shocked at Safeway Prescription Prices

[debbus]

I have a deductible on my insurance RX and was slammed with having to purchase a month's worth of prescriptions. I went to Safeway to pick up Generic Migraine Medication (Imitrex) and almost fell over when they told me it was $180.00. "Oh no", I said---"I wanted generic"...."This is generic". Long story short, called Walmart- price $88. called Costco, price $27. I saved $153.00. What bothers me most is that many people have to choose between food and medication and don't realize there is such a price difference in prescription costs. I urge you to shop around for your prescriptions. Don't give your business to Safeway Pharmacy. Another reason why health care should not be a business.......

[scamperwillow]

Always check Costco - they sell generics for close to cost. Amazing the differences.

I have a deductible on my insurance RX and was slammed with having to purchase a month's worth of prescriptions. I went to Safeway to pick up Generic Migraine Medication (Imitrex) and almost fell over when they told me it was $180.00. "Oh no", I said---"I wanted generic"...."This is generic". Long story short, called Walmart- price $88. called Costco, price $27. I saved $153.00. What bothers me most is that many people have to choose between food and medication and don't realize there is such a price difference in prescription costs. I urge you to shop around for your prescriptions. Don't give your business to Safeway Pharmacy. Another reason why health care should not be a business.......

[scamperwillow]

I just got this email today - I DID NOT WRITE IT, so it is not about me. BUT I just checked the Costco site and the meds I am taking I could get there for LESS than the copay at Kaiser!


Let's hear it for Costco! (This is just mind-boggling!)

Make sure you read all the way past the list of the 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 .

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.
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 prices gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. 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.

[Ted Pole]

I have found out (the hard way) that often your prescription price at Costco is actually LESS if you don't use your insurance.

We recently had to drop our health insurance due to a 47% increase from June to October, and our prescription prices at other pharmacies went up from about $8 to $15. Of course, when you factor in the $900 per month we're saving in BLue Shield premiums...

[Philip Tymon]

A number of years ago I had to get a prescription medication and was getting it at Costco for $19. However, it was far to go to Costco so I went to Safeway and asked them what the price was. They quoted me $89. I said that Costco charged $19. The pharmacist called Costco, confirmed their price was $19, and charged me $19 for it!

Not hard to figure out why our whole health care system is self-destructing.

My guess is they figure if your insurance is paying for it, you don't care what the price is, so they jack up the cost-- an extra $70 (350%) of pure profit at every insured person's expense. If you ask about the price, they figure you're paying for it yourself and they give you the same price as Costco charges.

This system is, of course, insane. Who's to blame? I say it's the Greedpublicans -- they've got an enormous Ponzi scheme type racket going-- they support big corporate rip-offs and get campaign funds in return. They don't care that the entire economy is going to tank and millions of people have their lives destroyed. It's economic treason and they should be lined up and shot.

Phil

_________________________________________________________________

I have a deductible on my insurance RX and was slammed with having to purchase a month's worth of prescriptions. I went to Safeway to pick up Generic Migraine Medication (Imitrex) and almost fell over when they told me it was $180.00. "Oh no", I said---"I wanted generic"...."This is generic". Long story short, called Walmart- price $88. called Costco, price $27. I saved $153.00. What bothers me most is that many people have to choose between food and medication and don't realize there is such a price difference in prescription costs. I urge you to shop around for your prescriptions. Don't give your business to Safeway Pharmacy. Another reason why health care should not be a business.......

[RussianRiverRattina]

Alas, Safeway's prescription prices DO totally suck unless you have health insurance. This is true with pretty much ALL pharmacies (chains & local owners, too), with the notable exceptions of COSTCO, WALMART, & TARGET.

These three retailers offer amazing discounts with 30-day supplies of commonly-prescribed generic medications for a mere $4. Or $10 for a 90-day supply. Their prices for just about everything else are also significantly lower than what others charge. KMART has also launched a similar program.

Based on my limited experience plus various anecdotal evidence, Costco seems to consistently provide the best combination of service & price. We know that going to that part of Santa Rosa can be a pain, since we live in Rio Nido & only became Costco members once my husband's lay-off & our subsequent lack of health insurance drove us to it.

