Your Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan ID card can do great things for you and your health. You might not always use your card at the pharmacy, in this age of manufacturer’s coupons and generic drug promotions. But not using your Blue Cross card can cost you money and possibly lead to health concerns. Using your ID card every time you go to the pharmacy saves you money and gives us valuable information about your health conditions and medications, enabling us to double-check your prescription for safety and monitor whether you’re getting the best possible care for your health conditions. To find out exactly what your card can do for you, read on. Cost savings Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan members get discounted prices on covered drugs. On many generic drugs, the Blue Cross cost may even be less than the pharmacy promotional price for low cost generics. You’ll always pay the lowest price. When we calculate member copayments, we check each prescription drug’s cost against promotional prices submitted by the pharmacy on your claim. If the promotional price is less than your usual copay, we make the lowest price your new copay for that prescription. It’s also important to keep in mind that your prescription drug purchases apply toward your health plan deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. Those are amounts when your coverage starts to pay more of your health care, and your out-of-pocket costs go down or end for the year. Safety Each drug claim is reviewed for several safety factors, including possible drug interactions, inappropriate dosages and duplicate medications. If you do not use your Blue Cross pharmacy benefits when you fill every prescription, we don’t have a complete record of your medications. Requesting that your pharmacy file a claim for your prescription drugs helps ensure you receive the right medications. Quality of care A complete list of all the medications you use helps us work with your doctor to improve your overall quality of care. Our claim system automatically reviews each claim to double-check that the drug prescribed is right for your age, gender and overall health. We can then review the list of your prescriptions to identify possible gaps in your medication therapy. We share this information with your doctor. Security If you use your insurance card every time you fill prescriptions, Blue Cross can more quickly spot unusual activity and prevent fraud. These efforts not only save everyone money, but also help protect your health care record. For more information about prescription coverage, check out these posts: The Values of Integrated Medical and Pharmacy Benefits Four Commonly Asked Pharmacy Questions Answered Infographic: 4 Tools to Help Save on Your Prescriptions
