Do you find prescription costs vary widely at different pharmacies?

[MelInKansas]

Because I took advantage of the Kmart transfer deal and found that the one name-brand prescription my DH is on, Plavix, was $33 there instead of $160 at Target! And our insurance doesn't cover it, I guess because it's a name brand.

Now I want to call around to other pharmacies, to see if we've just been getting gouged at Target, or if this is just a short-term deal at Kmart because of their transfer offer. We were originally told this medication would cost $300 a month, so I actually thought the $160 was okay.

Has anyone else had any experiences where a prescription was a lot more or a lot less at certain pharmacies? Or does it just depend on the drug and the distributors?

Needless to say I was pretty pumped about saving $130 and the $50 gift card I got as well!

[CW&M Mom]

Possibly they used some kind of discount to bring the price down.

My pharmacy uses a county prescription card to bring down the price of my imitrix

[434Teresa]

yes I have found that it dose run different cost at differnet ones..I dont understand why for the smae name brnd drug always comes from the same company, maybe ti depends on who much they order at one time.

[MelInKansas]

I am wondering too if somehow Plavix isn't getting a lot cheaper right now because I think a generic is about to come out. I know it's been out for a while, does anyone know how long a drug is out before generics are made?

[CW&M Mom]

Normally 7 years....unless the drug company bribes the FDA.....

[Macaela25]

My FIL received a script for a brand name med and he has no insurance (they're from overseas). I called CVS and was told nearly $200. Publix was about $160, and I about keeled over when I called WalMart - $10.

I have no idea why there was almost a $200 price difference in the same medication. It just goes to show that it pays to shop around.

[MelInKansas]

7 years, it's got to be getting close to that. My father had a heart attack almost 7 years ago and I think he's been on it the whole time.

I plan to call Wal Mart too, just to check. I definitely shop there a lot more often than KMart!

[motherofmolly]

my friend has been calling around for her med's...and found a $30 difference in the local pharmacies and she was only calling the one's inside stores. target, walmart, kmart, cvs, walgreens, and schnucks..now we have a hyvee.
best to call around especially if your oop is alot.

[madcatter]

Yes, very much so... when my best friend was uninsured, I'd call around for her meds and the costs varied HUGELY.

Also, if you have a costco or samsclub in your area, try them. Costco was the cheapest for most of her meds and you do NOT have to be a member to use the pharmacy.

Another strategy is to pay attention to whether the pill can be split.
When Zoloft did not have a generic, the price of 30 pills in 50 mg was only a few dollars less that 30 pills in the 100 mg dose. So my doc wrote it as 1/2 a 100mg instead of one 50mg and I split the pill in half. Of course, this doesn't work for capsules.

Shopping around is also good for various tests. My friend had to have a MRI and I called around for that and found the prices difference be well over $1000 dollars.

Cat

[lovemygirls]

The price between one pharmacy and another can be a huge amount. I would call all the pharmacies in your area and find out what the cost is. Many people have the option of mail order companies as well and they can save you some money to. I work a doctors office and Plavix is still being sampled by the drug reps. Always ask your office if they have any samples they can give you. Even if they only have a weeks worth that is one less week you need to pay for. I get a huge kick out of giving my patients samples. They are so happy to have you give them something and my thought is if the company is going to hand it out I will give it away. I have one patient with a huge copay for his Plavix and I stock pile it for him and give it to him when he comes in.