OT: cost of Rx meds

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
When I use my loader, my right shoulder pays the price, arthritis.
I can't take over the counter anti-inflaminator meds, stomach.
I've tried steroids, little is any relief.
Dr finally prescribed generic nnalert, celecoxib.
Got a text message form my Kroger pharmacy, Rx is ready for pick up, $192.
I called to see if there is a mistake. No mistake, 30 pills $192.
So I start asking is there was a cheaper way to go?
She said her mom joined Kroger Rx savings club, $36/year and it lowered her cost of meds. I went online, joined club and picked up 30 pills for $6.

I can't comprehend how the cost went from $6.40/pill to $.20/pill.
Would someone explain to me how this could happen? Is there that much of a mark up on meds?

I'm posting this in hope that others will save on their meds. Check into Kroger Rx savings club. FYI, Kroger has bought out many different stores. Kept the store's name. If your grocery store has a pharmarcy, ask if they have a RX savings club.

Perhaps someone will post all the stores Kroger owns.

I was able to sleep last night. Now I can play again with loader. I like playing in the dirt. Been accused of being a dirty old man.
 
We changed our pharmacy from WalMart to a local place. WalMart inflates pricing on the gainfully employed. Same situation as you, WalMart wanted $267 dollars for my script in generic, local family pharmacy was $39.
 
Hope it works out for you.

Myself, I am a firm believer in " if it sounds to good to be true it probably is". I don't go for the $4 med's at Walmart for one reason. I know they have to be coming from China and I don't trust them no matter what the government says. Like you I would have balked at the first price and searched for an alternative. I would have to be awful desperate to drop down to the Chinese medicine though.
 
The problem with our healthcare is insurance and I do not care what it cost.

Insurance;
I know going in that I could go to Dr Smith and wal mart for the Rx that charges $200 or Dr Jones and Kroger for the Rx that charges $800 my cost will be $35. $25 for the doctor and $10 for the Rx. Why do I care what they charge the insurance company.


I do not care what it cost;
It is state law that if I bring my car in for repair the shop must give me a written estimate before repairs begin.
I can now shop around and find the best price or even decide if I want to put off the repair.
Ask you doctor for a estimate on what a surgery will cost and they will laugh at you.
That is because people do not care what it cost.
They take the attitude of just fix me and we will worry about the cost later.

This is why big business loves the system we have where they can charge what they want.
And some people want health insurance for everyone so they can say I do not care what it cost; Fix Me.
 
I believe that most generic drugs are made in China or India. A lot of prescription drugs are made there also. We had Phizer and another company I can?t remember, bought out by larger companies, the manufacturing workers were eliminated, the work sent to ? One thing about drugs, they are a high value item, cheap to ship from overseas, not a lot of tonnage involved. Until 911, there were buss trips from Michigan to Ontario, the drugs there were less than a third than they were here. Came out of the same factory, same packaging.
 
I know of a 42 year old drug rep. He just moved into a 10,000 square ft. house and has a little 2,000 square ft. cabin on a lake. His wife doesn't work and neither family comes from money. I look at it as just greed when it comes to the drug companies at everyone else's expense.
 
Health care is not like other goods or services. You need it, there are a restricted number of providers. And they make sure the number of providers stay way short of demand. It?s not that people don?t care what it costs, it?s that they can do nothing about it. The only solutions are politically unacceptable to many people.
 
Spook let me ask you a question.

Mom is in the hospital.
She has had a good 70 years but is sick now.
We can extend her life by 2 or 3 years with this operation.
Do we proceed????


Oh I forgot to tell you.
The cost will be $xxxxxx
This will force you to sell your house; farm; business to pay the bill.
Are you having second thoughts now.
Or are you still someone that does not care what it cost. Fix Her.
 
Yea but there is no politician that has the guts to tackle the problems with the cost of health care. The stream of money for his/her reelection will dry up. and the lefties want everyone to have free everything and force the successful people in this country to pay the cost regardless. --------------Loren
 
Simpel, just go on and pull the tiger on that KUBOTA you want and park the termites,, easier loader operation , no pain, not not kidding you I am like you the cost of these medicines is crazy and a lot depends on where one gets them.
 
