Costco wins prescription price war....

[Bigmack]

Check out the chart in the link.... What is the freakin' markup on pharmacuticals at the retail level?

Good ol' blue Costco.

Costco program gives uninsured rock bottom drug prices
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

Issaquah(WA) -based Costco has teamed with a dozen pharmaceutical companies that manufacture some 7,000 drugs, pitting them against each other to provide the lowest price for Costco customers.

If you take a prescription to Costco, the pharmacist searches those 7,000 drugs to find one that has the same effects but costs less.

"The opportunity is really in educating the person about the lower cost alternative and then they choose which is the best med for them based on the price."

Since the quiet rollout last July, the company has already seen 30,000 to 40,000 people enroll, giving Costco an important head start in a lucrative segment of the market that has been widely ignored.

In every case, Costco was cheaper by hundreds of dollars - nearly a $500 difference between Costco and the most expensive retailer, Rite Aid.

http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_021908HEB_costco_drugs_SW.b77a7cf.html

[napi21]

1. Clark Howard (Consumer advocate show host) explained this

several times on his radio show.

Mar 22, 2007 -- How to get the best deal on prescriptions
The Wall Street Journal has done a research project on prescription drugs, showing the disparity in the industry. The price difference – even between generics – is huge. The last survey found Costco Wholesale to be the cheapest. This time, it was Sam’s Club with Costco coming in No. 2. For example, Zocor is $90 at Walgreens, $80 at CVS, $12 at Costco and $6 at Sam’s Club. The generic of Zoloft was $74 at Walgreens, $70 at CVS, $6 at Costco at and Sam’s Club it was $5. So what’s happening? Instead of pricing generics up from the wholesale cost, places like Walgreen’s and CVS discount from the cost of brand name drugs. So, a generic may cost them $3 at wholesale, but they charge $70 or $80 because it’s still less than a brand name. That’s why CVS and Walgreens push generic drugs so hard. They make a ton on generics because they mark them up so much. So, it’s clear that filling your prescriptions at Costco and Sam’s Club is the way to go. If you’re worried about being a member, don’t worry. In many states, you don’t need a membership to get prescriptions from those warehouse clubs.


http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/11/98/

[DaveJ]

2. Thanks Walgreen's for ripping me off.

We went there and paid a $20 copay for an antibiotic we found out Wal-Mart had for $4. I'm not promoting Walmart, I'd pay a dollar or more to shop elsewhere, but something must wrong with the world when Walmart is starting positive trends.

[chat_noir]

3. You don't need a membership card at Costco to get a prescription

At least, that's what the policy was a couple of years ago when I got a prescription filled there.

[fed-up]

4. too bad Costco doesn't accept my county's version of Medi-Cal-nt

[DemoTex]

5. Costco wins gas price war, too .. at least around here.

I payed $2.64 a gallon for regular petrol last week at Costco. Some of the discount chains were at $2.89. The big guys were even higher. A 25¢ saving on a gallon of gas is remarkable. I do love my Costco.