Who to contact about drug prices

[TwilightZone]

21. Here's the tricky part.

A lot of the "free" coupons are only intended to cover deductibles for people who have insurance. That's often in the fine print.

For example, let's say that a drug is $1,000 and private insurance pays $700. The "free" coupon would cover the other $300 (but not the full $1,000).

In that same situation, but with Medicare, the coupon wouldn't be allowed because part of the cost of the medication is being paid by the government.

You could choose to use the coupon and pay the rest out-of-pocket. As long as none of it is being billed to Medicare, that would be OK.

It's basically either/or. If any part of it is billed to Medicare, coupons/discounts aren't allowed. If you're paying the amount not covered by the coupon, that's fine. If the coupon covers the entire cost of the medication, that's also fine.