Has your doctor ever told you NOT to go to CVS for scrips?

[7wo7rees]

The cardiologist we see said they gouge customers, even those on health plans. He was right on one: Diovan.

What say you?

[Atman]

1. My wife tells her patients to stay away.

CVS is THE WORST. If they don't gouge you, they'll fuck up your scrip.

[7wo7rees]

11. Thank you. n/t

[Hatchling]

34. I used to use them

After they screwed up my script 3 times, I moved to another pharmacy. ANd they screwed up transferring my meds to the new pharm. My doc fixed that

[Honeycombe8]

2. I've never heard of that. Walgreen's checks their computer...

when I ask about a price on Rx; they check my insurance. The price is prescribed by the ins. co., they said. I have a copay of $20, no matter where I go. What my ins. co. pays Walgreens or any other place is by contract between the two of them or whatever.

Maybe their full retail price is higher than other places, though. Easy enough to call around and get the price of a med w/o ins.

[FarPoint]

32. I always shop Walgreens.

[anneboleyn]

41. You are right -- the price is negotiated by the insurance companies (not the pharmacies)

[doc03]

3. No I have a drug plan and CVS is on the provider list

all charge the same as far as I know. I go to K Mart myself.

[abelenkpe]

4. Didn't know that

If true I'll go elsewhere...

[CherokeeDem]

5. Used CVS for years...

What I pay is set by whatever insurance coverage I have. I haven't had any issues with CVS charging anything different than what I expected. However, I wouldn't put it past them or any other pharmacy.

[Hoyt]

6. Doctor's probably ticked at CVS cause they can't read his prescriptions.

Never compared prices. Wouldn't be surprised if CVS screws uninsured,. But most do that.

[snooper2]

7. I find CVS to be better than all the others..

have been using them for 15 years

[anneboleyn]

42. We have used them for years also, no problems

[RKP5637]

8. I've been using CVS a number of years and have never had a problem. I have both

my insurance plan and the CVS genetic plan, often one is cheaper than the other. They always charge me the one that is cheaper. It might depend on which CVS? Anyway, I don't trust any corporations today, even the smiley ones.

[TheKentuckian]

9. High pain in the ass factor on the provider end and I think their footprint

is over their capacity if competence counts.

Of course others are probably worse but there are satisfaction challenges for sure.

[7wo7rees]

10. We've not had problems either

But we never had so much need for medicine before.
Tonight we came face to face with what he warned us.
Diovan is $4 under our plan. They charge $5.
Not a lot to overpay, but if they do that to 1,000 a day...

He wrote a new scrip to take to the next place.

I like CVS. I don't know what a Walgreen's looks like on the inside, and I never cared, as I drive by to go to CVS.
But he brings up a point. If that's what he knows, what are we still in the dark about?

I'm not trying to cast aspersions here. I just want to know if anyone else hears from their doc to NOT GO.

[McDiggy]

36. ...if CVS is overcharging like that, it would be fraud.

They contract with insurance companies to fix their reimbursement. They are contractually obligated to charge you what the insurance company tells them to. And how they arrive at prices is actually determined by the third payer (your insurance) automatically. The pharmacy submits the claim to the insurance and the insurance company send back how much you need to pay. Your copay auto-populates in the pharmacy's software and goes straight to the label aswhat you need to pay. Usually, CVS has no say at all in what you pay. They just have it so whatever your insurance company says your copay should be appears in the system as is. It IS possible to go in and manually change the price, but it would be against corporate and all sorts of ethical policies and need to be done at the individual pharmacy level by some sort of unethical bastard.

I'd call your pharmacy benefit provider and inform them. If they are overcharging you, trust me, they'll get to the bottom of it. They might tell you that your copays have gone up and you didn't notice it in the fine print of some letter they sent you. That happens now and then, too.

[anneboleyn]

43. exactly. It is not legal to overcharge like that as you note...

[justice1]

12. I use Shopko, formally Pamida

When I had insurance they charged me whatever was less, their price or insurance. Now that I am uninsured, they contact Walmart and price match. I have been really happy with them.

[7wo7rees]

13. The card from the manufacturer say $4

CVS charges $5 because they can.
Because people like us who can afford one more dollar don't think about it.

