Lantus SoloStar coupon

Er, I'm a little nervous about the $25 coupon for the SoloStar pen (which sounds incredible, because I paid $148 for the stupid vial which is now half empty (or half full if you're an optimist)). To get the pharmacy card, you have to fill out information on birth date, name, address, etc.

If it's in my name, then I can have some insurance issues in the future claiming that I myself am a diabetic (all of this stuff becomes public record).

If I enter my cat's name and birth date, then they might claim the person must be at least 18 years old to get the coupon (I imagine).

Has anyone successfully filled out this thing and used it? And, if so, did you put in your information or your cat's?

Thanks so much.

DZ and Sarah

 

I haven't used it but did get one.
I registered it in my kitty's name with her approx. dob. After filling it out, I got a message from lantus that it was now activated and could be used.
I took it to Walmart and asked if they accepted it and they said 'yes'.

My vial is still half full too so I'm still using that.

 

Denise,

Thank you so much for answering. My name is also Denise, but I use my initials so people to mix us up!

Thanks again.

DZ and Sarah

 

There is nothing on the coupon that prohibits it for being used for cats--I would fill in your cat's information, just like you would if you were using it for a child or dependent in your household. The prescription should be in your cat's name, so any pharmacy related materials should reflect that. I used it at both Wegmans and Walmart pharmacies (a year apart) with no problem.

What pharmacy are you going to? In my case, I called around and priced the insulin before deciding what pharmacy to fill the script at. Even with the prescription card, I found stand alone pharmacies like CVS or Rite Aid were way more expensive than the grocery store pharmacies. Wegmans and Walmart had the cheapest price on Lantus pens ($245 before the coupon) with Target in third place ($260 before the coupon). We don't have a Costco here, but I've heard they usually have similar pricing to Walmart.

I've also found that with some things, like when I need to call my glucose meter company for help with my meter, it's easier to just pretend I'm the diabetic, because they will not help you if you say you're using it on a cat. But that sort of thing is not going to affect your insurance at all-a meter company does not have access to view or alter your medical records.

 

Where do I find the coupon?

 

Here's the link for the lantus solostar savings card.

http://www.lantus.com/sign-up/offers.aspx

 

The Savings Card is for the prescription and not the patient, so you would fill in your cat's information (who is not covered by any insurance or program and is therefore eligible for the Savings). It's straight from the manufacturer so all places that sell Lantus should honor the card (doesn't mean they will though).

I was able to find my local Walmart Neighborhood Market as not only a place where they sell me the pens individually, but also accept the Savings Card, even after purchase within 30 days of my receipt. The Savings Card guarantees you pay no more than $25 a pen, meaning if they sell the pen for $100, you get $75 savings; if they sell it for $50, you get $25 savings.

It's good for up to 6 pens, so it should last you quite a while.

 

About two years ago or so there was coupon for a free five-pack of Lantus pens for a new prescription for the pens. At that time I have five diabetic kitties so the vet wrote out five scripts and I obtained five packs of five pens free. I had not problem at the pharmacy except that they asked me to wait until they order and receive more so I would not deplete their stock.

 

The drug is very effective. The only problems I have had are low blood sugar levels while working in hot environments. In Saudi in the spring and summer months I would constantly go low while working in the heat.

Lantus Savings Card is still valid, pay no more than $25 on up to 6 Lantus SoloSTAR pen prescriptions.
Here is the link: http://www.manufacturerdrugcoupons.com/lantus-coupon/

 

I just tried the coupon at WalMart and it didn't work. Does anyone have any other help/suggestions??

 

Do a web search for savings cards or coupons for Lantus.

Get a passport and travel to Canada.

Use a reputable Canadian mail order pharmacy (vet may need to fax an Rx there)

 

DCIN wrote up this article on their website about getting Lantus insulin at lower cost. You might want to try some of these suggestions.

Not all Wal-Marts will sell the pens individually. Seems at times, it's up to the individual pharmacist as to what will and will not work.

Keep trying different pharmacies.

 

Last night I dropped my 10ml vial of Lantus & shattered it. In addition to being a very costly mistake, it smells awful. So I am trying to switch to the 3ml pen, and I have enrolled in Lantus' discount program. The pharmacy was having trouble with it because they said they couldn't locate my vet's "NPI" - which is basically a national prescriber ID. I'm going to call the vet's office in the AM and see if they can help me work this out. I was wondering if anyone else had used this program recently or if anyone has knowledge of the vet NPI issue...

Thanks to Google, I've now learned that vet's are not eligible for NPI numbers (national provider identifier) because they don't meet the criteria for a "health care provider". Apparently some pharmacies just use a dummy NPI for vet Rx's. I'm not sure if the Lantus discount program allows that.

You can't get Lantus from Canada anymore. If you believe what you read online, Sanofi threatened to cut off supply to the Canadian pharmacies if they continued to sell across the border.

