Saving $$ On Prescriptions

[lukkyb22]

Hey everyone, got this in an email. Believe it is worth checking out Costco. Please post a response to let others know if it is valid!!



Let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just mind-boggling!) Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs. The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington, DC offices.

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The data below speaks for itself.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%
Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec : 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809

Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%



Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%


Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner. On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit,
did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo.....three thousand percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly
lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.





I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.



I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could
have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true)

[cschin4]

I really don't know what this proves. Drugs are expensive due to the research and development process, testing, meeting stringent FDA requirements, etc. The actual cost of the ingredient used is a tiny fraction of the actual cost to bring a drug to market.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by cschin4

I really don't know what this proves. Drugs are expensive due to the research and development process, testing, meeting stringent FDA requirements, etc. The actual cost of the ingredient used is a tiny fraction of the actual cost to bring a drug to market.

I think you need to read the post again friend. It was not a complaint against the drug companies. We all know that R&D, as well as marketing, are their main expenses, and that all of that is figured into the price we pay for those drugs.

The point of the post is that generic drugs are marked up steeply by the pharmacy; not as priced by the manufacturer. To that point, the poster points out that one pharmacy does not excessively mark up the generics, Costco. I think it is a very good post and only wish we had a Costco around here.

[lukkyb22]

never know--may be able to fill prescriptions on their website and have them mailed to you, if you are able to wait...

[scrava]

One thing I can suggest to help with the cost of Rx's is to use pharmacy coupons.
Lots of pharmacies around here will also take competitor coupons. So, if you get a "transfer your Rx here and
get a $25 GC" coupon from CVS, use it at CVS. The next month, try to get a Target coupon, or ask Target if
they take CVS coupons and fill your Rx there for another GC. If you have the time to hunt for the coupons and
keep switching pharmacies, you can get a nice collection of GC's this way.

[flash]

Costco does have great prices; drugstore.com is also fairly good. Their discounts are largely based on the volume sales they do, relative to other chains that are individually owned franchises.

You need to be very careful in interpreting prices based on ingredients manufactured in other countries. There is, obviously, a current political debate on the cost and quality of generic drugs provided by other countries and availble by mail to US consumers.

There can be other differences in generic drugs outside of the active ingredient itself which effect both efficacy and sensitivity, to name a few. While the FDA is fairly stringent in limiting differentials in generics, this is not true across the board. You also must include the cost of producing, stabilizing, and binding the active ingredients, removing common allergens, pressing the little pill into the little form without it falling apart.

There are great ways to decrease your prescription costs, but don't misrepresent the situation.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by flash

Costco does have great prices; drugstore.com is also fairly good. Their discounts are largely based on the volume sales they do, relative to other chains that are individually owned franchises.

Just a note: drugstore.com has a partnership with Rite-Aid. You can fill a prescription through drugstore.com and pick it up at any Rite-Aid location.

[ScrimpAndSave]

Great tips...thanks!