How do I get a CVS Caremark prescription card?

You can get a physical or digital CVS Caremark prescription card by logging into the CVS Caremark Portal or contacting your employer or health plan provider.

How to Get Your Card

• Through your insurance or employer: CVS Caremark is a pharmacy benefits manager tied to your health insurance. Your physical card is usually mailed to you when your coverage begins. If you never received it or lost it, call your insurance provider or CVS Caremark customer service at 1-866-284-9226 to request a new one.
• Print a digital copy online: Log in to your account at CVS Caremark, go to Plan & Benefits, and select Print Member ID Card.
• Use the mobile app: Download the CVS Caremark mobile app on your phone to access an electronic member ID card instantly.

CVS Caremark—the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) subsidiary of CVS Health—has faced major controversy over allegations of anticompetitive practices, artificial inflation of drug prices, and conflicts of interest arising from its control over both drug pricing and retail pharmacy networks.

Core Controversies and Allegations

• Anticompetitive Hub Restrictions: A House Judiciary Committee report accused CVS Caremark of violating antitrust laws by forcing independent pharmacies to stop using third-party digital "hub" services that lower prescription costs, thereby protecting CVS's own competing services.
• Insulin and Drug Pricing: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued major PBMs—including CVS Caremark—alleging they used unfair rebate practices to artificially drive up the list prices of life-saving medications like insulin.
• Patient Steering and Differential Reimbursement: State investigations, such as probes by Florida and audits in Tennessee, scrutinized CVS for allegedly reimbursing its own corporate stores significantly more than independent rivals for identical prescriptions and unfairly steering patients to CVS locations.
• Government Overbilling Audits: An audit by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management claimed CVS Caremark overcharged the Blue Cross Blue Shield program by nearly $479 million, though CVS disputed this as a retroactive contract dispute.

Settlements and Response

• FTC Settlement: CVS Caremark reached a global settlement with the FTC on July 14, 2026, agreeing to resolve the litigation by moving away from certain rebate guarantee models, capping monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $25, expanding price transparency, and halting restrictions on independent pharmacy hub access.
• CVS Defense: CVS has consistently denied wrongdoing on core price inflation charges, arguing that pharmaceutical manufacturers alone set list prices for drugs and that PBMs function to negotiate lower net costs.

Yes, prescriptions are often cheaper or covered at CVS if you have CVS Caremark, because CVS is a core in-network pharmacy for the Caremark prescription benefit program.

How CVS Caremark Pricing Works at CVS

• Network Status: CVS pharmacies are part of the primary CVS Caremark retail network, meaning your insurance copays or coinsurance apply directly.
• Maintenance Choice: Many plans offer lower copays (such as 90-day supplies) when filled specifically at a CVS location or through their mail-order service rather than a 30-day fill at an outside chain.
• Caremark Cost Saver: If your employer plan opts in, CVS integrates GoodRx pricing automatically at the counter, giving you the lowest available price on generic drugs even if it beats your standard copay.

Tips to Verify Your Cost

• Check Online: Log into your account using the CVS Caremark portal and use the "Check Drug Cost & Coverage" tool before your visit.
• Ask the Pharmacist: Present your standard prescription benefit card at the CVS counter to ensure all automated discounts and tier pricing apply.

No, you do not have to go to a CVS retail store if you have CVS Caremark, as you can use any pharmacy in their network of over 64,000 to 68,000 participating locations.

Network and Filling Options

• Retail Options: You can fill prescriptions at major retail chains, grocery store pharmacies, and most independent local pharmacies that participate in the Caremark network.
• Mail Order: You can use the CVS Caremark mail service for 90-day supplies of long-term maintenance medications with no delivery fee.

Important Plan Rules to Check

• Check Your Specific Plan: While general network access is broad, some specific employer or health plans require maintenance (long-term) medications to be filled exclusively through CVS stores or Caremark mail-order after a few initial fills.
• Verify Coverage: Review your insurance packet or use the "Find a Pharmacy" and "Check Drug Cost & Coverage" tools on the CVS Caremark website to confirm your local pharmacy is in-network and see if your specific drugs have tier restrictions.

Yes, CVS still uses and actively operates CVS Caremark as its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) subsidiary.

Key Details

• Role: CVS Caremark handles prescription benefit management, mail-order pharmacy services, formulary management, and claims processing for employers, insurance plans, and government programs.
• Active Operations: It remains one of the largest PBMs in the United States and continues to sign major contracts, such as managing pharmacy benefits for large state and public health plans.
• Digital Access: Members can manage prescriptions, check drug costs, and find network pharmacies directly through the CVS Caremark Home portal or mobile app.