Home / OTC & Flex Cards / Walgreens OTC Benefits 2027: How to Use Your OTC Card at Walgreens

Walgreens OTC Benefits 2027: How to Use Your OTC Card at Walgreens

By Modinul Islam Khan Updated October 25, 2026

Reviewed October 25, 2026. Walgreens OTC benefits let you spend the over-the-counter (OTC) allowance from your Medicare Advantage or Medicaid plan at Walgreens, in store or on Walgreens.com and the Walgreens app, as long as your plan’s card works in the Walgreens network. Walgreens says eligible items come off your card balance at checkout, and you pay for anything else with another payment method. Whether your card works there depends on your plan and its card vendor, not on Walgreens.

Quick answer: UnitedHealthcare, HealthSpring and Healthfirst list Walgreens as a participating store for their OTC cards, and cards run by NationsBenefits and Healthy Benefits+ can be used at Walgreens. Some plans, such as Aetna, SCAN and Devoted, send OTC spending to CVS instead. Check your 2027 plan materials or call the number on the back of your card before you shop. Unused money usually doesn’t roll over.

How Walgreens OTC benefits work

Walgreens explains the rules on its OTC benefits page. Here’s what it says:

Topic	What Walgreens says
Where you can use it	“Your OTC benefit card can be used online and in-store.”
Online checkout	You can pay with the card at checkout on Walgreens.com and save it as a payment method in your account.
Mixed carts	You can put eligible and other items in the same cart. If there are ineligible items, Walgreens asks you to add another payment method.
Eligible items	“If an item is eligible, the cost of the item is subtracted from an OTC card’s available balance at checkout.”
Shipping and delivery	Fees “may be covered, depending on your OTC benefit plan.”
Coupons	OTC cards can be used with other valid discounts, coupons and promotions.
Rollover	Unused funds are lost at the end of the allotment period unless your health plan allows a rollover.
Returns	Walgreens tries to put the OTC funds back on your card. If it can’t, it issues a Walgreens gift card.

Walgreens says Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits have been usable in its stores since 2019, and in April 2026 it said about 4,600 benefit-eligible OTC products were available on Walgreens.com and in the app. On Walgreens.com, product lists include a “Benefit Program” filter with an “OTC Benefit” option.

Which plans’ OTC cards work at Walgreens?

Walgreens doesn’t publish a list of the plans or card networks it accepts, so the answer comes from your plan’s own materials. Here’s what we found in official carrier and card vendor sources.

Plan or card	Walgreens?	What the official source says
UnitedHealthcare UCard	Yes	UnitedHealthcare lists “more than 70,000 participating stores nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General, Target”
HealthSpring Flex Card	Yes, in store and online	HealthSpring’s 2026 OTC booklet names Walgreens as a participating store, and its flex card guide lists ordering online at HealthSpringFlex.com and Walgreens.com
Healthfirst (New York)	Yes	Healthfirst lists retailers such as Duane Reade, Walgreens, CVS and Walmart
Cards run by NationsBenefits	Yes, in store	NationsBenefits said in February 2025 that members can use its Benefits Mastercard Prepaid Card at Walgreens locations nationwide
Cards run by Healthy Benefits+	Yes	The Healthy Benefits+ help page lists major retailers including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens
Clever Care Health Plan (California)	Yes	Clever Care’s grocery locations page lists Walgreens among participating stores for its Flex Benefits Mastercard
Humana Spending Account Card	Not named	Humana says the card works at participating network retailers and sends members to its Store Finder
Aetna Extra Benefits Card	Not named	Aetna’s page names CVS retail stores
SCAN and Devoted	No	Both send OTC card shopping to CVS stores

Benefits vary by plan and county, and plans can change vendors from one year to the next. For 2027, check your Annual Notice of Change and Evidence of Coverage, or call the number on your card. For UnitedHealthcare members, our guide to where you can use the UnitedHealthcare OTC card has more store details, and HealthSpring members can read about the HealthSpring Flex Card.

