Sorry, post is a hoax. Re: Outrageous Prescription Drug Prices

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends, Echert aka Stacimom is back with you again... and just in the nick of time, or maybe late, as usual. Having been a mitomom and now mom to an angel who's got medical problems of her own, I've been taught well. So many things I want to believe... even miracles, like reducing high drug prices. Wonderful idea, but Sharon told me she and never wrote that post, don't know who did... Yep, I called the number listed, like so many hundreds have done. She emailed me promptly. I called the # again and she actually picked up the phone, seeing the same # twice on the caller ID. Had a nice brief chat-- I told her she should go on Dr. Phil with her complaint (about desperate people being gouged by Rx co's and stores clutching to any shred of a dream). The following is Sharon L. 's reply. She's changed her email, and they're looking into changing her official work phone number. Please believe me, and copy and paste the following disclaimer to all you've sent the original post to. Thanks, for Sharon .:

P.S. from -- "Remember, if something seems unbelievable or too good to be true.......

it probably is." {Except when it's about Staci's Doc discovering the exact gene our Anastasia had is the maternal/mitochondrial DNA gene mark of the Romanoffs. That's mito. Believe it- or not.}

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Thank you for being skeptical. I am very angry that someone has used myname and Palmer's on this to add legitimacy to it and we had nothingto do with it at all. The following is the standard statement I've beenmaking. PLEASE notify the person you received it from and encourage themto send an e-mail to anyone they may have forwarded this to and to theperson they received it from letting them know that this is a hoax.(Please do not just forward this e-mail as I don't want my new e-mailaddress going around the world--I've already changed it once and don't wantto do it again.)THIS IS A HOAX E-MAIL. I DID NOT WRITE OR HAVE ANY PART OF THIS AS THEE-MAIL SUGGESTS AND CANNOT VERIFY THE ACCURACY OF IT.

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I am reposting this from another group I'm on. It's about prescription drug prices. It's unbelievable!The following is incredible. Make sure to keep reading to the bottomwhere>it discusses Costco, Sam's Club, etc.>>>>The women who wrote this email and signed below are Federal Budget>Analysts in Washington, DC>>Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active>ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it mustcost 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 revealedin>past issues of "Life Extension," a significant percentage of drugssoldin>the United State contain active ingredients made in other countries.>>In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companiesreally>make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used insome of>the most popular drugs sold in America.>>The chart 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 generalactive>ingredients: $5.80 Percent markup: 4,696%>>Norvasec 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): $10237>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 thoughteveryone>I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass iton.>It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to whythey>can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.>>On Monday night, Steve , an investigative reporter for Channel7>News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging bypharmacies.>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, ifyou 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 thegeneric>equiva-lent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are>"saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those100>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, Sam's Club and other discount volume stores>consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. Iwent>to the discount store's website, where you can look up any drug,>and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices areconsistent>with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one examplefrom>my own experience, I had to use the drug, Comparing, which helpsprevent>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 Icould>have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid>$72.57. I could have got 150 at another discount store for $28.08. I>would like to mention, that although these are a "membership" typestore,>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 thatyou>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, and>passing it into your own email, and send it to everyone you knowwith an>email address.>>Sharon L. , Budget Analyst, US Department of Commerce Room 6839>Office Ph: ; Office Fax: Email Address:>sdavis@docgov>> Palmer, Budget Analyst, Bureau of Economic Analysis Office of>Budget & Finance; Voice: