Rite Aid Rip Off on price of drugs Harrisburg Pennsylvania
I have Lyme Disease and as a result have to take an IV drug called Ceftriaxone. I was told by Humana that Rite Aid had the least expensive cost for this drug. This was approximately $2000 a month. My coverage has a coverage gap at $2500, meaning that at $2500 I have to pay 100% of the cost. This of course is after only a little more than 1 month of treatment. I am on disability so this is a huge issue. I spent quite a bit of time researching the cost of this drug in the beginning of treatment and could find no alternative.
Recently I decided to try again - spent again a huge amount of time calling every pharmacy - and found that Costco's price is $350.
I was stunned that one company could charge $1650 more for the same drug. How is this possible? And whose pocket is this $1650 monthly going into?
It is abhorrent to me that the most vulnerable of our population - people who are sick - are getting ripped off. I am very computer literate so I believe that there are 1000s of people out there who are not able to spend the time doing what I did and are paying out of pocket $2000 a month for this drug.
Someone should be reporting this $1650 a month ripoff. If you assume that there are 10,000 people in the US taking this drug. This is an annual profit of $198,000,000.00. That's 198 million dollars!!!
Seems to me this is something that certainly the CFO of Humana would be interested in and someone out there somewhere should be reporting.
Laurie M.
Greenbrae, California
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Connecticut Advocate
Hampton,Connecticut,
USA
HUH??
#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, August 20, 2010
Are you kidding? Are you suggesting that Walmart* and Costco are supplying substandard medicine? I CHALLANGE you to prove that statement. When I worked for Rite Aid, (1999-2010) we purchased ALL of are drugs from Mckesson (Ticker MCK) and so did Walmart*, CVS, Walgreens, Costco ..... etc. I guess McKesson sells crap to Walmart* and Costco, but NOT Rite Aid. This person is suggesting that the quality of your meds is LESS if purchased at Costco, THIS IS A LIE. In Fact, check Consumer Reports, Costco lists as a #1 Company to deal with while Rite Aid brand Vitamins rated as substanderd at best..... ( Consumer Reports Sept 2010) Maybe YOU should get YOUR facts straight
Connecticut Advocate
Hampton,Connecticut,
USA
Thank you for alerting the consumer
#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, August 20, 2010
I worked for Rite Aid and could not believe the fraud in this company. If I complained to management I was told I could not complain, or be fired, I was later fired. Even when I was an employee I got perscriptions filled elsewhere because Rite Aid's prices were THE HIGHEST in the area. Then there was the fact that patient's persciption bottles and personal information were constantly scattered across the Dayville Distribution Center's parking lot. Nice way to handle protected information in my opinion!!
wdwhawkeye
United States of AmericaGet all the facts first
#4General Comment
Fri, August 20, 2010
Although your frustration is understandable, you must understand about drug manufacturing. When a brand medication has been manufactured for 10 years, it can now have generics made. This is where your problem comes in. Big retail pharmacies such as Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens stock medications from good quality, reputable, American generic manufacturers such as Qualitest, Teva, and Greenstone. When you get medications from companies such as Costco, Walmart, and Sam's club, you get medications made by no name companies in India, Pakistan, and China. This is so that these companies can create the illusion of giving you the same drugs at the absolute lowest prices possible. These medications are not manufactured in the same conditions as the companies listed above, nor with staff that are as knowledgeable about the medications, much less the proper manufacturing procedures. These medications are manufactured by people who work for pennies a day in factories that only cost dollars a day to run, thus the astounding price difference. All I can say in a situation like this is that you truly do get what you pay for. Low prices for low quality medications.