!!!PRESCRIPTIONS!!!kinda long :( sorry

[hdb1982]

I didn't know where to post this so I stuck it here. My husband received this in an email. I just copied and pasted it. When it says "I" it was not myself personally. It was the person reporting this article.Keep in mind, all of those without rx coverage, that Costco does mail order prescriptions:::::

VERY INTERESTING....


Gee, I wonder how true this is.anyone care to check it out?Although this could be a prormotion for Costco, it is not. Read to the end... I just bought Celebrex for a shoulder problem and the pills cost almost $2.00 each from London Drugs.

This is worth reading. Be sure to read to the end. You will be amazed.

**COSTCO, read this
Let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just
mind-boggling!)
Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs
The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington , DC offices.

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

The data below speaks for itself.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredi ents: $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
Percen t 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: 5 1,185%
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. Please read the following and pass it on.

It pays to shop around.

This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a ********'* on every corner. On Monday night an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo.....three thousand percent!
So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in t his 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. ****** 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 ***. 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. (this is true) I went there this past Thursday and asked them. I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address.



I hope this information is helpful to atleast one person here. I am considering having my dr. fax my rx's to costco since they do mail order. You can go on their site and get a price on your medication through a search. My pain medication would only be $16 per month through Costco. Right now I pay $50 per month. :hi: Again, sorry this was so long.

[ICNDonna]

This email has been going around for a while. It has some good points and some not so good. Thanks for sharing it here.

I'd be remiss if I didn't add my feelings, even though my husband and I look for the least expensive way to keep ourselves healthy, including ordering some meds from Canada. :)

I cannot or will not even hint that drug companies and pharmacies do not make money on prescription sales. They would not be in operation if they did'nt.

What this report does not show is the millions of dollars a drug company spends on the process of first developing the medication, then getting approval from the FDA for limited trials --- after which they must go back to the FDA for approval of large scale clinical trials --- then back to the FDA for approval of packaging if the product is approved. The approval process can take ten years or longer. If we factor in the total costs of making a drug available to the public, those profit percentages go down the drain.

And this report is OLD, OLD, OLD! The one thing that tells me that is that Prilosec has been over-the-counter for several years now and the cost is around $26 for a six week supply.

And --- when you add in the time it took for the pharmacy staff to read your prescription and fill it --- and being available for patient counseling on new prescriptions, checking inventory to be certain your med is available when you need it --- someone to double check the filled prescription to be certain you are getting the right prescription --- calling doctors' offices to verify in many cases or when your refills have run out, etc., etc. --- and pharmacy workers are not volunteers. It really cuts their profit level.

Sure the drug companies make money when they develop new medications that make people feel better, but where would we be if they didn't?

I know I complain about the cost of meds, but when I sit back and really think about it, I feel fortunate that they are available.

Donna

[humpieumpumkin]

Thanks for sharing!

Erika:bunny:

[n2fotography]

The pharmaceutical companies have long used research and development costs as justification for high prices when in fact it is marketing that accounts for the largest part expenditures:

In the year 2000 the breakdown for expenditures of drug companies was:

Merck 6.2 Billion Marketing and Administration and 2.3 Billion for Research and development

Pfizer 11.4 Billion Marketing and Administration and
4.4 Billion for Research and development

Bristol 5.6 Billion Marketing and Administration and
1.9B for research and development

Abbot 2.9 Billion for Marketing and Administration and 1.4 Billion for research and development
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjun06/drugs-amok.html

[hdb1982]

All goods points but all I know is my pain med is my most expensive. I had been getting it filled at rite aid for 71.00 then switched to Wal Mart and it is 38.00. That is a hugh difference. Now at Costco I can get it for 16.00. There should be a law of some sort about how much pharmacies can mark up their prices. For the longest time I didn't think to look around about prices. Figured they were all the same. After learning from my own experience with this now I know different,

[.........*sigh*]

Capitalism is a harsh mistress...

[justice4j]

Donna,

To add to what you said... Yes, the cost for research is staggering and Rx companies always say something like for every 1 drug we successfully get to market, there are 100 that we spend money researching that don't make it. That is probably true. But, the actual wholesale prices of most any drug are very well hidden. I think if we actually KNEW the EXTENT of their profits, we'd all be in the streets with torches blazing protesting that fact.

