Shopping for Drugs
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Comparing Prices
- Therapeutic Drug Substitution
- Pill Splitting
- Generic Drug Substitutes
- Switching to Over-the-Counter Drugs
- Mail-Order Pharmacies
- Global Options
- Financial Assistance to Lower Drug Costs
- Price Comparisons for Specific Drugs
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Appendix
- About the Author
Price Comparisons for Specific Drugs
Consumers might use one of the methods previously discussed or combine them all. Total savings can be significant, as the following case studies show.
"Drug companies offer discount cards that can save 20 to 40 percent."
Case Study: Cardiovascular Drugs. Patients prescribed 50mg of Tenormin daily can save money by merely comparison shopping for the best price and quantity. [See Sidebar: "How to Save on Cardiovascular Drugs" and Appendix C.] For instance:
- The average cost for 100 tablets purchased 30 pills at a time on Drugstore.com is slightly less than $122, but the same 50mg tablets would sell for $100.77 at AARP's pharmacy if purchased 100 at a time.
- By switching to generic Tenormin (Atenolol), the consumer can pay $25.33 rather than $100.77, saving about 75 percent over the cost of a name-brand drug.
- Further, the price of Atenolol varies from $25.33 per 100 tablets at Eckerd.com if purchased in small quantities to $9.60 if purchased 100 tablets at one time from Drugstore.com.
- Finally, if double-strength (100 mg) Atenolol tablets are purchased in quantity and split in half, the cost per 100 (50mg) doses falls to $6.75.
In this case, a patient could either spend $121.90 per 100 doses of a name-brand drug or $6.75 for 100 (split) doses of the equivalent generic medication, saving 94 percent.
Case Study: Antianxiety Drugs. By smart shopping, a consumer prescribed the antianxiety drug Xanax (Alprazolam) might save as much as 95 percent. [See Sidebar: "How to Save on Antianxiety Drugs."] For example:
- If purchased in small quantities from AARP's Web site, Xanax (0.5mg) would cost about $121.30 per 100 tablets; however, a shopper opting for Drugstore.com would pay $109.92, a 17 percent savings.
- Generic Xanax (Alprazolam) can be purchased (100 0.5mg tablets) for about $12.00 from Drugstore.com for a cost per dose of 12 cents.74
- Furthermore, because double-strength (1mg) Alprazolam tablets are priced the same as 0.5mg tablets, patients can split the larger pills in half. The cost for 100 (0.5mg) doses would fall 50 percent to only to $6, resulting in a savings of 95 percent off the most expensive option.
