prescription price shopping

[starflyte1]

I have two prescriptions to be filled one time each, and both are, I think, quite expensive. I have Medicare Part D and usually buy from Walgreens, but would like to shop around for these. I understand the copay could be quite high.

Can I do that? Where do you find the least expensive prescriptions?

[baustgen]

I use Walmart

[bagboy]

A couple of price shopping options are,
http:// Canadian Pharmacy Free Shipping – Discount Canada Drugs (http://www.canadianpharmacyworld.com)
http:// Prescription Prices, Coupons & Pharmacy Information - GoodRx (http://www.goodrx.com)

And you can Google Canadian Meds and call the locations in Wildwood and on 27/441

[Fredman]

Try sams club. You don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy.

[deano_hoosier]

Zenni on-line. limited frames, but very inexpensive.

[champion6]

I have two prescriptions to be filled one time each, and both are, I think, quite expensive. I have Medicare Part D and usually buy from Walgreens, but would like to shop around for these. I understand the copay could be quite high.
Can I do that? Where do you find the least expensive prescriptions?If I understand you correctly, you want to use your Part D and want to determine which pharmacy will keep your copay as small as possible.

The only way to do this efficiently and accurately is to call your Part D insurance company and have them look it up.

Based on my experience, any advice to call this pharmacy or go to that pharmacy is a waste of your time. The typical response is, "We won't know your cost until we run it through our system," and the pharmacy techs don't want to spend the time to do this just so you can save some out-of-pocket.

[blueash]

You may have a mail in option as part of your insurance. Call the carrier and ask. It is also perfectly fine to call the MD and ask for a less expensive option. Keep in mind that whatever it is you have likely was managed by the doctor 10 years ago with something different that is perhaps 98% as effective and is far less expensive [but doesn't provide free pens and lunches]. Ask what the risk of using this older medication might be and decide if you are willing to accept taking a slightly less effective medication if the older med is not fully equivalent to the newer pricier version.

[retiredguy123]

For convenience, I use Walgreens for prescriptions covered by insurance. But, I recently had a prescription that was not covered. The Walgreens price was $980. The Sam's Club price was $57. A huge savings.

[starflyte1]

Thank you for the replies. The med I am asking about is Picato. It is a fast acting product instead of the slow Efudex. I will call the ins co tomorrow. It is the co-pay.

[VillagerNut]

I have two prescriptions to be filled one time each, and both are, I think, quite expensive. I have Medicare Part D and usually buy from Walgreens, but would like to shop around for these. I understand the copay could be quite high.

Can I do that? Where do you find the least expensive prescriptions?

Go to goodRX.com and there you will see a way to search for your drug. I understand Walgreens may or may not honor the price that they have but everybody else seems to. You do not have to have a membership to Sam's to use their drug service. In general they seem to be the cheapest for all of my medicines.

[leftyf]

You're right, it is expensive. I just typed Picato into the google search bar and got several prices and all were over $900.

[blueash]

Ok, Efudex [5-fluorouracil] is the "older" treatment and is available for about $36 per goodrx. It requires up to 4 weeks of application. The American Cancer society (https://www.cancer.org/cancer/basal-and-surgery.html)web page says 5-FU is The drug most often used in topical treatment of actinic keratoses, as well as some basal and squamous cell skin cancers, is 5-FU (with brand names such as Efudex, Carac, and Fluoroplex).

Here is the efficacy data from the package inserts:
5-FU (http://valeant.com/Portals/25/Pdf/PI/Carac-PI.pdf)complete clearance 48% [2 studies] and partial [75%] clearance 68% at 4 weeks

Picato (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2012/202833lbl.pdf) complete 42% and partial clearance 64% at 57 days.
squamous-cell-skin-cancer/treating/other-than-
So nearly identical efficacy. Interestingly the Picato insert includes 1 year follow up data whereas the 5-FU does not. Here is the 12 months follow up
Based on 108 Picato® gel-treated subjects who achieved complete clearance in Study 1 and Study 2, the recurrence rate at 12 months was 54% where recurrence was defined as the percentage of subjects with any identified AK lesion in the previously treated area who achieved complete clearance at Day 57.

So if you don't mind applying the cream for a few weeks longer it looks from this data that you could save $$$ by switching to the lower cost med without loss of efficacy. Your dermatologist may have better data, but a medline search did find a review comparing published data on 5-FU/SA [actikerall (http://www.cipherpharma.com/ca_en/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/150807-Actikerall-PM-English.pdf)] vs IMB [picato] Note 5-FU/SA is not identical to 5-FU

Read it HERE (https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-2167)
Summary
Although qualitative assessment suggested a numerical advantage of 5-FU/SA over IMB .. in terms of complete clinical clearance and sustained clearance, clinical data from longer term trials, with comparable outcome measures, are required to corroborate these findings.

[blueash]

...

[Bonnevie]

I wouldn't pay it. Efudex has been used for ages, side effect profile clearly known. Sure it's a little more inconvenient but morning and night for 3 weeks isn't a bad schedule.

[dietpepsi]

i am trying to find out about victozia, i have Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare part D cost is out rages for it but just turned 65 my former insurance it was $30 co-pay a month this is almost $3000 a month under Medicare part D

[starflyte1]

I have used efudex on my entire face 3 times over the past, maybe, 15 years. I do not mind the application. It is the serious downtime when I could not leave the house for three weeks. I was a mess. My husband was in Florida and I was in Missouri. He drove 3000 miles roundrip to pick me up because I would not get on an airplane, even if they would have let me.

The Picato is newer, and is not as effective on deep spots, but it is supposed to be over with in three days on some spots.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I called my insurance company. They said go to Walgreens. I just got the confirmed price of $36. A friend had said that her insurance would not cover her prescription.

Thanks again!