6 Things to Know Before You Use SingleCare

Ever feel like the cost of your prescriptions is spiraling out of control? SingleCare lets you comparison shop for medications before you get to the pharmacy and promises savings of up to 80% off.

Here’s What You Need to Know About SingleCare

The marketplace for discount prescription savings services is getting crowded. In the past, we've told you about GoodRx and RxSaver. Both of them help you comparison shop the cost of your prescriptions and are similar to SingleCare.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how SingleCare works, which pharmacies accept it and we’ll also compare their prices on certain medications head-to-head with GoodRx and RxSaver.

Table of Contents:

1. How Does SingleCare Work?
2. Which Pharmacies Participate With SingleCare?
3. How Do I Join SingleCare?
4. How Much Can You Really Save With SingleCare?
5. Can SingleCare Be Combined With Insurance?
6. Is SingleCare Just for Generic Drugs?
7. Does SingleCare Offer Discounts on Dental Services?

How Does SingleCare Work?

SingleCare is a prescription savings card and mobile app that makes comparison shopping for prescriptions easy. Here’s how to use this tool either on a desktop or smartphone:

1. Enter the name and dosage information for your prescription
2. Select the price you like and click the 'Get free coupon' button
3. Text, email or print the coupon
4. Bring your coupon to the selected pharmacy and pay the price you were shown

SingleCare can be used whether you have health insurance or not. Download the free SingleCare app for Android or iOS to get started.

Which Pharmacies Participate With SingleCare?

SingleCare says it has partnerships with 35,000 pharmacies nationwide. These include the following:

• Albertsons
• CVS
• Duane Reade
• Fry's
• Harris Teeter
• Kroger
• Longs Drugs
• Rite-Aid
• Target
• Walgreens
• Walmart

That’s obviously just a partial list of the tens of thousands of pharmacies that accept SingleCare. You can find a participating pharmacy near you by searching on the SingleCare website or using the app.

How Do I Join SingleCare?

SingleCare doesn’t require you to join anything to make use of its services. All you do is save money if they offer a price you like and you take it!

Since this is not insurance, that means there are never any:

• Monthly fees to pay
• Claim forms to fill out
• Deductibles you have to meet, or
• Eligibility requirements you have to meet when using SingleCare

Furthermore, you don’t have to disclose your email, phone number, Facebook account or any other personal information to get the savings.

On the question of privacy, SingleCare says it is “prohibited by law from selling any personal information including name, address, or prescription information.”

"We respect your privacy and we will never share your personal information with a third party, and constantly maintain the highest security standards," the company notes online.

You can read more about SingleCare's privacy policy here.

How Much Can You Really Save With SingleCare?

We decided to see how SingleCare’s prices stacked up against those of its two main competitors — GoodRx and RxSaver. Here are the results:

As you can see, SingleCare was the costliest service with all five drugs we shopped. That’s why you have to do your own comparison shopping before using any service that purports to be a money-saver.

Can SingleCare Be Combined With Insurance?

SingleCare can not be combined with insurance; it's either one or the other at the pharmacy checkout counter.

However, that shouldn't discourage you from comparison shopping. As the SingleCare FAQ page notes:

"Even if you do have insurance, it's not uncommon for SingleCare to be cheaper than a co-pay on your prescription, so always check prices at singlecare.com to compare pricing."

Is SingleCare Just for Generic Drugs?

SingleCare works when you’re comparison shopping for either brand name or generic drugs. However, the search tool defaults to show the generic offering.

As you probably know, generic medications are often cheaper than their brand name counterparts despite having the same active ingredients.

The green highlighted box below shows how you would isolate brand names drugs in your search:

Does SingleCare Offer Discounts on Dental Services?

SingleCare distinguishes itself from both GoodRx and RxSaver by offering discounted dental care.

They promise you can save up to 55% on a variety of dental procedures such as:

• Cavity filling
• Dental exam, adult
• Dental implant
• Dentures
• Teeth whitening
• Tooth extraction

We put SingleCare’s savings claim to the test. To do so, we pulled quotes for an exam and cleaning in several zip codes around the country, looking at the cash pay price vs the SingleCare price.

* Cash pay based on state average

As you can see, SingleCare does offer a sizeable discount versus the cash pay price. That said, your situation may vary so be sure to do your own price comparison.

Note: You can’t use SingleCare for dental procedures if you’re paying for your visit with traditional dental insurance.

Final Thought

SingleCare is another tool in your arsenal of pharmacy discounts cards and apps that could potentially save you money on your medications. However, our numbers showed it was the priciest of the three services we tested.

That said, SingleCare still may be useful particularly if you need access to discounted dental services. As always, be sure to comparison shop before any health care purchase.

Meanwhile, be sure to see our article on 10 Ways to Save on Prescription Drugs .

More Prescription Savings Stories on Clark.com:

• Don't Make This Big Mistake When Shopping Your Prescriptions
• New Report: These Are the Best Pharmacies in America
• What Is a Flexible Spending Account?

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