When Walgreens won’t work for your OTC benefit

Some OTC benefits are tied to one pharmacy or a mail-order catalog. Humana’s OTC Mail Order benefit runs through CenterWell Pharmacy, Aetna’s OTC wallet is built around CVS, and SCAN and Devoted direct members to CVS. Many Medicaid plans also use mail-order catalogs; in Georgia, for example, Peach State Health Plan’s OTC benefit runs through CVS (see Georgia Medicaid OTC benefits). See our guide to using your OTC allowance at CVS if that’s your plan’s store.

How to use your OTC card at Walgreens

In the store

Check your balance before you go, by calling the number on the back of your card or signing in to your plan’s member portal.
Pick eligible items. Your plan decides what’s covered. Pain relievers, cold medicine, first aid supplies and vitamins are common examples.
Pay with your OTC card first. Eligible items come off the card balance at the register.
Pay the rest another way if your basket includes items your plan doesn’t cover or the total is more than your balance.

On Walgreens.com or the Walgreens app

Sign in to your Walgreens.com account and look for items marked for OTC benefit use, or filter by “OTC Benefit.”
Add items to your cart. You can mix eligible and other items.
At checkout, add your OTC benefit card as a payment method. Walgreens sorts the qualifying items.
Add another card for any items that don’t qualify.

Walgreens says OTC cards are charged the estimated total when you submit an order. Shipping or delivery fees may or may not be covered, depending on your plan.

What you can buy with an OTC card at Walgreens

Your plan, not Walgreens, decides which products qualify. Walgreens tells members to confirm eligibility by calling the plan provider at the number on the back of the card. Medicare Advantage OTC benefits generally cover health-related items such as:

Pain and fever relievers, cough, cold and allergy medicine
First aid supplies, bandages and thermometers
Vitamins and supplements your plan allows
Dental care items such as toothpaste and denture products
Incontinence supplies and some personal care products

Food, alcohol, tobacco and cosmetics usually aren’t covered by the OTC part of a card. If your plan also gives a healthy food or flex allowance, those rules are separate. Our list of what you can get with an OTC card explains the common categories.

How to check your OTC card balance at Walgreens

Walgreens says you can check the balance by calling the number on the back of your card or by signing in to your OTC plan provider’s online member portal. Walgreens doesn’t describe a separate balance lookup at the register. For plan-by-plan phone numbers and apps, see how to check your OTC card balance.

Walgreens vs. other stores

If your card isn’t accepted at Walgreens, or you want to compare options, see our guides to OTC cards at Walmart, Target, Costco and Amazon. New to these benefits? Start with what an OTC card is.

Choosing a 2027 plan with an OTC benefit you can use at Walgreens

2027 Medicare Advantage plans were published on October 1, 2026, and Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. If shopping at Walgreens matters to you, check these points in each plan’s 2027 Summary of Benefits or Evidence of Coverage:

The OTC allowance amount and whether it loads monthly or quarterly
The card vendor and whether its store list includes Walgreens
Whether the benefit is a card you swipe in stores or a mail-order catalog only
Whether unused money rolls over

The OTC allowance is only one part of a plan. Doctors, drug coverage, premiums and the out-of-pocket limit usually matter more.

Frequently asked questions

Does Walgreens accept OTC cards?

Yes. Walgreens says OTC benefit cards can be used in its stores and online, but only cards from plans or vendors that include Walgreens in their network will work.

Can I use my OTC card on Walgreens.com?

Yes. You can pay with the card at checkout on Walgreens.com or in the app and save it as a payment method. Eligible items come off your balance, and you’ll need another payment method for anything else.

Does UnitedHealthcare’s UCard work at Walgreens?

Yes. UnitedHealthcare lists Walgreens among its participating stores for OTC credits on the UCard.

Can I use my Aetna OTC card at Walgreens?

Aetna’s Extra Benefits Card page names CVS retail stores for OTC spending, not Walgreens. Check your 2027 plan materials or call the number on your card.

Do unused OTC funds roll over at Walgreens?

Walgreens says unused funds are lost at the end of the period unless your health plan allows a rollover. Your plan sets the rule.

What happens if I return an item bought with my OTC card?

Walgreens says it will try to return the funds to your OTC card balance. If it can’t, it issues a Walgreens gift card.

This article is general information. Medicare365 is not affiliated with or endorsed by Walgreens, any insurance company or card vendor, or any U.S. government agency. Benefits vary by plan and county; check your plan’s Evidence of Coverage or call the number on your member ID card.