Drug costs

[Large_Al]

This was a e-mail sent to me. Here is a Snopes report on this they say it's true Snopes (http://snopes.com/medical/drugs/generic.asp)

Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 5:34 PM
Subject: Drug costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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 ingredients: $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 Percent 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: 51,185%


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 Walgreen's on every corner.




On Monday night, Steve Wilson, 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 or the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this 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. Wilson 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 CVS. 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.

Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce
Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458
Office Fax: 202-482-5480
E-mail Address: sdavis@doc.gov

[Native American]

This was a e-mail sent to me .....Don't know if it's true or not?

Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 5:34 PM
Subject: Drug costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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 ingredients: $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 Percent 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: 51,185%


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%

OK, so far so good. Those numbers sound reasonable.

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous,


Excuse me? What's the basis for saying THAT??

All you did was supply a list of typical OTC and prescription drugs, listed the selling price, and then listed the cost of the chemicals in the drug.

That's like trying to price a car based merely on the ton-price of steel in it. Or like trying to price a Picasso based merely on the cost of the oil paints on the canvas. Or like trying to price the Mac operating system based merely on the cost of the floppy disk it comes on.

Get real.

[DesertFox]

Show us something on the cost of the research that went into these drugs and then getting them approved. After all, it may turn out that the cure for cancer is the right amount (dose) of common, ordinary dirt; but nobody knows that and it would take years of experiments and tests, all very costly, to find that out, fix the dose, and then get it approved by the FDA.

[nene]

Last year I paid $300.00 for 100 ea 25mg pills. My son had to take 150mg a day (6 tablets), 75mg in the morning and 75mg at night. One day I asked the doctor if these meds also come scored. He said yes. I asked him if they came in 150mg tablets and he said yes. I requested that he make the prescription for the 150mg tablets. The pharmacist charged me the same for 100 150mg tablets as he previously did for the 100 25mg tablets. Neither the doctor nor the pharmacists ever said a word until I asked. They both new that this particular med could be scored and it would save me money, but they couldn't care less. A simple pill cutter to cut the 150mg into 2 ea 75mg was all that was required. Not all meds can be scored, but the one I purchased most certainly came that way and for some reason they didn’t see fit to tell me.

I think I may pay a visit to Costco.<O:p</O:p

[DoctorDoom]

I formally protest the $700 price of the computer that I bought for my daughter. After all, the silicon, copper, and other materials in the machine can't be worth more than $20. What a rip-off!

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 CVS. 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.What this evinces is that the CostCo price vs the CVS price is NOT due to the costs of the drugs from the pharmaceutical companies, but to what the stores charge for them.

Normally, physicians just prescribe. But Dr. Wolf did something more.

"I checked with Costco and Walgreens and the price difference was so astounding that I thought to myself this can't be true," he said, sitting in his office.

The physician started sleuthing, calling Walgreens, Eckerd Drugs, CVS, Sam's Club and Costco... asking each pharmacy its price for several popular generic drugs. What did he find when he asked about anti-depressants, anti-hypertensives, antibiotics?

"I was amazed," he says. "I just could not believe this."

Walgreens, Eckerd and CVS charged the most every time. Sam's Club was dramatically less and Costco was the cheapest of all.

Dr. Wolf said, "We're not talking about a couple of dollars. We're talking about anything from 50% to 80% less."

90 tablets of generic Prozac cost $117 at Walgreens, $115 at Eckerd and CVS but $15 at Sam's Club and $12 at Costco. That's $105 difference from top to bottom.Up Close: Cost of generic drugs varies widely (http://www.khou.com/news/defenders/consumer/stories/khou031117_nh_upcloseprescription.168973b8.html)

In defense of the drug stores, Sam's Club and CostCo are warehouse-type retailers that sell hundreds of lines of products as well as drugs. They thus don't have the overhead of maintaining small-store, stand-alone environments. This can explain at least some of the price disparities.

[sunsettommy]

Thanks for bringing this up.I was unaware of the great difference in the pricing between the stores.

Now I will dare to check Walmart more often for the drugs/medicine of any kind.