Drugs may only cost a few cents to make but it takes millions to get to the point of being able to market them. I have been in several pharmaceutical plants and it amazing what goes into the research and testing of the product.
 
We use OptumRX dot com. Similar savings. Not sure whether you have to be on Medicare or not.
 
Spook,
The issue isn't generic, it's cost.
Same drug at same pharmacy. $6.40/pill vs $,20/pill. Big question is WHY? No one is answering that question.
 
No intent to get into politics here but it's clear to me that the turmoil around healthcare costs is well founded but I believe that we are looking at it the wrong way and you have just proven the point.

Drug companies say they need the mile high prices to compensate for research costs. Ok I will say that they should be compensated for it. What I don't understand is why the US market is the one that is targeted for the inflated rate and Canada for instance gets a better deal.

Had a wood sliver in my eye last week that caused some real pain and irritation. Went to the med center and they cleaned it up and prescribed eye drops (antibiotic and steroids). Retail price for 5ml bottle $129.00. Price if you have insurance $25.00.

Too many lawyers and a society that immediately wants to file lawsuits is driving everything out of sight. Friend in the hospital recently had a Urologist stop by his room, shook hands and asked how he was doing which was fine. Urologist walks out and this is the first and only time he was seen. Friend gets a bill for $1800.00 after seeing this guy for less than a minute.

Let's stop the $40.00 aspirins at the source. Good for you that you found the magic solution at Kroger.
 
Jm,
A pole barn is in the works with a tall door for tractor with cab, heat, AC, and GASOLINE. Let me know when Kubota makes one.

I can't get over same drug at fraction the price.
 
I asked about getting my Meds from Canada in a post about a month ago or so. This Site "spoofed it" and I asked why and never was given an answer.
Right how I am on a dozen different drugs. Three of the drugs are $533, $576 and $417 every 3 months plus all the others from 0 to $20.00. This what I have to pay.
I was just to the Doctor yesterday and he told me to take a trip to Canada or Mexico. He would give a years prescription for the drugs. Does he know that it cost to travel also. He told me that I have to go personally to pick them up. He said legally they can not send the drugs to me.
My only income is my S.S. and have a little in investments, hardly enough to buy a new Diesel pick-up.
 
George, If you think drugs and healthcare is expensive now WAIT TILL ITS ALL FREE !!!!!!!!!!!! (of course you then pay via taxes and the super efficient big brother government efficiency sorta like the US Post Office)

Nuff said before the post goes POOF lol

John T
 
For you sake I wish we (KUBOTA) would but I do not see it happening. Next new thing from KUBOTA is a small skid steer like the Toro Dingo, this fall.
 
George, You need to take a look at Good RX. I have the app on my phone, but you can use it on-line.
I've got a drug, the insurance co says pay $67.
GoodRx say go to CVS show printout and pay $11.

Why the difference, I can't find out, but I'll take the $56 and spend it on my Dog and she'll give me a kiss.
YMMV
 

Of course I care about cost. I saw my brother lose his home and family over medical bills. A infant with respiratory issues, 3 weeks in a child icu. $50k, back in the 80 s. He was s vet, had just got of the navy, company went out of business, locked the doors, kid got sick, lost everything. I wasn t able to help, but it was hard to watch.
 
(quoted from post at 08:14:27 09/13/19)
The cost will be $xxxxxx

If she is 70 she should be on Medicare.

My wife was 78 and on Coventry. In the hospital 21 days,
Hospital bill $608,000, my copay $1474.

Been 2 months, still haven't got a bill.
 
Was the original price using a Medicare part D plan? If so, that is a common issue with the Pharmacy Benefit Manager. They often set the price the pharmacy is obligated to charge, then set there coverage rate based on that. Should be illegal IMO.
 
There is a bizzarre game being played on the USA public by the govt and the insurance companies and the drug manufacturers when it comes to prescription drugs in this country.

It is clearly immoral and illegal, but with the govt on board as part of the control, nothing is being done about it.

The games they play on us is just unbelievable. It makes a person sick just thinking about it, which of course only helps them, need more drugs to get over the sick feeling.....

Paul
 
The high costs of health care and medications I personally think is the fault of insurance companies first and trial lawyers second.

