FamilyWize helps West TN save thousands on Rxs

By Krista Paul, Resource Director at the United Way of West Tennessee

FamilyWize can really save you money on medications—and I know that personally. 

I was an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher for five years before joining the United Way, so I went from one job helping people to another job helping people. I was in an in-between waiting for my benefits to kick in at United Way, and then my husband changed jobs, too. So we had this one month where we had short-term insurance, which wasn’t great. I have medications that I take each month, and one of them was normally less than $20 with my previous insurance. During that in-between month, it was going to cost me over $150. I thought, I can’t afford this! 

I talked with my doctor, and we even considered changing medicines and dosages, but it was working so well, I really hated to lose it. So he and I researched prescription savings cards. I had learned about FamilyWize through United Way, because we have a partnership, but I really didn't know a whole lot about it. I downloaded all of the savings apps, just to price check and compare so I could find the cheapest option. Out of all the apps and quotes I checked, FamilyWize was the cheapest one in the area. It ended up being around $80. The card ended up saving a lot of money—and also just the anxiety. Having insurance doesn't always mean that medicine is cheap, especially in situations like that. 

I just started my third year at United Way, and I use my own story when talking to people in the community. I was delivering supplies to the College of Applied Technologies yesterday, and I brought them a stack of FamilyWize cards to set in their lobby or give to their departments, just so the adult students could have access to prescription savings if they need it. I want people to know: It's not just a piece of paper to clutter up a desk—it's really valuable!

So far this year in Madison County, which is where we are located (and just one of the 14 counties we serve), there have been savings of $181,220 with the FamilyWize card. The next highest is Henry Country, with $42,544 in savings. 

For people considering the FamilyWize card, I would say, why wouldn’t you want to save money? It keeps money in your pocket. It keeps money in your home for your family to spend on the things they need. It definitely brought me a lot of relief. I would love for other people to feel that same relief.