Leslie’s Blog

Bargain hunting for your Rx? Try price-matching!

As we have established repeatedly on LesliesList.org,– prescription prices can vary a lot from one pharmacy to another. But did you know that some pharmacies will actually match a competitor’s price? This could save you a ton of cash, but you have to know how, and whom, to ask for this service. Pharmacy retail chains all have different policies. I spoke to a pharmacist today at each of the seven top retail pharmacy chains in Chicago, and this is how their policies breakdown:

Osco- Will price match any and all prices. They will even price match $4 prices at Walmart/Target, $5 prices from Kmart, etc. BUT you must give them the price and the store/phone number where you found the lower price, and they will call and confirm. You could try handing them a printout from LesliesList.org’s medicine price search results, but I can’t guarantee they wouldn’t want a specific store’s phone number to doublecheck. In addition, in order for them to match Costco’s price, you must show them that you have a Costco card. I found this a bit odd, since you don’t have to have a member card to shop at Costco’s pharmacy. I believe this policy holds true for other warehouse discount stores such as Sam’s Club, etc.

Walgreens- No price matching at all.

Target- Will price match anyone else’s price, but not Costco’s or other warehouse store’s price– except on occasion? The Costco price match policy as described to me by the pharmacist was pretty fuzzy, and I would double check this before trekking out to Target expecting them to match discount warehouse store’s price.

Costco- No price matching at all.

Kmart- Will price match anyone’s price, as long as the competitor’s store is located in a 2 mile radius of the Kmart store.

Walmart- Will price match anyone’s price, except Costco or other warehouse discount stores. And they have a limit- they will only price match the same prescription up to three times.

CVS- Technically will price match another retailer’s price, but not any $4 or $5 prescriptions, nor Super Saver Card prices, nor Costco or other discount warehouse store.

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Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/leslieslist/2010/05/bargain-hunting-at-pharmacies-try-asking-for-price-matching.html#ixzz16fS4eovH

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See LesliesList on NBC Nightly News w Brian Williams

The newscast is doing a piece on high deductible health insurance and we explain how LesliesList.org can help.

NBC Nightly News: Pay the Price

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New generic breast cancer drug price varies wildly.

This is a reprint of my ChicagoNow blog on the pricing of newly generic Arimidex, the widely used breast cancer drug. If you would like to subscribe to future editions of the LesliesList Blog you may do so here under the “+ Subscribe” button at the end of the post:

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/leslieslist/2010/08/breast-cancer-drug-pricing-disparity.html

Breast Cancer Drug Pricing Disparity

The commonly prescribed breast cancer drug, Arimidex, was released as a generic in June 2010. The generic name is anastrozole. I called several local pharmacies last week to find out how much this medicine would cost for a one-month supply. I found some very surprising results:

Costco: $27

Walgreens (with Saver Card): $325 (without Card): $380

CVS: $361

Walmart: $347

Target: $340

These are not typos. Costco is selling a one-month supply of generic Arimidex for TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS, while everyone else in town is selling it for over $300.

How can this be? Because Costco’s pricing policy is that they charge their customers the wholesale price plus a 14-15% mark-up. (And remember: you don’t need to be a Costco member to use the pharmacy.) The other pharmacies typically try to get as high a profit margin as they can when new generics are released, presumably because they know customers are used to paying an even higher fee for the branded medicine (e.g. non-generic Arimidex retailed for more than $400).

But come on. How can you justify extracting a profit margin of over 1000% FROM BREAST CANCER PATIENTS? That’s just unseemly.

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Free mammograms in Chicago

A Silver Lining Foundation, a Chicago based group founded and chaired by Dr. Sandy Goldberg, is providing free mammograms for underinsured patients in the Chicago region. For more info please go to my blog:

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/leslieslist/2010/07/a-silver-lining-foundation-free-mammograms-for-underinsured-chicagoans.html

or to A Silver Lining’s website: http://asilverliningfoundation.org/
Leslie

Posts: 118
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:43 pm

Posted in Freebies, Testing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sleep study prices are now on LesliesList!