Back when I was a child, if I were sick, mom called the local doctor. We would then either go to his office or he would come to the house. After he looked us over (my siblings and I), the doctor would hand write out a bill and hand it to my mom. She would then write him a check, and that was all there was to it. Health insurance in those days was rare and only those employed by major industries even had it available to them. Folks paid for services as received.

Then, along comes the insurance companies. Now, folks lost control of what they were REALLY paying for health care. Insurance companies were writing blank checks to hospitals and doctors. No questions asked. After a while, this became the normal way of doing things. Folks went to the hospital emergency rooms for the least little things. Would they be doing that if they were paying the bills? Probably not, but since the insurance is taking care of the bill, they may as well get their money's worth, right?

So, if the hospital charges $40 for an aspirin tablet, and the insurance company pays the bill, it becomes the normal way of doing things. If the doctor charges $1800 for a 5 minute visit and the insurance pays it, again it becomes normal.

My own not so humble opinion is that there should be a complete top to bottom audit of the entire health care industry, and things need to be brought into realistic pricing. After all, $40 for an aspirin tablet is ridiculous when compared to a whole bottle of 100 tablets that only costs about $7 or $8 at the drug store for the top name brand.
 
(quoted from post at 10:29:28 09/13/19) The high costs of health care and medications I personally think is the fault of insurance companies first and trial lawyers second.

Back when I was a child, if I were sick, mom called the local doctor. We would then either go to his office or he would come to the house. After he looked us over (my siblings and I), the doctor would hand write out a bill and hand it to my mom. She would then write him a check, and that was all there was to it. Health insurance in those days was rare and only those employed by major industries even had it available to them. Folks paid for services as received.

Then, along comes the insurance companies. Now, folks lost control of what they were REALLY paying for health care. Insurance companies were writing blank checks to hospitals and doctors. No questions asked. After a while, this became the normal way of doing things. Folks went to the hospital emergency rooms for the least little things. Would they be doing that if they were paying the bills? Probably not, but since the insurance is taking care of the bill, they may as well get their money's worth, right?

So, if the hospital charges $40 for an aspirin tablet, and the insurance company pays the bill, it becomes the normal way of doing things. If the doctor charges $1800 for a 5 minute visit and the insurance pays it, again it becomes normal.

My own not so humble opinion is that there should be a complete top to bottom audit of the entire health care industry, and things need to be brought into realistic pricing. After all, $40 for an aspirin tablet is ridiculous when compared to a whole bottle of 100 tablets that only costs about $7 or $8 at the drug store for the top name brand.

My wife and I both had sinus infections a few years ago, at the same time. We needed some antibiotics, but the ready care we usually used had closed, the docs running it went on vacation. We went to the local hospital, we were put into a exam room, and a very young PA examined us. Maybe 5 minutes each. She had just started her new job the week before. After about 30 minutes, a doctor came in, looked at the report, smiled and went away. A few minutes later, a nurse came in, gave us scripts for antibiotics, and we were on our way. A week later, we get a pair of letters, from Nebraska. It was from a billing company for the PA. $1400 each. Then we got the hospital bill, out of network, for $1200. I ended up having to pay the hospital bill, the insurance folks said to ignore the PA bill. Apparently, they send those things out, hoping people will pay. I found other ready care places, my cost there is $50.
 
(quoted from post at 06:36:23 09/13/19) No intent to get into politics here but it's clear to me that the turmoil around healthcare costs is well founded but I believe that we are looking at it the wrong way and you have just proven the point.

Drug companies say they need the mile high prices to compensate for research costs. Ok I will say that they should be compensated for it. What I don't understand is why the US market is the one that is targeted for the inflated rate and Canada for instance gets a better deal.

Had a wood sliver in my eye last week that caused some real pain and irritation. Went to the med center and they cleaned it up and prescribed eye drops (antibiotic and steroids). Retail price for 5ml bottle $129.00. Price if you have insurance $25.00.

Too many lawyers and a society that immediately wants to file lawsuits is driving everything out of sight. Friend in the hospital recently had a Urologist stop by his room, shook hands and asked how he was doing which was fine. Urologist walks out and this is the first and only time he was seen. Friend gets a bill for $1800.00 after seeing this guy for less than a minute.

Let's stop the $40.00 aspirins at the source. Good for you that you found the magic solution at Kroger.

