Talk about overpriced

[boringscreenname]

My DH went to the health department for an appointment today to get a refill on his thyroid medicine. They have a little pharmacy, that's independently run inside so he thought he'd just get his meds refilled there on the way out. He asked how much it would cost for a 90 day supply, and they told him $90.

Then he asked what the price was at the grocery store pharmacy, and it was only $10 for the exact same medicine and it turns out the pharmacy at the health department didn't even have any the medicine in stock.

[Sapphire Silk]

The grocery store pharmacy has the clout to negotiate big discounts with the Big Pharma companies. Little government agencies don't, and in some cases are forbidden to by law.

[Anakah]

I had to pay $100 for one bottle of pills once and I had to buy them cuz if I didn't I was going to bleed to death. At least it went towards my 750 deductible. Ha my insurance sucks.

[boringscreenname]

DH and I don't have insurance, we are self pay for everything. The kids have insurance but we do not. I wouldn't have minded paying if the price difference was relatively small, but there's no way we're paying $80 more, when we can get it from the big chain for a fraction of the cost.

[Shalom]

I should point out that many grocery store pharmacies aren't really chain pharmacies; ShopWright for instance is franchised, and each one is essentially an independent pharmacy.

As such, they probably have more latitude to finagle with prices. Chains (Aide of Right, Green's Wall, Chain of Verylarge Stores, etc.) have one cash price, and unless you can show them a lower cash price from somewhere else that they can beat, that's what you're going to pay. An independent can adjust prices as necessary. (I remember filling in once at an independent. Someone asked the owner (who is not a pharmacist) to look up a price on something that cost us a couple dollars wholesale, and the computer came up with a retail of $24.95. He snorted, said "Yeah, if you're Pathmark maybe." and knocked it down to about ten bucks.)

[blas]

My coworker was put on pain meds that, without insurance, are over $1000 a script.

This is a pain pill that is on every commercial break during daytime TV, making it appear like anyone can just get it and afford it.

AFTER my coworker got her script, and had to pay a $100 copay for it (because this isn't one of the meds we can pay $10 or $20 for), then all of a sudden insurance demanded "proof" that my coworker needs this pain medication and now her doc needs to send months of history paperwork.

[Sapphire Silk]

My coworker was put on pain meds that, without insurance, are over $1000 a script.

This is a pain pill that is on every commercial break during daytime TV, making it appear like anyone can just get it and afford it.

AFTER my coworker got her script, and had to pay a $100 copay for it (because this isn't one of the meds we can pay $10 or $20 for), then all of a sudden insurance demanded "proof" that my coworker needs this pain medication and now her doc needs to send months of history paperwork.

The smartest things a patient can ask their doctor is, "How much does this medication cost? What advantages over older, less expensive medications does this medication have that justifies that cost (and I'm not talking the cost of R&D, which is irrelevant)? Why should I take this medication is there is a lower cost med that will do the job?"

When I was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) last February, my doctor immediately wanted to put me on Diovan, which is in a newer class of anti-hypertensives mixed with an oldie but goodie diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ). I didn't want to jump to a newer medications whose long term benefits and risks weren't completely known. I tried a low salt diet and exercise at first, but when that didn't work, I opted for HCTZ by itself with a beta blocker. Both meds are dirt cheap, and quickly brought my blood pressure back to normal. I haven't had any of the sexual side effects (impotence) associated with beta blockers, which is why some people don't want to take them.

But all too often people don't ask detailed questions of why is this medication better than that, or could I get a similar benefit from less cost from this medication as opposed to that medication. Medicine is not an exact science and if an older medication is known to be perfectly good, why go with the "newer" one just because it is new and Big Pharma says it is better?

It's not realistic for patients to understand the nuances of pharmacology, which is why so many people end up on meds they can't afford when there are cheaper alternatives. But asking good questions is a way to start.

[fma_fanatic]

The smartest things a patient can ask their doctor is, "How much does this medication cost? What advantages over older, less expensive medications does this medication have that justifies that cost (and I'm not talking the cost of R&D, which is irrelevant)? Why should I take this medication is there is a lower cost med that will do the job?"

When I was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) last February, my doctor immediately wanted to put me on Diovan, which is in a newer class of anti-hypertensives mixed with an oldie but goodie diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ). I didn't want to jump to a newer medications whose long term benefits and risks weren't completely known. I tried a low salt diet and exercise at first, but when that didn't work, I opted for HCTZ by itself with a beta blocker. Both meds are dirt cheap, and quickly brought my blood pressure back to normal. I haven't had any of the sexual side effects (impotence) associated with beta blockers, which is why some people don't want to take them.

But all too often people don't ask detailed questions of why is this medication better than that, or could I get a similar benefit from less cost from this medication as opposed to that medication. Medicine is not an exact science and if an older medication is known to be perfectly good, why go with the "newer" one just because it is new and Big Pharma says it is better?

It's not realistic for patients to understand the nuances of pharmacology, which is why so many people end up on meds they can't afford when there are cheaper alternatives. But asking good questions is a way to start.

The only problem with that is that not every doctor will know the price of the medicine they prescribe.

I dealt with that when my doctor took me off one blood pressure med and put me on another one (bystolic). The problem is that it's a new beta blocker and since there's no generic for it, I have to pay $100 every year for my first script, then $50 for each refill after that.

I had tried the other older ones, but they made me a zombie and it got to the point where I was concerned I'd lose my job.

I went back to see my doctor in tears because $50 for a refill isn't easily affordable for me. She manged to lean on the drug rep who gave her tons of samples, so I could at least stretch out my medicine. She had no idea that not all prescription insurance isn't the same.

[boringscreenname]

I look up all our medicines online, usually I can get a general idea on the price that way. The meds DH is on, are pretty common, and listed on every chain pharmacy's $10 prescription list, which is why we were so surprised they were so expensive at the health dept's pharmacy.

My old OB/GYN wrote me a script for this one type of birth control pill because she knew it was the cheapest available. I took it for awhile,but the side effects were horrible and I read online that many people were experiencing the same side effects as me and hated the pill, so I went back to the doctor and got a new prescription for something that was more expensive but caused me to experience less side effects.

[Sleepwalker]

I went off the pill because the only one I could tolerate kept going up in price.

[telecom_goddess]

When I was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) last February, my doctor immediately wanted to put me on Diovan, which is in a newer class of anti-hypertensives mixed with an oldie but goodie diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ).

I take hydrochlorothiazide and Enalipril (sp?) for high blood pressure. Dirt cheap and they work. Luckily all my meds are cheap.

[Catwoman2965]

I know my doctors will ask if I have insurance, and then suggest a generic, if available, as they may not know the exact cost of a med, but they know it will be more for the brand name. The only time that backfires is when something isn’t in generic form. Like my one inhaler, but thankfully its somewhat covered under my plan; and they gave me a card from the pharma co. which will cover my co-pay for 12 refils. Then I’ll do mail order. Thankfully, the inhalers are the only things I need on any kind of a regular basis.