>
> The numbers below are factual and are mind boggling!!!
> Please let your clients know that Costco is a low cost alternative for generic medications if they have access to the internet or a costco store.
>
>
>
>
>
> COSTCO, read this
>
>
>
> Let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just mind-boggling!) Make sure
> you read all the way past the list of the drugs
> The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal
> Washington, DC offices.
>
>
> Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active
> ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since
> many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of
> offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found
> in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of
> Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United
> States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our
> independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make,
> we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some
> of the most popular drugs sold in America.
>
>
> The data below speaks for itself.
>
>
> Celebrex: 100 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
> Percent markup: 21,712%
>
>
>
>
> Claritin: 10 mg
> Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
> Percent markup: 30,306%
>
>
>
>
> Keflex: 250 mg
> Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
> Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
> Percent markup: 8,372%
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Lipitor: 20 mg
> Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
> Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
> Percent markup: 4,696%
>
>
>
>
> Norvasc: 10 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
> Percent markup: 134,493%
>
>
>
>
> Paxil: 20 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
> Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
> Percent markup: 2,898%
>
>
>
>
> Prevacid: 30 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
> Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
> Percent markup: 34,136%
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Prilosec: 20 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
> Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
> Percent markup: 69,417%
>
>
>
>
> Prozac: 20 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
> Percent markup: 224,973%
>
>
>
>
> Tenormin: 50 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
> Percent markup: 80,362%
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Vasotec: 10 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
> Percent markup: 51,185%
>
>
>
>
> Xanax: 1 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
> Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
> Percent markup: 569,958%
>
>
>
>
> Zestril: 20 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
> Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
> Percent markup: 2,809
>
>
>
>
> Zithromax: 600 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
> Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
> Percent markup: 7,892%
>
>
>
>
> Zocor: 40 mg
> Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
> Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
> Percent markup: 4,059%
>
>
>
>
>
> Zoloft: 50 mg
> Consumer price: $206.87
> Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
> Percent markup: 11,821%
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought
> everyone should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on.
> It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they
> can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner. On Monday night,
> Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit,
> did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found
> in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as
> much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo.....three thousand
> percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of
> drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly
> lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription
> drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
> The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent,
> they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What
> the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may
> have only cost him $10!
>
>
> At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or
> not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice,
> and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for
> the generic drugs.
>
>
>
>
> I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its
> online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the
> online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own
> experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea
> in chemo patients.
>
>
>
>
>
> I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for
> 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could
> have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid
> $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.
>
>
> I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type
> store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there,
> as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door
> that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is
> true)
>
>
> I went there this past Thursday and asked them. I am asking each of you
> to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your
> own e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address.
>
>
> Sharon L. Davis
> Budget Analyst
> U.S . Department of Commerce
> Room 6839
> Office Ph: 202-482-4458
> Office Fax: 202-482-5480
> E-mail Address: sdavis@doc.gov
>
>
> Marshall Stein, MD
> Medical Director
> New River Behavioral HealthCare