New report: This pharmacy’s prices are cheaper than Costco

Switching pharmacies could save you a lot of money on prescription drugs, even if you have health insurance.

An investigation published in the May 2018 issue of Consumer Reports found that HealthWarehouse.com was the cheapest place to fill prescriptions, beating second-place Costco Wholesale.

For the investigation, secret shoppers called more than 150 drugstores nationwide and compared prices for five generic drugs.

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Consumer Reports: Pharmacies with the best prescription drug prices

The price differences were pretty shocking! Consumer Reports said HealthWarehouse.com charged a total price of $66 for the five medications and Costco charged $105.

But that’s not the shocking part…

The investigation found that the retail cash price for a one-month supply of the same five drugs was closer to $900 at Rite Aid and CVS, the two most expensive pharmacies.

You don’t have to call up every pharmacy like Consumer Reports did — there are free apps that will do the work for you!

GoodRx and RetailMeNot Rx Saver (formerly LowestMed) search nearby pharmacies for discounts and coupons that you didn’t know existed. Sometimes these apps find prices that are even lower than your insurance co-pay.

To use the apps, just enter the name of the drug, dosage, quantity, location and search for the lowest price.

HealthWarehouse.com showed up as the cheapest option in the example above. The Kentucky-based company says your doctor must send them your prescription and most orders are processed in less than a week.

Here’s what the licensed pharmacy posted on its website about how it keeps prices down:

“We’re able to keep our prices low by removing layers of cost between the manufacturer and the end consumer (you). By ordering directly from the manufacturer, we are able to cut out several levels of middlemen, and as an online pharmacy we aren’t burdened with the heavy overhead costs of traditional brick-and-mortar retail chains. The end result is that we are able to secure our products at a lower cost than our competitors and pass the savings on to you.”

Remember that when you use GoodRx or a similar app, you’re choosing to pay without insurance. However, your insurer may reimburse you or apply the purchase against your deductible in some cases. Here’s what you need to know.

To learn more about the Consumer Reports investigation, check out the May 2018 issue or go to ConsumerReports.org.

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