CANADA – 2025/03/06: In this photo illustration, the GoodRx Holdings logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
GoodRx launched a new subscription Wednesday for individuals who lack health insurance or are unable to afford their out-of-pocket costs, amid a tumultuous time in the U.S. healthcare ecosystem.
For $14.99 per month, patients can access the bundled services, through the new GoodRx Companion, to get access to 200 free or reduced cost generic medications, as well as discounts on telehealth visits, dental care, vision care and labs and diagnostics with market-leading partners.
The services are part of a rented network – where a company can pay for access to existing provider relationships rather than build from scratch – and will focus on areas of high volume utilization, according to GoodRx president of Rx Marketplace Aaron Crittenden.
That means that the pre-existing network of service providers help boost access to health services that most people use regularly or need regularly, but tend to avoid due to the hit from out-of-pocket costs.
Recent polls show that increasing costs are impacting patients’ ability to afford care – and they perceive the health industry as putting profits before the patients’ best interest.
The new Companion product builds on GoodRx’s existing telehealth platform, which addresses common health issues and links the virtual visits to prescriptions written for any pharmacy, and offers patients the option to access GoodRx’s well-known pharmacy coupons.
With discounted access to additional services, GoodRx believes it is meeting the moment, Crittenden told me exclusively.
Patients are facing skyrocketing premiums and health costs, all while seeing shrinking or limiting benefits.
“Coverage is getting worse, costs are going up, you’ve got ACA roll-offs – it’s a mess,” Crittenden said.
Add to the mix the tens of thousands of laid off workers in the past year, and it has created an environment ripe for limited access health care products – whether through insurance or other avenues.
Not an insurance product
GoodRx sees the potential in the current environment. The company took a look at its GoodRx Gold product, which was a similarly priced $14.99 per month for access to the same 200 drugs as Companion, plus unlimited virtual visits. After evaluating what didn’t work, along with user research, GoodRx produced the new Companion product, Crittenden said.
“We’re not building an insurance product,” he said.
“We’re trying to build something that can be ancillary to insurance. Or if you were uninsured it would give you a good backstop on some things – not everything,” he added.
Meanwhile, patients are struggling with rising premiums on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and the Companion product could help small employers or any employer with part-time employees provide better health care options, Crittenden said.
“I think there’s a market and a need for that,” he said.
In a statement following the launch Wednesday, GoodRx CEO Wendy Barnes echoed the sentiment.
“As coverage becomes more complex and out-of-pocket costs continue to rise, people are looking for trusted solutions that give them greater control and clearer value. Companion meets that demand while advancing our strategy to build deeper, more recurring consumer relationships across a growing portfolio of subscription offerings. This is where we believe the market is headed, and where we believe GoodRx is uniquely positioned to lead,” Barnes said.
GoodRx’s position
The company known for discount drug pricing has had a tough time recently. In the past year, the stock has sunk 30%.
Investors have questioned the company’s ability to innovate and thrive, as it struggles to grow revenues quarter over quarter. Sitting at $2.65, down from $33 per share when it debuted in late 2020 amid a telehealth boom, the company’s stock has been in need of a catalyst to convince the market it is a worthy investment.
Despite those struggles, it still enjoys strong brand recognition among consumers, according to analysts. Whether or not the recent product launch could change the company’s perception in the markets remains to be seen.