Doc gave us a new scrip from the mfr and told us to not go there.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Having price checked scripts over the years there is variance between them all

No one shop is lower priced than the rest.

[byeya]

15. I used CVS for years and their service became haphazard so I switched to WalGreen and this

chain is, to me, much much better.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

16. No problems with CVS.

[RobinA]

17. My Doctor Asks

me where I go. Always has. I find it difficult to compare prices, because every time I go to the same store to get the same medicine it costs a different amount. Particularly my Diovan.

[Jazzgirl]

18. I got to CVS.

I noticed about two months ago they switched me from Diovan to some generic replacement that is significantly cheaper. In fact they also switched my Singular to something less expensive too. Instead of $25 copays its now $7.50 for both of those.

[cbdo2007]

19. This doesn't make sense....how can they gouge you if you have health insurance??

Your health insurance carrier sets the rates for medications, not CVS.

I have tried all of our local pharmacies and they're all equally sh*tty. I use to have a Walgreen's that I just loved and loved and loved....then they gave my newborn baby the wrong dosage of a scrip. Luckily we caught it before giving any to her, but all these places are the same and all the same mistakes happen no matter where you go.

[DopLnk]

33. well not exactly...

The insurance sets the price YOU pay the pharmacy, not the price the pharmacy is charging. You pay what ever co-pay your insurance requires, they are paying the rest of the cost. Or at least part of it. So in the long run if you are filling at a pharmacy that is charging the insurance more, eventually your co-pay is going to go up as well as the cost of the insurance...so you do end up paying for it.

[McDiggy]

37. not exactly X2

Insurance companies pay AWP+ prices. Meaning the average wholesale price plus a percentage and a dispensing fee. AWP is a price that is determined by the published prices of drugs. The insurance companies very much dictate how much they will pay and they don't let the pharmacies tell them how much they charge. It's why Walgreens stopped accepting Express Scripts and Tricare. The reimbursement was deemed too low by their financial people. The pharmacy benefit managers rule the freaking world of prescription drugs right now. They tell your doctors what they are allowed to prescribe, what they have to try before they can prescribe something remotely expensive, they determine how much money CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and everyone else can make...they control the money...they control our health.

[7wo7rees]

39. Thank you.

We knew the why was money. You've shown us the how.

[Habibi]

20. Never had a problem with CVS

And I've been going for years. Did Walgreens for a stint when I lived elsewhere. Also, no problems.

What I did/do notice is that all the pharmacists I've interacted with at both stores look exhausted.

[LiberalAndProud]

21. No.

My granddaughter's pediatrician sent me to CVS for crutches ... A $20 dollar deposit that they refunded when the crutches were returned. There's only one CVS in town that does this, but I was very impressed.

[Snotcicles]

22. I caught them gouging on a couple scripts and have stopped using them. nt

[WCGreen]

23. Walgreen's has been very helpful over the years...

They even gave a me a couple of pills to make it through the weekend when one of my scrips was up and the doc couldn't be contacted until monday. They also contacted stores in Nashville, DC and Pittsburgh when I was traveling and decided to stay an extra day or two...

Great customer service.

[Snotcicles]

24. Here is a good site to go to to check prices in your area

[link:http://www.freedrugcardsite.com

[DainBramaged]

25. CVS charges $9.99 for Prilosec generic, Target $6.29.

They wanted $24 for a 90 day supply of Prednisone, Target, $15.00

[mucifer]

26. Remember Costco has a pharmacy in their stores.

[zabet]

27. Never had any Dr recommend any pharmacy.

I live in a relatively small town....we have one of the smallest Walmart (no super wallyworld here) with a pharmacy, a CVS, and a privately owned pharmacy. I did business with CVS with no issues for several years except they would religiously be out of a med I had set up on auto refill. Reluctantly I switched to the privately owned pharmacy and have been amazed. No generics but every scrip I get filled is cheaper than CVS and Walmart's generic meds. The pharmacist has taken the time to talk to me about my meds and my unique cause of health problems and has suggested several things that after discussing with my Dr, and trying, have been beneficial to me healthwise.

I mistakenly assumed the privately owned pharmacy would be more expensive and could not compete with the big chain store pharmacies. I highly suggest to any DUer out there, if you have an independant or privately owned pharmacy in your area....check them out....price compare....and you may be as surprised as I have been.....and save money.....and help small business.

