Savings card (copay card)

A savings card (or copay card) is a discount program run by the drug’s manufacturer to reduce what you pay at the pharmacy. Novo Nordisk (Wegovy, Ozempic) and Eli Lilly (Zepbound, Mounjaro) both run these, and for eligible patients they can be the difference between affordable and impossible.

How they generally work

• If you have commercial insurance that covers the drug, the card can knock your copay down substantially — sometimes to a low fixed amount per fill, up to a monthly or annual cap.
• If your commercial insurance doesn’t cover it, some programs offer a reduced cash price instead (typically a smaller discount than the covered path).
• Manufacturers have also introduced direct-to-patient cash options for self-pay buyers, as the market shifts.

The fine print that trips people up

• Government insurance is usually excluded. Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs typically cannot be combined with manufacturer copay cards, by law.
• Eligibility and amounts change — programs are updated regularly, so verify current terms on the manufacturer’s official site rather than trusting an old screenshot.
• Caps apply — the discount often has a per-fill and annual maximum.

How to use it well

Check the official manufacturer website for the current program and enroll there (avoid third-party sites promising codes). Pair it with the prior authorization process, not instead of it — the card lowers the cost of a covered drug best of all. And keep an eye on the evolving cash-pay and pharmacy-direct options, which have been changing quickly.