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The New High
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The New High
prescriptions
CVS In Pennsylvania Keeps Pharmacy Supplies At Toasty 93 Degrees
A CVS in Cressona, PA has had chronic air conditioning problems "for over a year and a half now" according to the employee our tipster spoke with. Now Frank wants to know whether or not it's safe to store so much medicine in such intense heat. It certainly goes against the storage instructions for a lot of meds. More »
health
Walmart's "$4 Prescription Plan" Adds OTC Drugs, 90-day Supplies For $10
Walmart's $4 prescription plan is getting even cheaper, says Reuters. The big blue box will add 1,000 over-the-counter items for $4 or less and make some drugs available in a 90-day supply for only $10 — thus kicking K-mart's 90-day supply program squarely in the teeth. More »
prescriptions
Walgreens Fills High Blood Pressure Prescription With Generic Allergy Pills
Tina claims that last December she had her prescription filled at a Dallas Walgreens store, and was surprised to see that the pills had changed. She "thought they must have changed to a generic" and took them anyway—but when she next refilled the prescription, "the pills were back to what I'd taken for years. It ended up taking Walgreens six weeks to get the pill identified."More »
medicine
How To Avoid The Medicare Donut Hole
Anyone who has Medicare and takes lots of drugs or a few very expensive ones (or who has an older relative who does) knows about the dreaded "donut hole"—the gap in coverage that happens each year if you have to spend a lot of money on prescriptions. If you're above the poverty level but don't have good gap insurance, it can be financially devastating. The New York Times notes that for a quarter of at-risk patients, planning ahead with generics may help you skirt the donut hole altogether. The big stumbling block is that you have to be prepared to discuss your personal finances with your doctor. More »
medicine
Zocor May Cause Sleep Problems In Patients
A new study from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine suggests that simvastatin, also known as the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, may interfere with sleep patterns: "people who took the statin drug Zocor or simvastatin found they had significantly worse sleep quality compared with people who took Pravachol or pravastatin, another cholesterol-lowering drug." Simvastatin is fat soluble, which means it can more easily penetrate cell membranes and mess with brain chemistry. More »
drugs
Pfizer Launches Campaign To Warn Users Away From Generic Competitor
Pfizer is in panic mode about its rapid decline in Lipitor sales—in the last 18 months, it has dropped from 40% of the market for cholesterol-lowering drugs to 30%, and likely to drop further—so it's launched a big media-blitz to convince people not to switch to simvastatin, the generic version of its name-brand competitor, Zocor. Zocor was more expensive than Lipitor, so Pfizer had nothing to worry about for years—but then Zocor lost its patent protection last year, and now doctors are switching patients from Lipitor over to Zocor's generic twin to save money. More »
health insurance
FDA Might Create A "Behind-The-Counter" Drug Category
Next Month, the FDA will hold a public meeting to discuss whether or not they should allow certain drugs to be sold "behind-the-counter"—that is, after consultation with a pharmacist, but without the need for a prescription. If they move ahead with the plan, a new BTC category will be created, although what drugs will fall under it have not been determined. More »
your rights
It's Illegal To Charge For A Contact Lens Prescription
Did you know it's illegal for a doctor to charge you for giving you your contact lens prescription? Yup, it's against federal law. The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act mandates that a doctors must provide you with a copy of your prescription after a contact lens fitting. More »
beat the system
How To Fill A 120-Day Prescription For 1/5th Of The Regular Price
Here's a potential way to get certain drug prescriptions filled cheaply—as in, a several-month supply for less than $15—from our own Consumerist reader and commenter Hambriq. He posted it last week and we thought it was worth bringing to the foreground for more readers to see.More »
health
Wal-Mart Unveils Improved Insurance Plan For Its Employees
Wal-Mart's rehabilitation continues, possibly: beginning in January, it will offer its employees a revamped insurance package designed to cut costs, expand coverage, and reduce the price of prescription drugs. Even past critics of Wal-Mart, such as health care advocacy group Families USA, are hopeful: "On face value, this looks like a very significant change and improvement." Some of the plan's details: a $100-500 grant to defray costs, premiums as low as $5/month, the "elimination" of expensive hospital deductibles, and an increase in the number of $4 prescription drugs to 2,400. More »
news from the swamp
Senate Proposal To Allow Generic Versions Of Biotech Drugs After 12 Years
A Senate proposal would strip biotech drugs of their patent-protected status after twelve years, opening the door to competition from generic drug makers. Patent protection determines how long obnoxious pharmaceutical CEOs can spend outside their competitor's offices dancing with their drugs to MC Hammer's 1990 hit, "U Can't Touch This." Unlike regular drugs made by chemical synthesis, biotech drugs are derived from human proteins. More »
pharma
Best Buy Drugs
If you're looking for a way to learn more about which drugs have the best track record, safety, effectiveness and price, Consumer Reports has a site called "Best Buy Drugs," that aims to do just that. From the site:- The project aims to improve access to needed medicines for tens of millions of Americans—because they lack insurance coverage for prescription drugs, because the prices of many medicines today are so high, and because many consumers and physicians may not be aware of proven and affordable alternatives.
consumerist kit
Buy Drugs Online Safely
If Mexico or Canada are not viable travel destinations, you can also save money by saving drugs online, but beware of scam sites. (duh). More »
consumerist kit
Save 75% On Drugs
You can cut your prescription cost by 3/4 by signing up for Free Drug Card. More »
complaints
United Healthcare Doesn't Feel Like Paying For Your Drugs
"Your drugs are too expensive." More »
pills
Why, Oh Why, Are My Pill Bills So High?
Unsurprisingly, it's because of drug companies. But Consumerist, you ask, why would drug companies try to keep the prices of drugs artificially high? And how would they do it? More »
walmart
