I could take that several ways, but you said don't, so I won't. Yes, of course, back on subject, very, very sorry.

Anyone know where cheap drugs can be had?

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that is ehy the administrator said to first do your research before splitting the pills! hese days, most pills are scored which means you are able to break them in half, of course if it is a capsule or time released this is impossible; in that case, ask your dr for a higher dosage in some sort of tablet form so you can split in half, and they will last you so much longer! and always request generics! and call around to different pharmacies to see ehos is cheaper. good luck all!

Tarag.....Good Advice ....But You should really ask the Pharmacist .....They really have more knowledge about this then Dr's do.

Im a former Wal-Mart manager.

I know quite a bit about profit margins at major pharmacies WalGreens, Cost-C0, etc, etc..

Take this into consideration.. If you live in a small town with one Wal-Mart the price of almost all your medication can be as little as 2% or up to 50% higher, versus, a Wal-Mart in a larger city. WHY?? Competition.. People might think that Wal-Mart has uniformed prices for medications since its a publicly traded chain of stores(WRONG)!! Wal-Mart pharmacy and others will bend you over if there are no other pharmacies in the local area or if they are smaller mom~n~pop pharms.

I had seen price sheets for medications in one city versus another city that was only 20 miles away. OMG!! I was amazed that a topical medications could be $40 higher in our store. This was true for generics and non-generics.

Another kicker I learned as a manager, is that their optics department works in a very similar fashion. Some stores have free eye exams, some charge $20-40.. Then there are the differences in markup of prescription lenses, frames, contacts, etc. I'm not talking about a 5-10 dollar difference it could be 50-200 dollar difference.

Needless to say, now when I fill my prescriptions it is during a trip to the "big" city.

GoingUp?

Thank you for your perspective. I live in a relatively rural area. The Walmarts and Sam's Clubs have the same plan, same national list for generics - $4/month.

What you describe is a market economy. It costs more to have a store in Contra Costa county (CA) as opposed to Alameda (just a comparison). Prices reflect that. There is no way to change that in a capitalist economy.

Remember not all generics are $4 a month only a selective few.

The store Im speaking of is only a 15-20 minute drive to the "big" city.. I could understand if they had to truck the stuff another 500 miles, but that's not the case. No, the small town Im speaking of has lower property taxes, lower cost of land, utilities are cheaper, etc, etc.. So, the idea they have to charge more for being in a higher cost area is not the issue. Wal-Mart just has being a crook down to a science.

I wont even go into how I have seen them recycle meds from the dispensary bins that should have been returned to the manufacture or how they like to sell you WAYYYY out dated over the counter medications, chemicals, lotions, sunscreen, etc. Always look at the EXP date for over the counter anything at wal-mart!!! I would imagine the other big guys do it as well.

Even the Wal-Marts in our Capital city will have different prices and the eye care department will really reach into your pocket if they know there are no other eye exam locals or eye glass stores within just a few miles.

GoingUp?!

Thank you for your perspective. I will be looking out for expiration dates and asking more questions.

Yes, Walmart is a "affordable" store but I can see that you truly understand from location to location they are going to set their prices as they see fit . It is the old and tried rule of supply and demand. It is really unfair that if you live in a rural area vs. an urban area that the prices should be so much different, hell this should'nt be expected from a chainstore! Unfortunately, it does, because we live in a Capitalistic country which basically means everyone is out for themselves regardless of what their advertising campain regards as a "Guarantee" for meds costing less than 5 bucks. Like other members posted, this means "maintenance meds" ( ie: blood pressure, thyroid, cholesterol meds ect). Asking the question of where to find affordable meds in ths country is practically an oxymoron, because there is nothing affordable when you get down to it. I have insurance and can barely afford to pay the co-pay, seniors on medicare have to struggle to meet their health needs, and basically you have to either be a minor or unemployed to recieve medicaid ( I make too much w/ gross wages at 12,000 a year.) We are the only "progressive" country in the world that has either no or little regulations regarding medical care and pharmacuticals; that is why the U.S. is so high in everthing medically related even in comparion to countries with a higher standard of living! So, if you're looking for cheaper meds, I hope you like cold weather because the closest place for a discount is probably Cananda

great thread

Heading to the "big" city, when doing my shopping. This is turely valueable information that can save you a big chunk of change!

