Depending on your co-pay it may be cost effective to buy some medications (especially ones that are available generically) with cash. For example, Wal-Mart offers a one-month supply of many common blood pressure medications such as benazepril and atenolol for $4, and a three-month supply is $10. Their list of $4 medications is easily available at WalMart.com. Costco.com is not far behind: they offer an even greater variety at very good prices, and we’re told you don’t even have to be a member to use their pharmacy.

It pays to shop around. Here’s a recent example about the unbelievably high cost of medications: In October 2016 ninety tablets of generic Crestor was $883 at a local Walgreens, $796 at King Soopers and $60.63 at Costco.

Online services such as GoodRx.com can save you money on name-brand medicine. For example, in January 2017 ten capsules of the flu medication TamiFlu was around $135, but with a coupon from GoodRx.com it was $37.91, an out-of-pocket cost that was significantly less than the typical insurance co-pay.

We’ve heard Canadian pharmacies can be legit and a great value. Ninety tablets of brand name Synthroid 100 micrograms cost about $125 at local pharmacies, including Costco, but just $30 from a Canadian pharmacy. Ask your doctor about the pros and cons of this alternative.

Canadian pharmacies carry generics that aren’t available in the United States. A single tablet of Viagra 100 mg is $57 at Costco. A Canadian pharmacy sells the same brand name product for $15. And a generic, manufactured in the UK? Three dollars.

The information posted on this blog and website are for general information only and should never be relied on as specific medical advice for an individual reader.  No financial relationship exists between us and any recommended products or persons mentioned. All material contained here is the property of the Sheldon Sowell Center for Health, PC, and cannot be copied, reprinted, or linked to without our express permission.