[Kingofalldems]

28. One huge problem at CVS--lines at the prescription counter.

On the plus side, CVS in my area is a union shop.

[RiffRandell]

29. I don't like my local CVS.

I'm on quite a few meds I refill monthly, and I think they do overcharge. I love my local Walgreens, and they charge the same as the Kroger pharmacy, with less of a wait.

[bluestate10]

30. I use CVS when my doctor prescribes. I have never had a problem with their prices. nt

[DopLnk]

31. Not by the Dr

but from my employer. Our new drug insurance will not cover any meds at Walgreen's and if we choose to use CVS we have to pay a higher copay than if we use, Wally World, Shopko or others. So in our annual employee insurance "this is how we are screwing you this next year" meetings lots of people were really upset about the continued lack of Walgreen's and the addition of extra co-pays if we use CVS. Then they showed us the reasoning behind it. They had an example of some drug prices, a very run of the mill anti-biotic and a blood pressure med. They called the pharmacies, and asked for the non-insurance price for 2 drugs at each of the pharmacies. For the anti-biotic, Walgreen's was around $75, CVS around $60 and WalMart less than $5! THIS WAS WITHOUT any type of insurance plan, strictly the price if I walked in off the street with no insurance. This CANNOT be buying power, in the US there are 8300 Walgreen's, 7000 CVS and 8500 WM (worlwide)...this IS not buying power but greed pure and simple and our new insurance will not allow us to be gouged any longer...thank you insurance (I can't believe I just said that!). If a script is less than the cost of the co-pay we only pay the cost of the drug.

[McDiggy]

35. I'm a pharmacist...

...the company doesn't really matter.

What matters are how good the pharmacists are at each location. There are some dumb as rocks pharmacists out there working for each and every pharmacy chain. Especially some of the brand new grads. Ever since the for-profit schools started opening up left and right, its become MUCH easier to become a pharmacist and the quality of pharmacists has dropped in some cases. When I applied in 2003, the average GPA to be admitted at my school was 3.75. Today, its 3.5. And the newer schools, many applicants get in with a sub 3.0 GPA. This was unheard of 6 years ago. But these types usually wind up as "floaters" that don't get a permanent store, but have to fill in when people take vacation time or paternity leave.

The district pharmacy managers also have a role in the quality of services. Some completely sell out and grab bonuses by shorting their pharmacists' technician help, others let their pharmacists use max help as allowed by corporate.

Bottom line, it all depends on a store by store basis, no matter what company is on the facade of the building. More than anything, make sure you are comfortable with each of the "regular" pharmacists that work in the pharmacy. Because it's those guys or gals that will determine how satisfactory your pharmacy services are.

As far as prices, if you pay cash, go to Sam's or Costco. Period. Anywhere else, you will pay more. Places like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens kind of cater to the insured and sort of neglect cash payers as they are a small subset of their customers. If you have a third party (insurance, medicaid, medicare, gov't employee), it doesn't matter where you go. You will pay the same copay everywhere. Go to where you feel the most comfortable.

Physicians generally have no idea how good a pharmacy is (and vise-versa.) If I had to guess, the cardiologist is probably mad that a pharmacist questioned what he prescribed or something and made a big deal out of it. This happens now and then. They are embarrassed that daggum pharmacist at CVS didn't think I should have the patient on three different beta blockers simultaneously and told the patient it generally is't recommended...or whatever.

[Stuart G]

38. I got a pharmacist I trust...that is it..

He was at a Safeway in Morton Grove Il, them he got a job at in Niles..I go to him..
.......He is honest..He is not pushing anything. (he says the best drugs are the least drugs) He will provide time, if necessary..
He is decent and he said recently.." When it gets busy, I actually slow down", "Why?"..I asked....."Because that is when we make the most mistakes..." so, I go to Meijers..in Niles..His name is "Guy" He is worth the time..trust him...

[oswaldactedalone]

40. I love CVS

and I especially love their "extra bucks" program. There are so many discounts available at CVS it's amazing. If you work at it just a little, ie, read the weekly ad flyer, you can save so much. In addition, there are multiple ways to earn extra bucks and extra bucks are the same as real money to CVS.

I've never had a problem at their pharmacy and have filling scripts there for years.