[ineedasername]

No, they really don't. Some don't offer much of anything. Many of those end up providing benefits for the poorest of the poor, but if you're a little above that you're out of luck. Also if you have something like Medicare you can hit certain phases in coverage where you have to pay a much larger part of the cost. Being on any government program disqualifies you from most of these discount programs, so if you're on an expensive Rx you can still be stuck paying a few hundred $$ a month-- more than many can afford.

These discount programs aren't some big secret people don't know about. I see that argument thrown out in defense of high prices but it simply isn't true. Every doctor prescribing drugs knows about them and tells their patients about them. If people are going without necessary medication because they don't know about a discount program then they are extreme outliers.

These discount programs are simply marketing & lobbying tools used to give politicians cover when they all continue to ignore meaningful healthcare reform.