 

I had this same issue tonight. My pharmacy tried to run the discount, despite knowing that the prescription is for a cat, and no matter which way they tried to enter it, a lack of the NPI number prevented them from being able to run the discount. My understanding is that vets don't have an NPI number. My pharmacist thought that some vet clinics might have an NPI number for their facility. But I was out of luck purchasing pens with the discount tonight.

 

Have you tried the http://www.77canadapharmacy.com yet?

And if you have an Rx for it, you are entitled to purchase it where you want!

Are you close enough to road trip to Canada?

 

As of last year, DHHS removed vet eligibility for NPI numbers, however, according to the last paragraph in this article it should not bar the pharmacist from being able to provide the "prescription" (in this case, the Savings Card). Another article says that some pharmacists will use a dummy NPI number. That being said, it's dependent on the pharmacist being willing to do so, especially since Sanofi (the manufacture of Lantus) says pet prescriptions are no longer eligible for the Savings Card if you call them directly and ask.

 

I also just switched to Levemir back in March and was able to use their discount with no issues. Then again, my pharmacist also allowed me to use the Lantus Savings Card last year without any problems, so maybe I just have an awesome pharmacist. :lol:

 

New here, new to it all, but thought it would be helpful for me to add this: I had my vet call the prescription in to our local Walmart Neighborhood Market, being under the impression that their cash price is cheaper than other local options. I informed them it was for my pet. They were fine with it and began to process the prescription. At first they told me the SoloStar pens were not able to be used for pets. Once I convinced them otherwise, they continued. I spoke to them again today. I wanted to find out the total cost with the use of the Lantus SoloStar coupon that says "Pay no more than $25". I informed them, again, that this was for my cat. They asked me the date of birth. My cat is under 18 so I told them I didn't know it. They said for most pets they fill in 1/1/01. They tried that and were denied. (This is after giving them all the information printed on the coupon, that should already have a valid DOB on it - or so I thought). I told them to use either my birthdate or an arbitrary one from 1996, making her 18. They said they couldn't do that - as though that was somehow more dishonest than creating an arbitrary date in 2001. They then said they'd call the company (Lantus) and ask them about it. They did so, and now I have been barred from using the coupon at Walmart. At this point, I was extremely frustrated, and called Target to see if they would fill it. They said they'd be able to use the coupon and would get the prescription information from Walmart. They then called me back and told me that I have somehow been barred from using the coupon, based on the Walmart employee's conversation with Lantus, and that they DO NOT allow its use on prescriptions for pets.

I don't even know what to do at this point, because that was the only thing that was going to make it affordable to buy this medication. I want what's best for my baby, who is recovering from hepatic lipidosis and was just diagnosed with diabetes, and everyone I've spoken to has said that Lantus is the best choice for her. I was convinced, by myself, by the posts I've read, and by the pharmacy staff, that this coupon would work, and now I'm extremely frustrated and cat(2)_steam

So, if anyone has any advice that could help me, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

 

Have you checked the canadian pharmacy listed above yet?

Alternatives include BCP PZI and ProZinc.

 

A brief update on my situation:
We ended up filling our Lantus prescription at a small local pharmacy, because they had cheaper cash prices for the medications than even Sam's Club did.
With a new, written prescription and the discount card in hand, I approached the desk. I fibbed and informed them that Isis' birth date was 1/16/96, making her 18 (she's actually not yet 7). I thought this fib would enable me to get the coupon approved, as the patient has to be over 18.
Despite it being a new prescription and a new discount card, I was turned down for using it, because they knew it was for a cat. I'm not sure if they knew because the script was from a vet's office or if they knew from my other attempt.
Regardless, I ended up paying over $300 for a 5 pack of SoloStar.
My recommendation is to not give any personal information when inquiring about this to any pharmacy. Walmart flat-out screwed us. I don't know if this was done out of incompetence or meanness, but it is done.

I will look into the Canadian pharmacy, but the manufacturer will lose its patent on Lantus this year, so hopefully our pens last us at least five months and by then there will be generic alternatives.

 

I ran into the same problem with Izzy, here in Washington State. No one would honor the card becuase the vet doesn't have an NPI number and that was required. No one would use a different number and of course most already knew Lantus would not honor the card for a pet I couldn't get a single pharmacy to sell me it per pen either. Not on single one. I even called the regional pharmacy manager for walmart (well he called me due to my email and I called him back) and they were going to "look into" the possibility of designating one of their local stores to sell per pen. Never did hear back on that...and since I lost Izzy it has not been on my radar to follow up.

It is frustrating when you live in a non-friendly diabetic pet area for sure!

 

I know this is a little bit old but I wanted to tell people the obvious solution here. Tell your vet that your cats real name is... and then give them a people type name. That will help part of it. I just ordered from Canada. 777canadian... I am going to see if they will take it. I doubt they will because they are not very helpful in general but I will post back.

Good luck all!

 

The problems seem to be that the pharmacy has to enter the NPI nunber for the doctor in the form then use to process the coupon. Vets do not have NPIs
"National Provider Identifier or NPI is a unique 10-digit identification number issued to health care providers in the United States by the Centers for Medicare ...