Drug prices are making me crazy these days. I recently had to spend $126 dollars for 3 prescriptions. And this was my co-pay. The insurance company would pay the rest.

I was shocked. I asked the clerk "how much would these be if I just paid cash?"  She said they would be about $200 dollars EACH. Needless to say, I was appalled. How have drug prices gone so crazy expensive. All I could think about were the people who could not afford to plop down $126 dollars at Christmas time for this unexpected expensive. I am lucky and that amount is not a problem for me. But I could just imagine someone trying to decide which medicine they most needed and letting the others go.

We talked with Senator Bill Cassidy (who is a medical doctor) again about the high costs of prescription drugs. And he says it is a huge problem in our country. He did refer us to a great study done by Consumer Reports on prices. The publication did a  secret shopper survey on pharmacies and this chart might help you see where you can get the best prices. I know I am going to use this in the future.

Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
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As you will notice, the independent pharmacies are way cheaper than the big drug store chains and even the big box stores that have pharmacies. Even the online companies are cheaper. But who wants to wait a couple of days for medications?  But I guess if you have regular meds, this is a great option.

Here's our discussion with the Senator about the rising cost of prescription meds:

The Consumer Reports’ article says

Secret shoppers called more than 150 drugstores across the U.S.—representing dozens of chain pharmacies, supermarket drugstores, and independent pharmacies—to compare prices for five commonly prescribed generic drugs. They included the diabetes drug pioglitazone (generic Actos, 30 mg); the painkiller celecoxib (generic Celebrex, 200 mg); the antidepressant duloxetine (generic Cymbalta, 20 mg); the cholesterol medication atorvastatin (generic Lipitor, 20 mg); and clopidogrel (generic Plavix, 75 mg), a blood thinner. The chart shows average discounted retail prices that pharmacies quoted for a one-month supply. (All prices are rounded to the nearest dollar.)

The Senator says the best advice is to always ask for generic drugs and shop around.

 

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