Prescription Prices- Comparison Shop!

[iLander]

I saw this article, and thought I'd make a quick post, as a PSA;

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/cheap-prescription-drug-secrets-revealed-consumer-group-073600269--abc-news-health.html

Basically, Consumer Reports says to call around and comparison shop for your prescriptions, the savings can be HUGE! These lines got my attention:

The magazine called more than 200 pharmacies across the country to request retail prices for five best-selling drugs: The diabetes drug Actos; the antidepressant Lexapro; the cholesterol-lowering pill Lipitor; the blood thinner Plavix; and the asthma treatment,Singulair; all of which are available as generics.

Depending on the pharmacy, costs varied by as much as $749 for a month's supply of all five drugs.

A person without insurance could pay as much as $150 a month for generic Lipitor at CVS, compared to just $17 at Costco, the study found.

Some urban pharmacies had higher prices than rural ones, Consumer Reports found. A month's supply of generic Actos at a pharmacy in Raleigh, N.C., cost $203 compared to $37 outside the city.

So, yeah, it's all up to the retailer, there is no "set" price for drugs. And the cost can vary by the store, not just the chain.

Who knew?

 

[Karl_K]

I do that all the time and save hundreds a month.
My doc will no longer issue paper scripts so it makes it much harder and more of a pain to do.
I do keep the $4 a month prescription lists with me and ask if one of them will work when he wants to prescribe something.

 

[amc80]

My insurance makes it easy- I can only go to CVS...and pay between $5-20 depending on the Rx.

 

[pandabee]

This is helpful if you are paying completely out of pocket. If you have prescription insurance, your copay should be the same any retail pharmacy you go to (unless you are limited to a specific store like with CVS Caremark, or if your insurance prefers that you only go through their mail order service).

However, if you have a high-deductible health plan where you are paying for the majority of the cost of your healthcare costs up front, then this could also apply to you.

Moral of the story is that there are a million different plans which all function differently, so be sure you are familiar with how your insurance works so you are not surprised or upset when you get hit with a bill.

 

[kenny]

I use Xalatan eyedrops for glaucoma and have no Rx insurance at all so I'm a cash patient.
6 months ago I called several pharmacies.
A one-month bottle of the generic version costed from $50 to $70 a bottle, name brand is $120.

Costco charges $18 for the generic, and if you buy the 3-month pack it's like $12 a month.

Back when I had Rx insurance it was sometimes cheaper to not use it, as the cash price was lower than the copay.

 

[EricaR]

Goodrx.com

Searches local pharmacies to find the lowest cost drugs.

 

[kgizo]

Kenny, I had to buy Xalatan for my dog before there was a generic available. Back then it was only $100 my vet ophthalmologist called it liquid gold.

 

[kenny]

Kenny, I had to buy Xalatan for my dog before there was a generic available. Back then it was only $100 my vet ophthalmologist called it liquid gold.

Lucky you.
Prices vary with location.

It's a good drug.

 

[JulieN]

My insurance makes it easy- I can only go to CVS...and pay between $5-20 depending on the Rx.

still, ask and check. I've gotten drugs for less than the insurance copay.

 

[VRBeauty]

My father uses spireva for breathing issues. With the best medicare supplemental insurance coverage, it would cost over $260 per month here. He orders it from a Canadian pharmacy for less than 1/4 that cost. I'm concerned that the international pharmacy option might dry up though, with the recent ruling against FedEx for transporting illegal drugs. As near as I can tell that ruling had to do with truly illegal substances, but I can see where a carrier might decide to err on the side of caution and refuse to ship even prescribed pharmaceuticals to avoid penalties.

 

[VRBeauty]

Goodrx.com

Searches local pharmacies to find the lowest cost drugs.

Very cool tool - thank you!

 

[msop04]

My insurance makes it easy- I can only go to CVS...and pay between $5-20 depending on the Rx.

Hi amc! Do you work for CVS and that's why? The reason I ask ask is bc a lot of my patients have insurance through CVS/Caremark, and they think CVS is the only place they can go, which is not true.

Great marketing strategy, but CVS/Caremark is only a processor and has nothing to do with having to use CVS or not -- that is up to whoever chooses the plan (employer, self, etc)...

 

[msop04]

Another good idea is to shop independent or smaller pharmacies instead of the big-box chains. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, etc cannot adjust cash prices. Those prices are set by corporate, and cannot be changed. I work for a smaller pharmacy affiliated with a chain of urgent care clinics (started by a group of local physicians). I can change the price to anything I want… within reason.

A good example is with the popular antinausea medication, Zofran (ondansetron). When I was working with Walgreens, a quantity of 30 tablets cost almost $800. I'm not sure of Walgreens pricing now, but other pharmacies would charge between $200-500. I charge $40 -- it costs us about $12.

Anyway, just make sure to check the smaller/independent pharmacies around you. Chances are they can match and beat any price out there. There will be some exceptions.

For example, Walmart loses money on every single prescription they dispense, not just the $4 list. The reason is this: if a pharmacy offers extremely discounted drugs for no fee to the patient, that is the max price they can charge insurance companies for that specific drug. In other words, if they are selling a specific drug for $10 and the actual cost is $30 then they cannot charge the insurance company more than $10. Walgreens gets around this by charging $20 to join what they call a "prescription savings club."

The reason I mention this is because I didn't want people to think that these drugs actually cost the very low prices for which they are sometimes offered. Companies do this to get people in the doors, because they know they'll make money somewhere else in the store. This is while Walmart, target, and Publix have those type offers. Retailers that are pharmacies first and foremost will not have this.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We comparison shop for our dog since he's not covered under our rx plan.

Our vet sends us to Costco for the pricier drugs. Like msop said, Costco loses money on the drugs, so the vet pharmacy can't compete. The vet said CVS is the worst for prescription mark-up.

 

[pandabee]

msop - I am still on my parents insurance (last year, turning 26 this year lol) and the rx insurance goes through cvs/caremark. I am limited to 30 days at non cvs pharmacies and I have also ran into fill limits with non cvs locations at my previous job too.

 

[MMtwo]

I take a time release metformin. CVS was filling it was a 2,000 mg pill that cost Anthem 300 a month. I only paid 10 a month and had no clue until a person on a forum clued me in. I now get a 90 day supply of the same medicine (but 4 x 500 a day) for 13.95 every 3 months CASH PRICE! Nothing runs through my insurance company. My doctor's office told me to go to Costco because they had patients that ended up saving hundreds per month (so I did). I now have a couple of scripts filled through mail order, but they can't match the cash price at Costco for metformin.