2023 Rx drug prices, + Good Rx and other discounts

Yep, Went to pickup a re-fill yesterday at CVS for Clarithromycin, that's been a tier 1 generic forever, and the cost went from zero dollars to $47.00 for a Tier 3 Rx. What gives. I declined pickup.

https://www.drugchannels.net/2022/05/the-goodrx-kroger-blowup-spread-pricing.html?m=1

I see the Midsouth grocery chain Kroger stopped accepting good RX in 2022. I wonder if others including CVS just decided to do that in the last week of this new year?

Post Edited (astroman) : 1/15/2023 7:33:30 PM (GMT-8)

The only two pharmacy discount cards I've used are GoodRX and SingleCare, but there are others.

Recently, I got a prescription for Azithromycin and the SingleCare site had the better discount. It showed a price of $2.57 ... "with sign-up." The $5.00 discount was a one-time savings for signing up for a free account. So, I signed up, printed the coupon, and took it to the pharmacy. However, when the pharmacy staff entered the coupon code, the discount price did not appear. Instead, it was $7.57 ... the "regular" SingleCare discount price.

This was still better than the $14.89 price (also "with sign up") at a different pharmacy, but I don't understand why the stated discounted price was not available.

Really, I don't understand why we have to play silly games with all these different discount programs and why their pricing/discount can change -- sometimes significantly -- from day-to-day. I feel this is especially true for thyroid medication, insulin, epinephrine (EpiPen), and other such medications that are non-negotiable. If I have nausea, I can do without taking meclizine. But, a Type 1 diabetic needs insulin to stay alive. The quest for profit without consideration to the human condition is grotesque and reprehensible. It should be illegal.

(I apologize for my irritated rant. Lately, I'm struggling to deal with humanity. The irony of that term.)

Anyway, I know Amazon is now in the pharmacy business:

Amazon Pharmacy
https://pharmacy.amazon.com

And, so is Mark Cuban:

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company
https://costplusdrugs.com

I just read Mark's mission statement and it's well stated. He addresses the things I was just raving about.

A Letter from Mark Cuban
https://costplusdrugs.com/mission

Dude, thanks for the links.

I had no idea Mark Cuban was on a quest to make discount drugs in America. who would’ve thought he would be the one to try this.

That would be a rich person who knows he has enough money and actually has it in his heart to do mankind some good. You just don’t hear about that anymore.

Seems like the easier drug is to make, more brands there are in the states and overseas, thus the cheaper they are. It seems like the more important a drug is for day-to-day life the least brands there are And more likely for price increases.

Post Edited (astroman) : 1/14/2023 1:19:06 PM (GMT-8)

Might want to try Krogers if you have one near you. Kroger pharmacy told me they use Visory now instead of Goodrx, because they weren't getting as good a discount from Goodrx anymore.

JMF84 said...
Might want to try Krogers if you have one near you. Kroger pharmacy told me they use Visory now instead of Goodrx, because they weren't getting as good a discount from Goodrx anymore.

I never heard of visory Discount. I googled the subject on that one did not come up. It looks really good though, thank you.

Ijust looked it up and they list CVS and Walmart in my area. They list my RX way cheaper than what GoodRx was before, this seems too good to be true. I will call both tomorrow since it’s after six and they’re closed.

(No Kroger’s up here in the north)

These pharmacies hate these smart phone discount apps, if you ask them what other discounts they take they don’t like to answer you and they change the subject .

Insurance drives prices way up, so that's one factor.

I learned something too from you. I did not know Walmart uses Visory as well. They are closer to me than Krogers. I was a bit surprised when the lady at Krogers mentioned they use Visory because it gives better discount than Goodrx. It was almost like they wanted to help the customer.

This is great that he’s doing this. I really hope this rattles the rest of the pharmaceutical industry in the states.!

Just think if you had billions of dollars. It’s obviously way more than you need. Now imagine how good it would feel to actually do some people in the world some good with that money instead of just waste it on meaningless things.

———————-

Unfortunately money does not seem to come to many good people. Money seems to deteriorate the mind from thinking morally in a lot of people. I wish that wasn’t the case.

JMF84 -
Thanks for the heads up on the Visory Health digital coupon.

I just picked up my NP thyroid medicine and just saved 85 bucks under the retail price (and same useless GoodRX price in this case)!.

It was $95 cheaper than Using my RX health insurance 😮!

Just adding my list from the other thread here as well:

WellRx https://www.wellrx.com
BlinkHealth https://www.blinkhealth.com
RxSaver https://www.rxsaver.com
SaveonMeds https://savingsonmeds.com
InsideRx https://insiderx.com

https://www.thestreet.com/technology/billionaire-mark-cuban-disrupts-opaque-industry :

"In January, he co-founded CostPlus Drug Company, an online pharmacy. This pharmacy is the only one of his businesses that bears his name. The exact name is Mark Cuban CostPlus Drug Company.

"It's the only company I have ever put my name on," the billionaire, 64, told TheStreet. "I wanted drug manufacturers, providers, patients to know that I truly care and am committed to making this work."

CostPlus Drug Company "fills and delivers prescriptions at cost plus a fixed 15% margin," the company says on its website.

For example, a 30-count supply of 100mg Imatinib, a drug which treats leukemia and other types of cancer, will cost you $14.40 the firm says on its website. The retail price at other companies is $2,502.60. You save $2,488.20.

For people with type 2 diabetes, one tablet of Metformin, the generic of Fortamet, will cost you $46.20 if purchased from CostPlus Drug. This will save you $518.27, the company claims, because the retail price is $564.47. The medication helps to control high blood sugar.
Transparency and Trust

Cuban is able to provide these prices because there's no middleperson. CostPlus Drug Company bypasses health-insurers and negotiates directly with drug manufacturers.

"We work outside the systems and we are transparent," Cuban told TheStreet. "Being transparent builds trust. Because trust is the missing component across the drug industry, it has allowed us to build a base of followers who can see how we price our medications and how we can save them money."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is awesome. Kicking the US pharma industry where it hurts. Let the games begin.

Unfortunately, there can be some personal dangers involved with an X on your back when meddling with massive US industries.

RainyCloud said...
Just adding my list from the other thread here as well:

WellRx https://www.wellrx.com
BlinkHealth https://www.blinkhealth.com
RxSaver https://www.rxsaver.com
SaveonMeds https://savingsonmeds.com
InsideRx https://insiderx.com

Adding more to this list

Visory Health
Capitol Rx
NowRX
Waltz Health
Singlecare (unfortunately their price is more than retail for my thyroid medicine)(strange).

————

In my case, Well RX at the top of Rainys list is second best so that will be my back up for my back up plan.

.

Post Edited (astroman) : 3/9/2023 7:09:54 PM (GMT-8)