm assuming the card is in your name, but the lantus scrip will be in the cat's name (at least this is how my vet does it). Did you have any problem using the card to fill a scrip for someone other than yourself?
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The card isn't in my name, but I got mine a little differently. I got mine from a doctor friend who received a stack of them from a Sanofi rep. However, I don't think it'll be an issue. When I called the automated system to activate it, one of the questions was whether the card was for myself or someone else, and if someone else, was I authorized to manage medications for them.

Edit: and to clarify, the card isn't in my cat's name either. As far as I can tell it's in no one's name. The pharmacist at Walgreens didn't even blink at it though, just punch in all the numbers from the front of the card at that was that, didn't even need to ask me any questions about it.


Amina&M'row said:
How do I get a card (I live in the U$S. Thanks.
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Should just need to go to https://www.lantus.com/sign-up/savings-and-support, check I Want Copay Savings, hit continue and then walk through the steps.
 
I signed up and activated my card via the website linked earlier in the post. Once activated, I was given a pdf link to print out my card (so no physical card will be sent).

I took the printout to my local Walgreens today to ask them if they would accept it. The pharmacist knew what it was right away, and said that, yes, they accept it. I told her that I would be using a veterinary prescription, and asked if it would be a problem; she said no problem.

So, I will be testing the validity of her claims later this week. I have a vet appointment tomorrow for my Autumn, who has sadly fallen out of remission after almost two years. I will have my vet call in her lantus prescription to that Walgreens, and keep my fingers crossed that it all works out.

I will definitely update here once I see what happens.
I'm not sure if the vet will call in the prescription for me tomorrow, or make me wait until her bloodwork comes back to "officially" confirm the diagnosis. Either way, I will have news by Thursday, at the latest.
 
Well, it took a bit more effort than I expected, but today I was able to get five lantus solostar pens at CVS for $149.00 :joyful::joyful::joyful:
Bottom line, be persistent and try different pharmacies - you may well be successful.
Thanks so much to Justin & Sebastian for sharing this info here!

The Walgreens I checked with yesterday didn't have the same pharmacist on duty today, and the employees today couldn't get the discount card to work. Ultimately, they made a call to try and get some clarity, and were told that the program was only for humans. I was really disappointed, but at least they tried.

So, I went home and was preparing to place an order with Mark's Marine Pharmacy. Luckily, before I submitted it, my mother (who had come along with me to the vet earlier) called to say that my sister (gotta love the family grapevine, lol) had called the local CVS asking about using the lantus discount program for vet prescriptions. They weren't familiar with the specific program, but said that they filled lots of animal prescriptions, encouraged coming in with the prescription and plan info, and they would see what they could do.

So, off I rushed to CVS. After just a minute or two at her computer, the pharmacy employee told me that, yes, the discount went through, but my prescription, as written, wasn't specific enough to get the pens :banghead: (it just said "lantus", not "solostar lantus"). So, I went back to the vet's office to get the correct prescription (luckily, all of these places are relatively close to each other). Once I got back to CVS with the corrected prescription, it was only 15 minutes until I was out the door with my new lantus pens. I have to admit, I was rather giddy :smuggrin:
 
Larry and Kitties said:
The problems seems to be the to use the card the pharmacist has to enter the NPI number of the prescribing doctor. However, vets can't get an NPI number
http://www.aahanet.org/blog/NewStat...s-are-not-eligible-to-obtain-NPI-numbers.aspx
In the past pme caretaker has said their pharmacist uses the NPI from another prescription (for human) and entered that for the cat's card. That practice was very unethical.
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Wow, that was an interesting read.
So, technically pharmacies are not supposed to fill any prescription from a veterinarian?
I wonder how else vets are supposed to be able to get their clients the drugs they need?

As far as this lantus program is concerned, I think that I read all of the fine print and restrictions, and nowhere did I see it stated that non-humans are ineligible. If it did state that, I would never try to use it for my cat. So, I used it in good faith; if the pharmacy did something unethical to push it through, that is on them.

In contrast, on the goodrx site there is a significant discount available for lantus, but its very first restriction listed (in bold print, too) is that animals are not eligible for the discount.
 
Autumn'sMom said:
So, technically pharmacies are not supposed to fill any prescription from a veterinarian?
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No, only some drugs require an NPI number. It may be associated with the discounts that some drug companies offer.
I note that at the GoodRx website that offers coupons for most drugs, list as a restriction for insulins that the coupons are not valid for pet subscriptions.
 
Justin & Sebastian said:
Which just makes no sense. The drug is the drug, who cares who or what it's for. American health care system, yeesh.
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The question is who is paying for the discounts, not that a drug is a drug. Since all the insulins are proprietary (Even the "generic" Basaglar is proprietary since although the company "copied" Lantus the company had to test Basaglar to demonstrate to the FDA that is worked like Lantus). I would expect the pet market for insulins is very small compared to the human market.
 
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