Prescription Drug Prices: CVS Pharmacy or Wal-Mart?
Many people assume that prescription drug prices are the just about the same everywhere, and they look for places of convenience rather than searching for savings, but those without medical insurance and prescription drug coverage quite often have no other choice than to compare prices. It would seem that prescription drug prices should be the same when purchased from any major pharmacy, but surprisingly, the prices of prescription meds vary greatly from store to store.
I recently found this out when price checking my prescription medications. I currently don’t have health insurance or prescription drug coverage, and when shopping around to compare prices, I was astounded at what I discovered. Like many others, I had no idea the difference in price could vary so greatly from store to store, and my discovery really paid off.
I usually fill my prescriptions at CVS Pharmacy in Ligonier Indiana because the location is convenient. Ligonier is approximately 10 miles from my home, and although that doesn’t sound real convenient, Ligonier is the closest town with a pharmacy. It’s easy to drop off prescriptions and shop at nearby stores until they’re ready to be picked up. The wait time is usually at least 30 minutes, and the fact that the pharmacy is always very busy lent credence to my belief that all prescription drug retailers charge about the same price for the same prescription drugs.
I called CVS Pharmacy in advance to find out how much my medication would cost. I knew it was quite expensive, and without prescription drug coverage, having the money on hand would be necessary. I wasn’t surprised when the first medication I inquired about sold for $73.59, and the second was $55.59. I was prepared to pay $129.18 – if I had to, but I wanted to call around to see if I could save a few dollars. Even a savings of $3.00 would buy an extra gallon of milk.
I visit the Columbia City Wal-Mart almost weekly, and I thought that I might be able to save five or ten dollars on my prescriptions. After talking to CVS Pharmacy, I called Wal-Mart pharmacy, and I expected to find out the medications were about the same in price. The first prescription would cost $43.72, and the second would cost a grand total of $6.67! I thought maybe the lady misunderstood what I was asking for, and I repeated the name and quantity of the pills I require. She had it right the first time. In all, I saved a whooping $78.79! How could my medication cost this much less at Wal-Mart?
CVS Pharmacy is a much smaller retailer than Wal-Mart, so naturally the markup on everything is higher. Wal-Mart can afford to sell prescription drugs at much lower prices since they sell a wide variety of other items. CVS Pharmacy must rely on prescription drug sales to remain in business, but Wal-Mart doesn’t have to add a huge markup to the prescription drugs they sell.
Convenience or Savings?
If you have medical insurance and prescription drug coverage, by all means opt for convenience, but those of us who must pinch pennies because we aren’t covered by insurance must shop around. If you didn’t have medical insurance or prescription drug coverage, where would you rather shop for your meds? After finding out how inflated the prices are at CVS Pharmacy, I’ll always shop at Wal-Mart for all of my prescription medications. They filled my prescriptions fast, they were very friendly, and I saved enough money to fill my gas tank and buy some groceries. It was definitely worth a minute of my time to call and compare.
