We’ve covered the topic of low-cost generic medicines in the past, helping a reader save more than $300 in out-of-pocket expenses every year by filling his prescriptions at a discount store and not using his health insurance. That’s just one person, though. Can this plan work for everyone? Our sibling publication Consumer Reports deployed their nationwide network of secret shoppers to find out.

The answer? Yes, sometimes paying retail is cheaper, especially for venerable drugs now available as generics (like the fluoxetine/Prozac in our example from 2009.) Nationwide, mystery shoppers found that the best retail deals came from warehouse club Costco. You do not need a membership to fill prescriptions there.

Can I really get cheaper meds if I don’t use my insurance? [Consumer Reports]

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