The urologist thing is called a walk thru. One local hospital had that going on, every patient "saw" 3 or more docs. Most of my friends hate the local hospital, they are very aggressive, they will put you in a bed, when other places won t. It s all about money.
 
I asked Kroger about Good Rx, That brought the price down a little. Still
over $100.

I hope others try Krogers Rx savings club.
 
In my earlier question to Geo, I mentioned Pharmacy Benefit Admins. They set the insurance cost to the consumer .... ALWAYS ask the pharmacy how much it is retail. It is often cheaper that the copay. And that's why I think the practice should be illegal.
 
(quoted from post at 10:29:28 09/13/19) The high costs of health care and medications I personally think is the fault of insurance companies first and trial lawyers second.

Back when I was a child, if I were sick, mom called the local doctor. We would then either go to his office or he would come to the house. After he looked us over (my siblings and I), the doctor would hand write out a bill and hand it to my mom. She would then write him a check, and that was all there was to it. Health insurance in those days was rare and only those employed by major industries even had it available to them. Folks paid for services as received.

Then, along comes the insurance companies. Now, folks lost control of what they were REALLY paying for health care. Insurance companies were writing blank checks to hospitals and doctors. No questions asked. After a while, this became the normal way of doing things. Folks went to the hospital emergency rooms for the least little things. Would they be doing that if they were paying the bills? Probably not, but since the insurance is taking care of the bill, they may as well get their money's worth, right?

So, if the hospital charges $40 for an aspirin tablet, and the insurance company pays the bill, it becomes the normal way of doing things. If the doctor charges $1800 for a 5 minute visit and the insurance pays it, again it becomes normal.

My own not so humble opinion is that there should be a complete top to bottom audit of the entire health care industry, and things need to be brought into realistic pricing. After all, $40 for an aspirin tablet is ridiculous when compared to a whole bottle of 100 tablets that only costs about $7 or $8 at the drug store for the top name brand.

jimg, very nice story but you left out a couple of the most important chapters. The ones where a lot of new lawyers get their degrees and go to work, and the one where juries are convinced by these lawyers to award damages 100 times more than what had been seen just a few years earlier. prior to these awards people could get by without insurance but no more.
 
(quoted from post at 10:50:29 09/13/19)
(quoted from post at 08:14:27 09/13/19)
The cost will be $xxxxxx

If she is 70 she should be on Medicare.

My wife was 78 and on Coventry. In the hospital 21 days,
Hospital bill $608,000, my copay $1474.

Been 2 months, still haven't got a bill.

Got the hospital bill today.
Hospital send Coventry a bill for $608,000.
Coventry said we pay you $39,750.00
And I own $1474.
Quite a mark down and why you should have insurance even though I don't pay a premium with Coventry..
 
OH boo hoo......those wicked insurance companies! These is this organization called the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can look it up online. They will tell you every publicly held company's gross income, gross expenditures, gross profits and net profits. Instead of listening to some political hack (while you are consuming the Koolaid) blaming some company go look and see what type of net profits they post. Not all but most insurance companies run somewhere in the 5.5% to 7.5% range. THEY ARE NOT MAKING AN UNREASONABLE PROFIT!


Rick
 
A while back I was prescribed generic Crestor. Rite Aid pharmacy wanted over $600. The wife called around and Vons pharmacy had the same thing for $30. All I can say is shop around. Oh, I don't have part D, I pay my own.
 
My two cents worth- everyone should be aware that prescription medications must be maintained at controlled climate conditions from factory to warehouse to shipping, at the pharmacy, in transport to your home and in storage at your home. Medications that ride in un air conditioned delivery trucks, or are placed in mailboxes, or parked vehicles can lose much of their potency due to exposure to temperatures above about 86F or below 40F. If you order prescriptions online, make sure the shipping container and conditions will maintain proper temperature. A few hours in a 140 degree F parked delivery van could significantly degrade the potency of your prescriptions, with negative implications for health.
Effect of temperature on prescription meds
 
(quoted from post at 14:30:15 09/13/19) We use OptumRX dot com. Similar savings. Not sure whether you have to be on Medicare or not.

Nope. Optum is the provider my (former) companie's health plan uses. I get two prescriptions through them every 90 days.
 

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