Check it out under the Testing section. We are including full night sleep studies and split night studies. If you are a Sleep Center and would like to be included– please send us an email. We include only sites that are American Academy of Sleep Medicine certified.

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Affordable allergy treatments

Spring is here- and that means so is allergy season!
How to manage your symptoms without emptying your wallet?
Please check out our blog on this topic at ChicagoNow:

http://tinyurl.com/y3xnkq6

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Low cost optometry and eyeglasses in Chicago?

Here are some suggestions for low cost eyewear that some LesliesList readers have brought to my attention:

A reader informed me that you do not have to be a member of Costco to use their eye glasses department and that their prices are extremely affordable.

I have also had a couple of readers recommend Lawrence Vision Center at 3711 West Lawrence Avenue. (Aside: I went there myself and bought two pairs of glasses and was satisfied with my purchases. Can’t say it seemed like a steal or anything, but I have a super strong bifocal prescription so maybe there are no bargains to be had for me.)

Another reader adds, “I just ordered a lens for glasses; no line bifocals from a shop down the street, Affordable Opticals (Gurnee/Chicago) for $112.00.
Those same lens would cost $310 from Lenscrafters.”

Anyone else know of some options to get affordable eyewear in Chicago or elsewhere?

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High deductible insurance with HSA

Hi all.

This is a topic I had been hearing about a lot but didn’t really understand.
Found this excellent user-friendly blog that explains it:

http://freefrombroke.com/2010/03/health-savings-account-benefits.html

Of course HSA’s function much better if you actually KNOW how much stuff costs– so you can choose wisely and make prudent decisions on how to spend the money in your HSA account.

And that’s where LesliesList.org can help!

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Low cost blood and urine testing

Heard from a healthcare providers in Oak Park (who is NOT the owner of the lab) that they have had good results using the following lab service. You do not need to physically be in Oak Park to use them either.

Unilab, Inc. in Oak Park, IL
From their website: http://www.lowcostbloodtest.org/

Standard tests

Total Cholesterol $5.00
Urinalysis with microscopy $2.50
CMP $7.50
Serum Insulin $15.00
HIV Screen $15.00
…. And more.
Click here for our extended prices for Anti-Aging Profile Tests.

SPECIAL ON CANCER SCREENING TESTS!

PSA (CPT 84153) $15.00
CEA (CPT 86631) $25.00
CA-125 (CPT 86316) $25.00
For any other test availability or special requests please see our Test Inquiry Page

PLEASE NOTE:
Prices for lab tests may vary depending on certain conditions.
If you order laboratory tests for healthy persons and for screening purposes or longevity reasons, the following prices are acceptable.

Lipid Profile $10.00
PSA $15.00
Urinalysis $2.50
CBC $5.00
CHEM-24 $15.00

Procedure To Send Specimen

We provide you with the following supplies.
Foam Pack and Tubes (Red Top, Lavender Top & Urine Tube)
DHL Express Air Bill and Lab Pack Envelops.
You will be billed $ 12.00/package. [None under certain conditions.]
When you use this pick up service, we receive the specimen the next day.
We perform the tests and send the results by FAX. The originals will come by mail.
The system works well to all physicians Nationwide.

Again- their website is: http://www.lowcostbloodtest.org/ to get more information

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Low Cost CPAP Machines for Sleep Apnea

From Mark Seager, owner of SecondWind CPAP.com:

“I created the business about 5 years ago to help those people that are forced to pay out of pocket. We also have an active donation program for those most in need. We have been working with the American Sleep Apnea Association over the last few weeks in trying to figure out on how we can expand our current [fledgling] donation program.

Most the CPAP and BIPAP machines we offer range between $150-$200.00. These devices have been thoroughly cleaned to eliminate any possibility of cross contamination, and have also been pressure and flow tested, prior to resale.”

If you know someone who has sleep apnea and needs a CPAP or BIPAP machine consider this service.
website: http://www.secondwindcpap.com/Used_CPAP.html

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