The Cost of Generic Drugs, Depending on Where You Buy Them

David Lazarus’s L.A. Times column this morning takes a look at how the prices of generic drugs can fluctuate depending on which pharmacy you go to. A 45-year-old man named Bruce Lowther who takes five different generic drugs for a heart condition wanted to figure out if he could lower his prescription medication costs by visiting a different drug store. Each pharmacy said he would need to bring in a prescription from his doctor and have it filled before he would be able to know what he’d pay with his insurance — meaning he’d have to commit to a pharmacy before learning what his medication would cost at a specific location.

He could have filled a prescription at each drugstore and then declined the transaction, but that’s a lot of hassle. So Lowther asked each drugstore about its retail prices for the meds — that is, how much they’d cost without insurance. This, he figured, would provide a sense of which pharmacy offered better deals.

The results were astounding.

For example, a 90-day supply of the generic equivalent of the cholesterol drug Zocor cost $51.99 at Safeway, $62.97 at Walgreens, $75.99 at Target and $122.99 at CVS. At Costco, however, the price was just $9.99.

The generic equivalent of the hypertension drug Zestril cost $10 at Target, $28.99 at Safeway, $31.99 at Walgreens and $38.99 at CVS. But at Costco, the price again was $9.99.

In fact, Costco’s drug prices consistently came in well below those of other leading pharmacies. And you don’t even have to be a Costco member to use the company’s drugstore.

One of the reasons for the lower costs: operational differences. Costco’s pharmacies are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. when shoppers are in the store.

A Walgreens spokesman says one of the reasons why the cost is higher at their drugstores is because of the level of service they provide, which include 24-hour locations, automated refills, and drive-through service.

Photo: be.futureproof

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