Kmart: Up to $110 in gift cards -- Up to $20 gift card for each TRANSFER (up to 5 prescriptions; one coupon for all 5); $10 gift card with NEW prescription

In this week's Kmart sales flyer (in the ad bag that arrived today on my door step and in the Columbus Dispatch and available near the Customer Service counter when you enter Kmart), there are two great coupons to help you save on Rx purchases:

-- Get up to $20 on each TRANSFERRED prescription (up to 5 for a total of $100).  If the total cost of your prescription (your co-pay plus the amount your insurance pays) is less than $20, then they give you a gift card equal to that total amount you would have paid if you had to pay cash (had no insurance).  Expires April 30.

-- Get a $10 gift card with the purchase of a NEW prescription.  Expires May 7.

Who else accepts these?
--> CVS, Giant Eagle (limit one per day; even on the coupon that says "up to 5"); Kroger (limit 2 to 3 per lifetime ... or whenever they decide to blacklist you); Meijer might take competitive coupons (not sure because the service I got there 4 years ago was so bad I never went back).

Details: See the competitor coupon acceptance matrix at http://matrix.Rx4Less.net.

Coupon is on the back of the sales flyer's half-sheet wrap-around.

Target: $10 gift card for NEW or Transferred Rx

In the Target sales flyer this week, there is a coupon on the inside of the back page.

It's the usual incentive to bring a NEW or transferred prescription to Target for a $10 gift card (regardless of the amount of your co-pay or even if there is none as long as it's not the government paying for the drug).

Expires: March 28.

REMINDER:  Most CVS, Giant Eagle, Rite Aid, and Kroger locations will also accept these "competitor coupons" and give you a $10 gift card or something similar.  To see which ones give you least/most hassle, go to http://matrix.Rx4Less.net.

OHIO residents:  Remember that the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy enacted a new rule on Jan. 1, 2011, that limits your ability to transfer a prescription (any prescription) to just ONCE.  So, if you have something with 11 refills and use a NEW prescription coupon on it at Target and then a TRANSFER coupon to take it to CVS, you won't be able to move it again.  You could, however, ask your doctor to write 2 or 3 prescriptions for a single drug -- each with fewer refills.  Each script/paper could be transferred once.   Just be sure to submit them before the 6-month limit is reached and they expire earlier than they usually would (a year after written).

Kmart: Up to $100 for 5 transfers

Sorry I didn't mention this sooner -- like last week when it first showed up in the Sunday newspaper.

The sales flyer that was in Kmart stores through Saturday had a wrap-around half sheet that on the back had a coupon for Rx transfers.

Bring up to 5 for up to a $20 gift card each.  Also, for each transfer, a $5 donation would be made to March of Dimes.

The amount you receive is $20 or the total of whatever you paid as a co-pay plus the amount your insurance paid, if anything.  For example, your co-pay is $5 and the insurance paid $7.  You get a $12 gift card for that one rather than a $20 one.   But if you pay $5 and your insurance paid $80, you get the full $20 gift card.

Although these aren't in the stores any more, check with your local friendly Kmart pharmacist.  She/he may have saved a few behind the counter or even made copies of them that they're willing to accept -- if you ask nice. ;-)

OHIO residents: New rule starts Jan. 1, 2011 to prevent more than one Rx transfer

You can thank the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy (and those who lobbied them for the change they are putting into effect) for making a new rule effective Jan. 1, 2011 that makes it so Ohio residents can:

• NO LONGER transfer a prescription more than ONE time.

Here's how you reach them:

Email: exec@bop.ohio.gov

Call: (614) 466-4143

TTY/TDD Ohio Relay Service: 1-800-750-0750

Fax: (614) 752-4836

Write: 

William T. Winsley, Executive Director, Ohio State Board of Pharmacy

77 South High Street, Room 1702
Columbus, OH 43215-6126

Although the intent may have been two-fold by those who lobbied for this change:

• Reduce the number of transfers of prescriptions (as encouraged by Rx coupons commonly available in competitive markets such as Columbus); and to 
• reduce competition from stores that don't have both a NATIONAL (not just regional presence) and online, sharable, real-time prescription database.

There are many other ways people are negatively impacted.

• ELDERLY who move to Florida or other warmer areas for the winter (after getting their prescriptions in teh summer) need to be able to transfer them TWICE -- once to move from the pharmacy most convenient to them here in Ohio and then again when Spring arrives and they return to Ohio.  Often these are NOT the same pharmacy (Kmart or Joe's Pharmacy may be most convenient here in Ohio while they use Rite Aid or some other place in Florida or Arizona or wherever).  In order to have it filled in Ohio again, they will have to have their doctor write a new prescription (which often requires they make a new visit and pay a new co-pay).  A work-around for the future would require that the elderly ask their doctor for TWO scripts for every prescription -- one to keep on file for when they come back in Spring and the other to use for the first few months and then transfer with them when they become "snowbirds."  Or else they can give in to being nudged into using the same pharmacy company in both/all locations (something with a national presence ... or at least both/all regions where they visit ... and that have the online, sharable, real-time prescription database as required in the law to allow transfers between stores of the same brand such as CVS after the first transfer is made).
  
• Those who go to the pharmacy closest to their doctor/hospital at first and then move it to a pharmacy closer to their home but later in the year move location.  to a different location ... or WANT to move to another pharmacy because they're not happy at that store can NOT do so any more because of this new rule change.
  
• Those who may have moved their prescription to a less-convenient location for an incentive -- such as to get a $10 gift card at Target, $30 in free gas at Giant Eagle, or $25 gift card/rewards at Kroger or CVS -- will discover they can NOT move it again after Dec. 31, 2010.  Their prescription will be stranded

Target $10 gift card for new or transferred Rx

This week's sales flyer at Target (today is last day it will be in stores) has Rx coupon for $10 gift card.

Expires Dec. 20.

Kmart: Up to $20 gift card for transfer

Kmart's sales flyer this week (available in Sunday newspaper and near customer service counter) contains an Rx coupon.

It's on the back of the short wrap-around.

Expires Nov. 30, 2010.

It says "limit one per customer;" however, most Kmart pharmacists will allow you to use more than one.  Plus, you can download from http://kmart.com/transferforacause a page of 5 coupons for $20 that says they'll take up to 5 of them at once and give $5 for each one redeemed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

These are also accepted at:
-- CVS
-- Giant Eagle
-- Kroger

Target: $10 gift card for NEW or Transferred prescription

Target's usual $10 gift card offer is in this week's sales flyer (in Sunday newspaper and available at customer service counter).

It's good for NEW prescriptions and transfers from stores other than Target.

Reminder:  Target does not limit how many prescriptions you can bring to them with coupons -- per day, week, life, etc.

These coupons are also accepted by:
-- Kmart
-- CVS
-- Giant Eagle
-- Kroger

Expires: Nov. 29, 2010.