Monitoring prices of medications

[SupportiveMom]

I got home from the pharamacy last night kind of confused over my total, but since I picked up some extra items, I didn't think too much of it.

When I got home I looked at the receipt and subsequent pieces related to see Methotrexate went up in price 90% over the last time I got it (2 months ago). Anyone notice this big jump? Now I don't know if I should be fussing much about this, as out of pocket I spent an extra $5, but to see the price billed to the insurance go from $29 to $55 seems steep. The Prednisone went up .50, Humira stayed the same, and I didn't fill the rest of the medication as it isn't needed yet.

I only probably caught this as I am preparing my taxes and if I reach a certain threshold, I can get a tax rebate on my medications so the prices were pretty fresh in my mind.

Anyone else see a jump in medication prices? Should I be making an issue about this with my pharmacy? (My hubby thinks so, says in a year its more than 2 tickets to a movie and a movie would be a better way to spend the money than medication) Does anyone else notice the prices changing & fluctuating?

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

I have to get a refill of my son's MTX in the next few days, so I'll let you know if I see a difference in cost noted on the receipt.

 

[DustyKat]

All of our medications are subsidised so they are set to the same PBS price, but I will soon have to fill some scripts so I will check and see if the full price listed on the prescribing label has changed.

I tell ya, seeing that full price listed makes me thankful for the PBS! :eek2:

Dusty.

 

[SupportiveMom]

There was a seminar given by Great West at a crohns education event that talked about the prices of medications and how pharmacies control prices, their actual costs are much lower. Great West was encouraging people to shop around for best prices. That is why I'm starting to wonder if the pharmacy is just making a profit or is there a reason for this.

 

[DustyKat]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it is profit driven by the pharmacy.

The most we pay for a script is $36. So any medication on the PBS over that price you can’t be charged more no matter where you go to have the script filled, but there are many medications that come in well below that price and the price charged varies greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy.

For example, we live in a small rural town with one pharmacy, so no competition. I know for a fact that a box of the antibiotic Amoxil will cost you $17.95 at the local pharmacy but if you go to the next town which is much larger and has numerous pharmacies the cost of the same medication (same brand too) is $7.95.

I have no objection to someone making a decent living but that is just a bloody rip off! :ymad:

Dusty.

 

[jdpar]

I don't take Methotrexate but I know since the begining of the year my medications have gone up drastically! Two of my medications for my bipolar disorder (different strengths of Depakote) went up from me paying $12-something and $11-something a month for them to $60-something and $90-something a month.
Also, when I first got diagnosed with Crohn's in December 2013 my GI started me on Asacol. It was a great med for a while and he gave me a months worth of samples and it seemed to work great. Well when I ran out of samples and had to try to pay for them....holy cow!!! WITH prescription insurance it was going to cost ME $450-something a MONTH!!! I don't make near enough money to cover that and I could only find a discount card from the makers that offered $50 off a month (which isn't much when your bill is over $450), so I had to stop that med. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any med that works for me yet, so I'm still trying to find something that suits my gut and my wallet!!

 

[SupportiveMom]

Ouch! $450 with insurance? Is there a subsidy the makers of Ascol give? One of the medications D takes is Humira. Its 1,400 per box. Our insurance covers 80%, their patient care covers the balance. If it wasn't for that I don't know how she could manage on it.

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

I picked up a refill of MTX today and the cost was $51.61 for a total of 4 ml. Our drug plan pays 80%, so I paid $10.32. The amt I pay has not changed from the last refill, so I assume the actual cost has not gone up.

Having said that, my husband works for a large ins company (where we have our coverage) and he says that drug costs can increase annually anywhere between 3 to 15 or 20%, depending on the drug. If you notice an increase greater than that, I would definitely ask the pharmacy why. And inquire if a generic is available, as that would cost less. There is a fee schedule for pharmacies, so they can charge what they want, but only to the max on the schedule. The cost of the drug is composed of ingredient costs, mark up, and dispensing fees. Costco and Walmart have the lowest dispensing fees in Nova Scotia. Hope that sheds a little light on things...

 

[my little penguin]

You can also call around and ask for the prices
Different places have different deals.
Mail order is the cheapest
Some insurances require you to use mail order or they charge you more for the drug

 

[Mehita]

This is interesting. Especially with the start of a new year. DS's Remicade has gone up $4000 between last December and this past one in February. Same pharmacy.