Get a good value is one of the things I love to do when shopping. Something that is high quality, excellent performance, and inexpensive….it’s a great feeling to get that.
In medication, it is possible to achieve this with generic medications in some categories. Cholesterol medications, blood pressure medications, heart medications that used to be hundreds of dollars per month that are now only a few bucks….I love it.
And I like doing that for patients just as much as I like doing it for myself, as it’s a bit of a game to try to get maximum result with minimal cost. Why not? Of course, sometimes you do ‘get what you pay for’, but that’s not always the case. Smart shoppers know this.
But don’t be fooled. Wilde had it right—“The cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” We need to avoid being so concious of cost that we don’t look at the value.
So, to get a good bargain you have to have knowledge. I know the medications that are good for you, but you can find out what the prices are by shopping them a bit. The best way I know to do this is to go online to COSTCO.COM and check out their PHARMACY PRICE CHECKER. Here you can find the costs of medication in the branded and generic forms. It takes a bit of time, but is well worth it, and you don’t have to be a member of Costco to either use the website or to shop at their pharmacy…it is open to the public.
So….put in a little effort to checking prices and you can find some real savings available to you. Even your Walgreens or CVS may be giving you a less-than-ideal price and checking the cost at COSTCO is worthwhile. Sometimes it even is cheaper to ‘pay cash’ than to use your insurance. If you enjoy hunting for a bargain…give this a try.