13th July 2005
Hey Wren, The manufacturer of name brand Oxy "Purdue pharma" has a patient assistance program you can investigate at
www.needymeds.com
This is a complete listing of every manufacturer, how to make contact and usually lists the qualifiers, Lack of script insurance and a household income cap are the main ones. The generic manufactuers likely have a patient assistance program too that you would be eligable for.
Do not use that TV add that says they will help you get free meds, They charge 19.99 a month for each med, that you and your doc can get for nothing. They just do the paper work that you can do and make contact with your doc, which you can do, who makes contact with the manufacturer rep to get the application for each program. It's a total scam when it can be done on your own for no charge.
Als be careful with The peoples prescription plan. You do save money at stores like walgreens because the prices are so jacked, you can save the cost of the monthly premium on one script. But Sams cash price is better than the peoples prescription plan negotiated price. I stopped using the PPP when I started using sams because the PPP price was higher than Sams cash price.
You can go to walgreens on line site to get a rough idea of what the retail price is, but if you have a buying club like Sams or Costoc that has a pharamcy call them for a price, they don't require a membership to use their pharmacy services.
When you pay cash, you have to shop prices. I was paying 58 bucks at walgreens and Eckerds for 120 .5mg KLonopin, I get the same quantity, by the same manufacturer at Sams club for 16 bucks. Some of the retailers will price match, but you have to ask, give them the price and let them verify it. Sams is generally 1/3 the price of all the giant retailers with pharmacy on every corner.
Sams is part of walmart and there prices are fairly equal. But you don't need a Sams club membership to use the pharmacy. You will be shocked by the diference especially when comparing to a walgreens directly across the street from a sams or walmart, and walgreens doesn't price match.
The genericLA oxy isn't that much cheaper, maybe 20% which still makes it expensive. When it comes to a cash custmomer, if you don't qualify for a PAP through a manufacturer, you may want to consider methadone. I lost insurance and it would have cost 1400 to continue taking Kadian "12-24 hour morphine", $800 to switch to generic LA morphine with an 8 hour duration or 60 bucks for an equianelgesic dose of methadone.
You have to shop your BT meds too. A 10 mg percocet costs about 2 bucks a piece,a 5mg pervcpcet cost about 50cents. 4 times more for twice as much med. Plain generic 5mg oxycodone is about 30 cents a piece. A 30mg generic Roxicodone costs about 80 cents. All these oxy products are 2-3 times stronger and cost 1/2 to 1/3 the price of generic 10 mg percocet. In most cases generics work fine for short acting meds, but long acting generics like Fentanyl patches or OxySR seems to have a problem, generic LA morphine workes fine, but it's still expensive. When it comes to generic manufacturers I would avoid Mallinckrodt pharma, They simply make crappy products. But with most of the other manufacturers of Short Acting meds the difference is nominal.
Prices also very from one area to the other, whatever the market will bare.
Good luck and shop prices on every med and check out buying clubs and walmart.
Good luck, Dave
