Guest guest Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 Eileen, I have complained even though I have insurance. They keep coming up with more things that need prior authorization & more things that are not covered. Some drugs are MORE than 50% co-pay. Retired teachers as a group don't get a good deal at all! At least, not in my state. Sylvia > Eileen <e.coleman@...> wrote:Hi All, > > I hope that I am not is off topic with this. > > I am not working, but am on my husband's insurance plan. In the > past, we have always paid $5-$10/month per script, depending on > if it is generic or brand. > > Recently, my husband changed jobs and the co pays are 50% of > cost for brands. Some of the drugs we use are very pricey and > this 50% puts certain drugs out of our reach. > > Can I please get some feedback on what most you all are paying > for drugs, whether it's a percentage or a set dollar amount? I > haven't seen where anyone on the list has complained about the > cost of prescription drugs. > > Please accept my apologies if this is off topic and thanks for > any input. > > Eileen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 My wife is a teacher and our drug benefit comes though the state municipal association separate from the medical insurance. We pay $10 for generic and $20 for brand, with one twist. If we purchase through a pharmacy, we can get a 30 day supply as it is with most insurance coverage. However, if we order the meds though the mail to their preferred supplier, it's the same price, but for a 90 day supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 I get most of my drugs free. I do not have any insurance. I found out about it through needymeds.com. Most of the time it is income based, but not always. The problem is you only get a certain amount every three months and it is sometimes, but not always enough to carry you through the next three months. It has been a godsend fro me though, otherwise I would be without almost all my meds. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 I live in Indiana and have Teamsters insurance. I pay $2 for generic and $10 for others through the mail in program for 90 days worth. If I go to a pharmacy, it's the same thing for 30 days. However, for Remicade, it is considered major medical so I have to pay 20% which is EXTREMELY expensive. My co-pay for that ends up being about $600 every 2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 I have Aetna HMO (which sucks) and I pay a scale of $10, $15, and $30 for my prescriptions. I'm on about 10 or 11 meds that get filled monthly so add it up. It's alot! Unfortunately most of my scripts fall in the $30 range and they add up! Plus I have a $15 co-pay for office visits and it seems like I go at least 1 or 2 times a week. That's why I can't afford to finish my physical therapy. That alone was $45 a month. I also have to pay $15 for x-rays, MRI's, CAT scans, etc. and $25 for psychologist or psychiatrists. But, I had no insurance before so I guess I can't complain. Back then I didn't go to the doctor or take meds cause I couldn't. We are paying $500 for COBRA ins. until my husband's plan kicks in. I still don't know if they will cover me though because of my pre-existing conditons. It is VERY expensive to be sick. good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 I have Kaiser Permanente health insurance, Northwest Region. I pay $5.00 copays whether it is generic or not, and less that $5.00 if Kaiser gets the generic drug at their cost for less than $5.00. This is for a 1-month supply. Maintenance drugs can be ordered through the mail for $10.00 for a 3-month supply. Carol in Vancouver, Washington In a message dated 5/7/03 4:20:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time, e.coleman@... writes: > Can I please get some feedback on what most you all are paying for drugs, > whether it's a percentage or a set dollar amount? I haven't seen where > anyone on the list has complained about the cost of prescription drugs. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 hi nice article and good information. but the cheapest drugs for me are buying thru canadian drugsites even though not all drugs can be purchased from canada and even with the fact the us drug companys are reducing their supply of canadian drugs, its worth the wait and time to get it with a usual flat fee of 15.00 for an unlimed number of drugs to one address( i have shared orders with several people) but even there its worth shopping around price wise;...there can be a big differnce in price. personally the candaian drug ads i have gotten thru the mail so far are the higher priced companys i am using aptecha.com and very happy with the service and qulity of medications and saving half to 30% of cost over american drugs. i am not affliated with them but have used them as a reliable , well run company for a few orders allready. somish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2004 Report Share Posted March 9, 2004 My brother in-law who is now a retired Dr. sent this to me, thought I would pass in on. DKW -- Cost of drugs 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 chart below speaks for itself. This is based on 100 pills. BRAND STRENGTH WE PAY STORE COST MARK UP Celebrex 100 mg $130.27 $0.60 21,712%Claritin 10 mg $215.17 $0.71 30,306%Keflex 250 mg $157.39 $1.88 8,372%Lipitor 20 mg $272.37 $5.80 4,696%Norvasc 10 mg $188.29 $0.14 134,493%Paxil 20 mg $220.27 $7.60 2,898%Prevacid 30 mg $44.77 $1.01 34,136%Prilosec 20 mg $360.97 $0.52 69,417%Prozac 20 mg $247.47 $0.11 224,973%Tenormin 50 mg $104.47 $0.13 80,362%Vasotec 10 mg $102.37 $0.20 51,185%Xanax 1mg $136.79 $0.024 569,958%Zestril 20 mg $89.89 $3.20 2,809%Zithromax 600mg $1,482.19 $18.78 7,892%Zocor 40mg $350.27 $8.63 4,059%Zoloft 50mg $206.87 $1.75 11,821%Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone I knew 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 Walgreens on every corner..................On Monday night, Steve , 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, andusually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with thepharmacies 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. 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 itsonline price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with theonline 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.I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, andpasting it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with anemail address.Urban Legends Reference Pages: Medical (Generic Drugs ____________________________________________________ IncrediMail - Email has finally evolved - Click Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 We used to shop at Costco Pharmacy and they are so much cheaper than Walgreen's. One of my husbands meds was over $200 at Walgreen's and less than $40 at Costco. Believe it or not, we now do business with a small independent pharmacy which sells most of its meds for the same price as Costco or LESS. This is a family pharmacy. BETTY ANN-62 yo, possibly undx'd Bipolar grandma and guardian to ANDREW - 12 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD, HomeschooledEVAN - 10 yo-- nonverbal autismDAVID 7 yo Bipolar/ADHD and mother to ANDREA -33 yo, their mom -Bipolar/ADHD wife to BOB - 72 yo, a very tired grandpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 We used to shop at Costco Pharmacy and they are so much cheaper than Walgreen's. One of my husbands meds was over $200 at Walgreen's and less than $40 at Costco. Believe it or not, we now do business with a small independent pharmacy which sells most of its meds for the same price as Costco or LESS. This is a family pharmacy. BETTY ANN-62 yo, possibly undx'd Bipolar grandma and guardian to ANDREW - 12 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD, HomeschooledEVAN - 10 yo-- nonverbal autismDAVID 7 yo Bipolar/ADHD and mother to ANDREA -33 yo, their mom -Bipolar/ADHD wife to BOB - 72 yo, a very tired grandpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Sam's Club Pharmacy is generally a lot cheaper than Walgreen's and CVS also. You don't have to be a member there to use the pharmacy just as at Costco. Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 This is an example of how the prices flucuate on different drugs. A good read if you want to save money on your drugs " The price for a three-month supply of the urinary incontinence drug Detrol ranged from $365 to $551. The price for Plavix, a drug that prevents blood clots, ranged from $382 to $541. Prices for Levoxyl, a treatment for hypothyroidism, varied from $29 to $85. And the costs for the generic osteoporosis drug alendronate ranged from $124 to $306, the survey found. Costco was the cheapest source for the four drugs, while Walgreens and Rite-Aid were among the most expensive, according to the survey. " Some drug stores rack up on generic drugs, because they are over-priced. Read on for the rest of the story...... http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=8277858 Blessings, Lottie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.