Wonder why there's a drug store on every corner?

by Joel Saltzman

The only thing related to surfing about this post is that I was able to buy a new surfboard with what I saved by dumping CVS as my local pharmacy.
Anyone out there who pays for their medication will love this story. Until my last week experience, I was under the impression that it was the drug manufacturers that were 100% guilty of why the US healthcare system had failed us. Apparently, your local pharmacy is also guilty of this ripoff and here is why...

My previous insurance plan covered 100% co-payment costs so I was totally oblivious to what my actual monthly medication costs were. My local CVS pharmacy informed me that without my insurance information, my Plavix generic prescription alone would now cost me $139 and the other two meds would raise my total costs to almost $300 per month. 

I've been a Costco member for decades but never had a thought of using their pharmacy in the past. I remember reading somewhere that Costco's pharmacy did not require being a member. I remember hearing that their med pricing was half of the retail pharmacies.

Knowing this, I was still blown away when I called Costco's pharmacy to price check this. I had to ask twice to make sure the pricing he was giving me did not require any insurance. The generic that CVS asked $139 was only $11 at Costco, for the same exact thing!. In fact, all three of my prescriptions cost $43 to fill per month, not $300. I loved Costco before but really love the fact that they are doing something to combat big pharma. With what I just saved you, why not buy a BlueMango surfboard or a couple of T-Shirts?.

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My local CVS might see me drive buy but I will never buy anything from them after this.