You’d better shop around....
Jan. 3rd, 2020 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osodecanelaA conversation with my urologist yesterday prompted yet another prescription today.
That sounds plaintive, and actually I shouldn’t sound that way. I’m glad to be starting this stuff. I brought it up with my urologist. Suffice it to say, I have a 64 y/o prostate, as well as male pattern baldness that presented itself since turning 60. The addition of this drug will address both issues, all while reducing my long term risk for prostate cancer. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.
It’s January 3 and I don’t yet have my insurance card for this year. No real matter. I have an annual deductible on drugs with this plan anyway. I’d asked my urologist to call the drug into the local Safeway pharmacy and before going down there this afternoon, I first called Costco for a price check on it, and then checked GoodRx on my smartphone for discount coupons. Costco priced a 3 month supply at just under $35, on their member’s discount plan. GoodRx had a coupon at Safeway for $25 and change, which I downloaded.
Arriving at Safeway, there was a sign that read “Up to $75 in groceries when you fill or transfer a new prescription to our pharmacy.” My coupon was accepted. Good thing, as Safeway’s list price for this generic drug was $452 for a 90 day supply. $452! WTF? You’re kidding me, right?
Instead of leaving a huge hole in my wallet, after the $25 gift card, my ultimate cost was 80 cents.
I’m on several other meds, all of them generic. I only use my insurance for one of them. My plan this past year only covered 30 days at a time, with most generics costing $15. Meanwhile, Costco’s discount plan costs me $9, $14.50 & just under $19 for 3 month supplies. With this 4th generic, out of pocket cost for all 4 medications is under $150 per annum if I pay for them myself. If I use the insurance, that changes to $60/month or $720 yearly, almost 5 times the cost.
That sounds plaintive, and actually I shouldn’t sound that way. I’m glad to be starting this stuff. I brought it up with my urologist. Suffice it to say, I have a 64 y/o prostate, as well as male pattern baldness that presented itself since turning 60. The addition of this drug will address both issues, all while reducing my long term risk for prostate cancer. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.
It’s January 3 and I don’t yet have my insurance card for this year. No real matter. I have an annual deductible on drugs with this plan anyway. I’d asked my urologist to call the drug into the local Safeway pharmacy and before going down there this afternoon, I first called Costco for a price check on it, and then checked GoodRx on my smartphone for discount coupons. Costco priced a 3 month supply at just under $35, on their member’s discount plan. GoodRx had a coupon at Safeway for $25 and change, which I downloaded.
Arriving at Safeway, there was a sign that read “Up to $75 in groceries when you fill or transfer a new prescription to our pharmacy.” My coupon was accepted. Good thing, as Safeway’s list price for this generic drug was $452 for a 90 day supply. $452! WTF? You’re kidding me, right?
Instead of leaving a huge hole in my wallet, after the $25 gift card, my ultimate cost was 80 cents.
I’m on several other meds, all of them generic. I only use my insurance for one of them. My plan this past year only covered 30 days at a time, with most generics costing $15. Meanwhile, Costco’s discount plan costs me $9, $14.50 & just under $19 for 3 month supplies. With this 4th generic, out of pocket cost for all 4 medications is under $150 per annum if I pay for them myself. If I use the insurance, that changes to $60/month or $720 yearly, almost 5 times the cost.
GoodRx
Date: 2020-01-04 04:38 pm (UTC)https://www.goodrx.com/
May I ask what new drug your urologist has prescribed for you? I'm currently on Flomax.
Re: GoodRx
Date: 2020-01-04 07:10 pm (UTC)So, prostates enlarge with time for just about all men. Eventually, urine flow is impeded and then outright blocked. Back in my grandfather’s day, men often faced a TURP procedure, basically a rotor router surgery, that often came right along with your getting on to Medicare. Both my grandfathers had it done in their early 60s, so no surprise at 64 I need an intervention of some type.
Physicians realized in the mid 80s that Alpha Blockers (a class of BP meds) helped men urinate, and eventually tamsulosin was released not for HTN but just for BPH. Unfortunately, it doesn’t prevent the prostate from continuing to enlarge, so the guy who might have had his surgery at 65 or 70 needs is at 75 or 80.
Proscar and then Avodart came out later and these antagonize the form of testosterone that cause the prostate grow (and that ALSO cause hair loss in men with male pattern baldness), thus addressing the cause for eventual surgery. It is unfortunately, the slow boat to China. If you need tamsulosin now, it’ll be several years before either drug will eliminate that need.
Statistics are also the incidence of prostate cancer is lower in men on either of these two drug, although when a cancer does occur, it’s more likely to be a more invasive one. According to my urologist, the American College of Urology has determined this isn’t due to more invasive cancers, but a decrease in the less invasive ones. My Urologist said you can make a very strong case that all older men should be taking one of these.
*/lecture *
Both drugs are now generic.
Re: GoodRx
Date: 2020-01-04 07:18 pm (UTC)I sent you a message on Facebook too.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-11 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-11 07:51 am (UTC)In my personal experience
playing Godpracticing medicine, 9 times out of 10, if not more, generics work as effectively as the branded original they mirror. To be honest, for many older meds, I’ve gone out of my way to forget the branded name. There is no real difference between Prozac & fluoxetine, between Lotensin & lisinopril or Claritin & loratidine. More offen the trouble is with newer classes of drugs, which are often replacing older classes of medications, and where all of the drugs in the newer class are new enough that there are none in the class old enough to be generic. Think many of the newer meds for diabetes like the GLP-1 analogs or the SGPT-2 antagonists, which are both far better than the sulfonylureas they are replacing at enormous cost to the patients and at times their insurers.Sent from my iPhone
no subject
Date: 2020-01-15 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-15 06:47 am (UTC)Well I did say 9 out of 10; for sure, it sucks when you’re the 1.
I’m sorry she’s in that situation. I’m also frustrated with our overall for profit system.
Sent from my iPhone