I spent hours on the phone and internet trying to determine what Elmiron's actual wholesale price is. It's impossible to find. The Rx companies have these prices under lock and key. And, of course, Elmiron is one of many drugs where it's impossible to determine exactly what range of profits. I'm not picking on J&J and it would be unfair of me to not say that J&J has now given me assistance for Elmiron. I am eternally grateful for their assistance. But, it took 4 months to get approved because I didn't fit into the stringent guidelines for approval.

Another example is Advair. My co-pay has TRIPLED over the last few years. I cannot determine whether the insurance company or the pharmaceutical companies are most "to blame."

One of the priorities of healthcare reform should be transparency in pharm prices and insurance. Otherwise, IMHO, healthcare reform will be fruitless.

Thanks,
Jan

[justice4j]

Capitalism is indeed a harsh mistress. Profiting because of someone's ill health needs to be CURBED, and indeed be made TRANSPARENT. Healthcare profits have gotten completely out of control. To me, there is something inherently immoral about profiting SOOOO much on the backs of people with illnesses, especially those that cannot afford their healthcare.

We all pay for those who cannot presently afford healthcare.
I've seen this first hand when I was still and ER RN. Cash patients came to the ER for care because they couldn't get any Dr. to see them w/o paying up front. I worked at a job I really liked, but the hospital CLOSED because basically, lack of payment forced them to close.

Okay.... I didn't mean to hog the soapbox. LOL

Jan





Capitalism is a harsh mistress...

[justice4j]

We all need to take action by contacting our legislators on this very valid point! This will be a difficult reform because legislators'/presidential campaigns are heavily supported by big Pharm and insurance companies.

Jan


All goods points but all I know is my pain med is my most expensive. I had been getting it filled at rite aid for 71.00 then switched to Wal Mart and it is 38.00. That is a hugh difference. Now at Costco I can get it for 16.00. There should be a law of some sort about how much pharmacies can mark up their prices. For the longest time I didn't think to look around about prices. Figured they were all the same. After learning from my own experience with this now I know different,

[Claredale]

Don't forget the the cost that the drug companies have to pay in legal fees and lawsuits that the get from probably every med they manufacture. Yes, I realize that there are times that lawsuits are necessary, but when I worked for an insurance company, I would see many of the frivilous ones as well.

I know that medicine is something that we need, so the burn at the stake mentality certainly is justified, but if you look at everything that a consumer buys, there is a huge mark up, from furniture and clothes to electronics and cars, it's all marked up so the company will get a profit. All of it put off as the cost of doing business.

Also if you watch, when a med has competition, such as Viagra which Pfizer made a huge profit on and they had the market for 10 years since they had the patent. After that 10 years, similar meds came out and the cost of Viagra fell sharply. Now Pfizer has had to lay off thousands of employees, including a few of my friends that work at our local Pfizer plant.

I shopped around for all my meds and found all of them to be pretty much the same. Since I get most of mine for $5.00 which is my co-payment (if it's a generic) I only have 2 that I take now that don't have a generic for it, but as soon as their patent expires, they will go generic as well. Like when I first started using Ultram, it was not a generic and cost me the 3rd tier on my meds which at that time was $35.00, as soon as the generic form "Tramadol" came out about 10 plus years ago, it was $5.00. I still check my insurance company website to see how much is paid and it might be from a few cents to a couple dollars difference depending where I go. I do that to try to keep the cost down for my insurance company. For instance I have been getting a monthly supply of Hydrocodone for years and I just checked my insurance company website and I checked 3 different places I went to since June, including the one named in the first post and the 3 places were less than 20 cents difference for 120 capsules. I also checked Diazapan and Amitriptyline and 1 pharmacy actually charged my insurance 2 cents and the other 2 places that I frequent did not charge anything on either of those meds. Rozerom was 56 cents and 41 cents difference between Costco, Rite-Aid and Target.

This is a good post, it definitely makes you think to see how much you are paying for your meds.

Tracey