Community Chat

[hoosieroriginal]

CVS is charging $20 for prozac for my dog.  I called around and found it for $3.99!  I can't imagine how much someone can save if they just do their homework.  I'm a VERY frugal person and try to go out of my way to check prices before I buy.  Also, check out GoodRX for discounts!  I know there are a lot of people out there on several medications and I hope this saves them some money.  Also check out your big box stores - I hear they have great prices on prescriptions! 

[tends2dogs]

@hoosieroriginal  This is SO true.  When my Quincy was alive, he had to take Cipro when his counts were down as a preventive.  The ONCOLOGIST wrote a script and told me to go to Publix, because it would be FREE.  I had to go to Walmart first and I happened to ask the pharmacy there.  They said it wouldn't be free with them and to go to Publix.  I called around for a couple of other RXs and found a big difference in $$.  Take the time to call around.  We could be talking more than a $1 or two.

[GCR18]

My cats prescription was a lot cheaper at walgreens versus Cvs.  I was going to check Costco, but unfortunately he passed.  Pet prescriptions vary greatly.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

CVS is charging $20 for prozac for my dog.  I called around and found it for $3.99!  I can't imagine how much someone can save if they just do their homework.  I'm a VERY frugal person and try to go out of my way to check prices before I buy.  Also, check out GoodRX for discounts!  I know there are a lot of people out there on several medications and I hope this saves them some money.  Also check out your big box stores - I hear they have great prices on prescriptions! 

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When looking for medications for pets also ask about dosage differences.  I also have a dog on prozac, she takes 40 mg a day.  It was significantly cheaper to give her 2 - 20 mg capsules compared to 1 - 40 mg. ($8.00  compared to $80.00 a month).  Her last refill I got right from the vets office, $2.50 a month.  A dog metabolism is faster so they often need higher dosages.

You do need to shop around.  My mom recently went to get a prescription refilled.   CVS was $218.00 for 3 months and Walmart $185.00.  Called Costco $31.00.

[hoosieroriginal]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

CVS is charging $20 for prozac for my dog.  I called around and found it for $3.99!  I can't imagine how much someone can save if they just do their homework.  I'm a VERY frugal person and try to go out of my way to check prices before I buy.  Also, check out GoodRX for discounts!  I know there are a lot of people out there on several medications and I hope this saves them some money.  Also check out your big box stores - I hear they have great prices on prescriptions! 

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When looking for medications for pets also ask about dosage differences.  I also have a dog on prozac, she takes 40 mg a day.  It was significantly cheaper to give her 2 - 20 mg capsules compared to 1 - 40 mg. ($8.00  compared to $80.00 a month).  Her last refill I got right from the vets office, $2.50 a month.  A dog metabolism is faster so they often need higher dosages.

You do need to shop around.  My mom recently went to get a prescription refilled.   CVS was $218.00 for 3 months and Walmart $185.00.  Called Costco $31.00.

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@CrazyDaisy - yes, I definitely meant this for people prescriptions too.  Children should call around for their parents - they could save them hundreds of dollars a month depending on how many prescriptions they take.  And don't forget GoodRX - my pharmacy found discounts for me when I had meds for a kidney stone - she saved me close to $100. 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

CVS is charging $20 for prozac for my dog.  I called around and found it for $3.99!  I can't imagine how much someone can save if they just do their homework.  I'm a VERY frugal person and try to go out of my way to check prices before I buy.  Also, check out GoodRX for discounts!  I know there are a lot of people out there on several medications and I hope this saves them some money.  Also check out your big box stores - I hear they have great prices on prescriptions! 

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@hoosieroriginal

Years ago I read that Walmart is the largest worldwide retailer and has great bargaining power when it comes to prescriptions!   Makes sense to me.   So, I now fill my prescriptions at Walmart and the times I've compared, the prices are the best.

[skuggles]

I rarely shop CVS anymore because I have found that they mark up almost everything 2-3 dollars compared to everyone else on and off line. Then they lure you in with 25% off coupons, and/or extrabucks. The extrabucks usually are not issued so that they could be combined with a sale price. They expire or they don't coincide, and I think that's by design. This practice makes your savings never more than what it can be found for anywhere else most often, so I am not surprised to hear this about their prescriptions.

[hoosieroriginal]

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@skuggles wrote:

I rarely shop CVS anymore because I have found that they mark up almost everything 2-3 dollars compared to everyone else on and off line. Then they lure you in with 25% off coupons, and/or extrabucks. The extrabucks usually are not issued so that they could be combined with a sale price. They expire or they don't coincide, and I think that's by design. This practice makes your savings never more than what it can be found for anywhere else most often, so I am not surprised to hear this about their prescriptions.

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@skuggles wrote:

I rarely shop CVS anymore because I have found that they mark up almost everything 2-3 dollars compared to everyone else on and off line. Then they lure you in with 25% off coupons, and/or extrabucks. The extrabucks usually are not issued so that they could be combined with a sale price. They expire or they don't coincide, and I think that's by design. This practice makes your savings never more than what it can be found for anywhere else most often, so I am not surprised to hear this about their prescriptions.

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@skuggles wrote:

I rarely shop CVS anymore because I have found that they mark up almost everything 2-3 dollars compared to everyone else on and off line. Then they lure you in with 25% off coupons, and/or extrabucks. The extrabucks usually are not issued so that they could be combined with a sale price. They expire or they don't coincide, and I think that's by design. This practice makes your savings never more than what it can be found for anywhere else most often, so I am not surprised to hear this about their prescriptions.

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@skuggles - I too despise CVS, but they did find discounts for me when I needed it.  I got my $3.99 prozac for my dog at my grocery store pharmacy!

[ChynnaBlue]

Some of the insurance companies make it hard for people to do this, unfortunately. My prescription insurance comes from Caremark/CVS. That means my insurance only pays if I get my meds from Caremark by mail order or CVS in person. Not a big deal of my meds are generic, but for the expensive ones, I'm looking at hundreds of dollars without insurance, so saving $20 but covering the entire amount out of pocket instead of the co-pay will cost me far more than the $20 I would save

Before that I was with another company that would only pay if I went to certain pharmacies and others were not covered, so I faced the same thing. The drug may be $20 cheaper, but I would have to pay the entire amount vs the much smaller co-pay. I was, at least, able to call the various pharmacies they DID work with and find the cheaper one out of the bunch, so that was something. With the Caremark/CVS insurance,  my only options are full-price or co-pay and the co-pay is always less or the generic cost difference is so small it doesn't justify driving the extra 2 miles out of my way for the 33 cents I'd save.

And knowing that the same drug I buy here is a third of the price in Canada makes me really mad. Drug companies are the worst.

[Q4u]

We have/had CVS mail order.  DH has changed to another provider because of a $100 difference in one of the skin meds he gets!  $100 more CVS is charging than even Wal Greens!  I'm still with CVS but will change soon, my meds are very, very cheap even with them.... but I think CVS overcharges generally....