In northwest Montana, pharmacists are sifting through the website to determine what it could mean for their patients as Trump continues to expand the number of featured discounted drugs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe site itself is really easy to use,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260327_PILLS_TRUMPRX_0003-1200x576.jpg\")
The Trump Rx website. Image source: trumprx.gov<\/p>\n
Patients can search the site for a medication and print out the pertinent coupon, or save it to a virtual wallet and bring it to a pharmacy. The structure functions in a manner similar to GoodRx, a prescription coupon company launched in 2011 that is also a TrumpRx partner.<\/p>\n
In addition to the traditional \u201click, stick and pour\u201d duties \u2014 licking labels, sticking them on bottles, and pouring pills \u2014 Murray and her pharmacists spend a lot of their time learning the intricacies of patients\u2019 insurance plans and the coupons\u2019 fine print. Their goal is to ensure that patients receive the biggest discount, while the small pharmacies receive adequate reimbursement.<\/p>\n
Patients who are enrolled in federal or state healthcare insurance are ineligible for some TrumpRx coupons. That includes those who may be eligible for a government plan based on factors such as their age or income, even if they are not enrolled in one, Murray said.<\/p>\n
At Bigfork Drug, Murray said most individual patients on Medicare hew to an older age demographic and require multiple expensive prescription medications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the population that is in that realm of needing medical care, having multiple diagnoses and on expensive meds,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
The sticker price for other TrumpRx coupons that insured patients are eligible for may appear to offer a notable savings. But depending on a patient\u2019s deductible, how many prescriptions they have, and how frequently they need refills, they might end up paying more in the long run using the coupon than they would if they paid out of pocket.<\/p>\n
The government website also recommends that patients check their insurance first before using a coupon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people choose to go through these copay cards and not bill their insurance, they\u2019re not going to meet their max out of pocket and may spend more over the long haul,\u201d Murray said. \u201cYes, it\u2019s more expensive through their insurance, but they got (a prescription filled) twice, they paid the high amount, and now they\u2019ve spent $2,000 and they\u2019re fully covered through the rest of the year at zero copay.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260330_ALPINE_APOTHECARY_0073-1200x800.jpg\")
Medication capsules and ingredients at Alpine Apothecary in Whitefish on March 30, 2026. Hunter D\u2019Antuono | Flathead Beacon<\/p>\n
The TrumpRx coupons also apply exclusively to name-brand drugs, whereas the generic version of a drug is likely still cheaper than the discount, Murray noted. Sometimes, however, patients can\u2019t use the generic option due to reactions to different binders or fillers that might be used in the cheaper version of a drug.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those people, that is beneficial. That is a savings,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the percentage of people that are not able to take the generic equivalent, FDA-approved form of the brand name \u2014 after the patent has run out and then we have both the brand and generic available \u2014 is very small. I would say less than 3%, and that\u2019s probably being generous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the prominent drugs listed on TrumpRx are fertility medicines and diabetes drugs, known as GLP-1s and popularized for weight loss use, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound. Those are often not covered through insurance. For those, the TrumpRx discount is palpable \u2014 for example, Wegovy pills, which normally have a wholesale price of $1,349, are discounted by 78% to 89%.<\/p>\n
At Alpine Apothecary in Whitefish, Murray is often asked about the pharmacy\u2019s cash price for Wegovy. She\u2019s now able to point toward the TrumpRx discount.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we have a solution for those people that thought that it was unattainable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260327_PILLS_TRUMPRX_0007-1200x604.jpg\")
The Trump Rx website. Image source: trumprx.gov<\/p>\n
The website also features coupons for other prescription drugs such as hormone and thyroid medications, in which cases it\u2019s more common for people to need the brand-name drug, Murray said.<\/p>\n
The number of coupons listed on the government website is still only a drop in the bucket. In about two months, the list has grown from just over 40 drugs to about 60. At one of her small pharmacies, Murray said she keeps around 160 brand-name drugs in stock and special orders others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to grow,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I run my catalog for brand-name drugs, there\u2019s over 2,800 brand-name drugs that I may get a prescription for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yvonne Christow is the director of Sykes Pharmacy, which has locations in Kalispell and Columbia Falls. Under the wing of Greater Valley Health Center, the pharmacy serves a variety of patients with a focus on uninsured and underinsured patient populations.<\/p>\n
So far, a few patients have used the government coupons.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the TrumpRx program is still new, I am uncertain, but hopeful of its effectiveness,\u201d Christow said in a message to the Beacon. She noted that Greater Valley also has an internal program that allows uninsured or underinsured patients to obtain medications at affordable prices.<\/p>\n
GoodRx, a partner of TrumpRx, has offered drug discount coupons for years. While it cuts out the middleman to offer patients lower prices, small pharmacies like Murray\u2019s have stopped accepting GoodRx coupons. The fees GoodRx charges to pharmacies often result in a small business like hers losing money, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur pharmacies don\u2019t take them because we can\u2019t,\u201d Murray said. \u201cWe can\u2019t run through those prescriptions and lose money on every drug in order to take GoodRx.\u201d<\/p>\n
When running a TrumpRx coupon recently for a patient that used a GoodRx code for Wegovy, Murray noted the TrumpRx coupon didn\u2019t charge the pharmacy fees but that it\u2019s something she\u2019s watching out for.<\/p>\n
Ken Chatriand, the pharmacy manager at the University of Montana\u2019s Health Center, noted that the problem, negative remittance, is common with programs like GoodRx. He can often find patients a similar or better discount through the health center\u2019s internal loyalty program, which are often offered by larger pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey act like internal insurance,\u201d Chatriand said. \u201cThe con with that though is maybe (a patient has) a high deductible, and if they reach that deductible, those meds will be free. If you do an internal system, they\u2019re not being submitted, and if you keep doing them the deductible will not be met.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260330_SYKES_PHARMACY_0233-1200x852.jpg\")
Sykes Pharmacy in Kalispell on March 30, 2026. Hunter D\u2019Antuono | Flathead Beacon<\/p>\n
Patients can use coupons through TrumpRx in three ways: going through their pharmacy, going through a specialty pharmacy, or ordering direct-to-consumer from the manufacturer. It\u2019s the latter, having drugs mailed to a patient\u2019s house, that concerns Murray the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have your whole medical profile at one of my pharmacies, we\u2019re going to go over everything in your profile for a drug interaction. We are going to counsel you and make sure that you fully understand how to take the med, what side effects to watch for \u2014 any questions, we\u2019re a phone call away or you can walk in our door,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not necessarily getting the counseling with that drug because it\u2019s kind of an item that they\u2019re just purchasing off of a shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sifting through all the variables \u2014 patients\u2019 deductibles, prescription needs, insurance reimbursements, and the fine print that conditions some discount coupons \u2014 Murray and Chatriand work with patients on an individual, case-by-case basis to determine what avenue might save patients the most. They recommend patients chat with their pharmacists about their options to see whether using a discount coupon like TrumpRx pays off in the long run.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny potential savings that we can get to patients that comes from the drug manufacturers is beneficial, and that\u2019s where they\u2019re starting. Is it a complete solution right now? Absolutely not,\u201d Murray said. \u201cIs it opening up the door for more of this to be talked about? Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n