This gets posted a lot, but it is a very good way to save cash on prescriptions if you have no insurance, or do not want to use your insurance for whatever reason.

http://www2.caremark.com/naco/

Go to this website. Click on the right side for "Participating Counties". If your County (in the USA) is one that has participating pharmacies, then you can either print the card off on a 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. Or, there is also a shortcut that lists where you can pick a card up at.

There is NO sign up. NO forms to fill out. NOTHING.

I got the card at the local public library, and went to Walmart to fill my scrp of 120 count 10/325's. My last prescription was 90 10/325. Cost me just under $70.00. WITH the card, it was just under $40.00 for 120 10/325.

Nice advices thank you.

I have found that if you contact the manufacturer and request coupons to be used on next refill that some will mail a coupon. For example I was scripted Kadian (sp?) strong, time released narcotic. When I filled the script was over $60. After I called the maker of this drug I received a certificate in the mail for $30 off next script.
Also ask your pharmacist If you
could purchase half the script today and the remainder in 2 weeks, this has worked for me in the past and allowed to pay for drug with one paycheck and the remainder of the drug with the next paycheck.

GREAT idea - thanks so much, all these years and i've never asked that....

Thanks for the coupon tip. However, I thought certain drugs you couldnt purchase in smaller-then-prescribed increments.
I was on Concerta for awhile before I got put on adderrall, and the concerta, even with my awesome insurance, was $90 a month. I asked one day if I could just buy half until I got paid, and they said that I could not do that with concerta.
I have done it before with other expensive meds though (like skelaxin)

When the pharmacy gets a script they have to enter it in their system as written by the doc. When pharmacy puts rx claim through insurance the script is priced out to how much your co pay will be. The insurance company can't give ok for 1/2 a fill, they price out the whole 30 days. The pharmacy fills it.

It is up to the pharmacys discretion to let you pick up and pay for only 1/2 of script today and the rest later. If the pharmacy let's you pay for only 1/2 then it's like the pharmacy is giving you credit for the rest of the script until you pick it up and pay.
If for example you never went back for the other 1/2 of the script then the pharmacy would be out that money because they can't put the meds that were filled for you back into their stock. After so long they would have to through the pills away.

I have a pharmacy that wil let me do this but I have been with them for a long time.

makes total sense. thanks for that!

On some meds too, one can purchase a months' supply which is really 2 months worth. Meaning pills that can be broken in half.

Say you need 5mg of some med, your doc would prescribe 10mg.

My doc does this for some of her patients. She is very aware of financial limitations.

There is a website called www.freedrugcard.com and all you have to do is fill out your name and email address and print out the card. they used to have two, one was the freedrug card, the other was a UNA rx card, and with the UNA rx card, it saves a lot of money, 120 norco 10/325's are 28.55 and 120 hydrocodone 10/500 is only 23 and some change. Just to let you know, hope this can help someone out

Definitley go with the discount drug cards! They can shave a good chunk of change off of expensive prescriptions.

The one I went with was UnaRx Card http://unarxcard.com/index.php

I posted in another thread somewhere what my savings were. In my case it was a last minute thought that saved my bacon.

The costs of my prescriptions were supposed to be handled by my no-fault coverage (which has now run out). There was an issue with the company that does the billing - something about a piece of paperwork not being received my one of my doctors or something along those lines.

To make a long story short, they would not cover any more scripts till this issue was taken care of. I could have contacted my attorney and got this mess sorted out, but at this time my pain level on a 0-10 scale was a 15 - waiting was not an option.

It didn't help that my pain physician only prescribed name brand meds, but that is a whole different story.

I had a friend print out the card for me and he met me at the pharmacy with it. When everything was all said and done, Close to $400 in medications was reduced down to just under $300.

Still too much to pay when my no-fault was supposed to be covering it, but made it a bit easier to swallow. Then just went and handed the bill to my attorney.

That card was a life saver. Since being discharged, I haven't worked because I was going to school. Now I've had to take a LOA from school and can't work (even though I desperately want to). Needless to say money is VERY tight, so every dollar saved helps alot.

I know people who can put these links to work today! Great resorce to have access