Prescription Drugs

I watched a PBS report on prescription drugs last night. Many of us have been under the assumption that a prescription would be filled for the same price wherever you go, but the results of the report were staggering. Some prices range from $12 to $400 for the same drug. You can read the full article here.

The wide range in costs seem to occur when a drug changes tiers and move into Tier 1 which usually consists of generic drugs.

One of the lower priced pharmacies is Costco and you don't have to be a Costco member to use the Costco pharmacy

One pharmacist interviewed said even though he owns a small pharmacy that is not part of a chain, he only charges a few dollars over the wholesale price. He feels charging hundreds of dollars for a product that costs only a few dollars wholesale is morally wrong.

Consumer Reports has some interesting articles about the varying costs of prescription drugs and purchasing generic drugs. You can read one of them here.

There are some web sites where you can compare online. Good Rx is one of them. Consumer reports also has a page where you can compare drugs or look up a specific drug

So, especially if you use a drug regularly, shop around.

Note: If you can prove a drug is less expensive elsewhere, stores such as Target will price match the lower price.