# 'Script drug costs..



## Hick

here's some info that I recently recieved concerning prescriptin drugs. I found it ...interesting.

"[font=tahoma,sans-serif]
>>>>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 for 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.

>>>>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: [email protected]
>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>Jamee L. Serago
>>>>Office Manager, Space Science Sector
>>>>L-3 Communications, GSI
>>>>(301) 883-0013 ext.101
>>>>(301) 883-8380 fax
>>>>[email protected][/font]


----------



## Mutt

Interesting?? That is disgusting!! Talk about being vultures. Robbing sick people is about as low as you can get. What if Med. MJ became legal???? What would they do to that???


----------



## Ogof

Sam's Club here is actually cheaper than Costco and you do  not need to be a member.
The pill I take for my diabetes is $375 for 30.
It sucks paying that much and that is only one pharm I need. Let alone my wifes.


----------



## spook313

[font=tahoma,sans-serif] >>>>Xanax: 1 mg
>>>>Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
>>>>Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
>>>>Percent markup: 569,958%

weird, 1mg xanax are only $1 around here.  that's under cost for a script. 
[/font]


----------