[debbus]

I'll keep you all posted. I am going to attempt to make a stink tomorrow and get a refund for the difference! I'm going to talk to the Pharmacy manager. I'm actually thinking about doing an expose in the Bohemian. I can only think about seniors who shell out incredible amounts of money for drugs that they unknowingly can get cheaper and go without food or dont pick up their meds because they can't afford them and then suffer the consequences.
Safeway was going to charge me 700% more than Costco. I'm guessing the insurance companies don't pay Safeway what they charge the customers. (I wonder if they have two different sets of prices).

Alas, Safeway's prescription prices DO totally suck unless you have health insurance. This is true with pretty much ALL pharmacies (chains & local owners, too), with the notable exceptions of COSTCO, WALMART, & TARGET.

These three retailers offer amazing discounts with 30-day supplies of commonly-prescribed generic medications for a mere $4. Or $10 for a 90-day supply. Their prices for just about everything else are also significantly lower than what others charge. KMART has also launched a similar program.

Based on my limited experience plus various anecdotal evidence, Costco seems to consistently provide the best combination of service & price. We know that going to that part of Santa Rosa can be a pain, since we live in Rio Nido & only became Costco members once my husband's lay-off & our subsequent lack of health insurance drove us to it.

[Big Bob]

In case you don't know, Safeway gives a significant discount to AAA members.
Bob

Alas, Safeway's prescription prices DO totally suck unless you have health insurance. This is true with pretty much ALL pharmacies (chains & local owners, too), with the notable exceptions of COSTCO, WALMART, & TARGET.

These three retailers offer amazing discounts with 30-day supplies of commonly-prescribed generic medications for a mere $4. Or $10 for a 90-day supply. Their prices for just about everything else are also significantly lower than what others charge. KMART has also launched a similar program.

Based on my limited experience plus various anecdotal evidence, Costco seems to consistently provide the best combination of service & price. We know that going to that part of Santa Rosa can be a pain, since we live in Rio Nido & only became Costco members once my husband's lay-off & our subsequent lack of health insurance drove us to it.

[battindown]

When Longs Drugs was bought by CVS, my prescription cost for just one drug went from $11.00 to $123.00. I was told that CVS does not have agreements with low cost health providers to charge "at cost" for geriatrics. I'm not boycotting CVS; I just can't afford to use such an exploitive firm. Can you?

[debbus]

When Longs Drugs was bought by CVS, my prescription cost for just one drug went from $11.00 to $123.00. I was told that CVS does not have agreements with low cost health providers to charge "at cost" for geriatrics. I'm not boycotting CVS; I just can't afford to use such an exploitive firm. Can you?

The more I get into this-the more I realized you really have to shop for each drug. Some of the meds I can get cheaper WITHOUT co/pay and insurance. I also found that Costco in NOT always the cheapest. I found a medication at Walmart that was $100. less and over $100 more at Walgreens. It would be great if there was a chart of most common prescriptions and cheapest place to buy in Sonoma county. The other thing I was considering was that if the pharmacies pump up the price to the insurance co's- if you are on a medicare drug plan, you will hit that "donut hole" earlier and end up paying full price.
I am interested in creating an inititiative that would control the generic drug prices and also one that you would have a choice on brand or generic since the drugs stores are happiest to give you generic (they make more money).

[RussianRiverRattina]

The whole thing's totally insane. It seems that only Walmart, Costco, Target & Kmart have bothered to negotiate deals with the drug companies. It'll be interesting to see what other pharmacies do as increasing numbers of customers lack health insurance. Big Bob brought up an interesting point about Safeway giving discounts to AAA members. They also give discounts to folks without health insurance which can knock the costs down considerably.

[Sciguy]

We checked Costco, Walgreens, Raleys and CVS for some prescriptions we use. CVS was ten times more expensive than Costco. Raleys was willing to match Costco. Costco even has a special prescription plan, or club, that is worth ten percent more. No other place even comes close to Costco, often differing by a factor of ten. But individual drugs can surprise you so do a cost comparison for each one. Costco's prices are online but some of the others aren't.
Paul Palmer

When Longs Drugs was bought by CVS, my prescription cost for just one drug went from $11.00 to $123.00. I was told that CVS does not have agreements with low cost health providers to charge "at cost" for geriatrics. I'm not boycotting CVS; I just can't afford to use such an exploitive firm. Can you?