Why does the VA charge our Vets twice as much for many generic prescriptions drugs than Wal*Mart?
916108
That is part of socialized medicine!
708931
Ameriplan is not a scam.  If we were all the major pharmacies, vision providers and thousands of doctors would not be involved with us.   Get real people.   I get so sick of seeing people say we are a scam who don't put the effort into making anything work or do their research.  Wal-Mart has more complaints than we do. Is Wal-Mart scamming the millions who shop there?  And what company doesn't have complaints/unsatisfied customers at some point?
818239
this sounds like a homework question but what the hell... 1. the insurance company.  by running the least amount of test possible and prescribing generic meds they keep costs down and 2.  The Drug companies, alot of times if a doc prescribes a certain med, for something rather than one just as good, that drug company might see that the doc gets a lil kick back
533365
Usually there is no difference, except with prescription drugs. Often what is considered "generic" by the insurance company is actually a different medication, with different dosing. If you are taking a generic Rx and it seems that it's working differently than the brand name, bring it up with your doctor.
561956
I'm a former Wal Mart employee. I think the company needs to more for its workers. For example, they don't offer vision insurance, yet the newer stores have optomitrists in them. They also need to make the overall insurance cheaper. I found that most people who work there for the insurance can't afford anything else. Finally, they need to offer a bigger discount, like 25%.
989755
I used to work in a pharmacy & this was a never-ending debate with customers!  Whether it was Over-The-Counter medications or prescriptions there was always a group of people who wanted the brand name, regardless of the price difference.  A lot of them said "This is what my doctor told me to get/prescribed to me" & you could not talk them out of it.  Personally, I have always bought generic/store brands!
1123737
With the economy where it is today I would recommend a different line of work. People go to Walgreen's and Wal-Mart to buy most of their products because they are more affordable. Why pay $30.00 a bottle when you can get something comparable for $9.00 a bottle. Most people are trying to pinch that penny and Herbalife doesn't fit in that life style.
460337
I worked in a pharmacy for many years, but I am not sure...there are so many generics out there.  If you call Rite Aid and ask for the pharmacist they will probably help you out.\n\nEven better, if you know where the prescription for those pills were filled, call them.  Then you know that that particular pharmacy uses that generic equivalent.  Just give the pharmacy or the pharmacy tech the description.  Good Luck
324347
I have seen advertisements in the publication, Pharmacy Week, seeking pharmacists to accept positions in Alaska. They are so dire in need, they are offering big sigh on bonuses. However, you should know, that the money seems big, but the costs of living in Alaska are enormous, also. So, that big pay may be illusory in the long run.
503965
Products and services bought by the federal government under medicare go through a progression of reducing price schedules of the life of the product or service.\n\nFor example - lasik surgery was reimbursed at approx $2,700/eye in 1992.  Today it is reimbursed at about $600/eye.\n\nAnother reason is that most reimbursement contracts under insurance companies have a most favored clause meaning that they are only obligated to pay whatever the lowest price is being paid for a particular product/service by any other insurance company or provider.  Medicare is almost always the litmus test for lowest provider.  Though it is not always enforced, primarily due to other contractual obligations with large employers, it is open for enforcement at any time.\n\nIf Medicare had extremely low pricing on a very high volume product/service and which insurance companies where not restricted by employer contracts (prescriptions for example!!!) you know damn well the insurance companies would jump all over enforcing their most favor provision and the pharmaceutical industry would be bankrupt in a week.\n\nThere usually is a little more to it than what appears in the headlines or which Katie Couric has time to explain.  \n\nTo convey what I just said to people who are to stupid to fill out a punch card ballot is like expecting them to use a touch screen voting machine.
1151589
since most vets have studied mammals, they understand many conditions of the human body. however, it is not legal. they are licensed for the care of animals. the majority of their training has been specialized towards non-human animals. as you may know, many new drugs are first tested on animals before used in volunteer research studies with actual humans. if the drugs don't work as desired on the animals they never make FDA approval for use in humans. even so, many drugs that do well in rats and monkeys still do not produce the desired effect in humans. and in response to what someone else said about animals using the same medicines... it is true they use the same drugs to treat many conditions, however, the reason they cost less is because they are not produced under the same level of standards as for human consumption. so if you wouldn't eat dog food, then you shouldn't take dog medicines either.
709154
Just go to Walmart.com, then click Pharmacy, then click $4 Drug List.  Here is the direct link:\nhttp://i.walmart.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/genericdruglist.pdf
673122
i am a real comparison shopper- i read labels and compare ingredients carefully- i pay attention to detail- probably because i am a CPA- the equate drug products sold at walmart are identical to their name brand counterparts-at half the price- generally their products are good quality- the only gripe i have is their meat products could have 8 to 10 % added liquid injected into them--steaks, roasts- that is filler and not wonderfull- their cranberry juice cocktail has 30% cranberry juice-while ocean-spray has 25%-so their private label here is better than the national brand-lots of their clothes are made in under-developed countries- so the quality may not be the best-yet it is reasonably good--all in all- i like shopping there especially for food, canned goods, crackers, most national brands are about as good a price as you can get anywhere--oh, the best part is this- if another food store or even target is running a loss leader item- you just bring that advertisement with you and walmart will match the price from the other store with no limit on the number of sales priced items you can buy-they match low prices on milk and produce from other stores without having to go to their competitors on sale prices that are impossible to beat-saves on not having to run around especially with gas prices today- oh-also- if they ring an item up with the wrong price- you go to the service desk-show the item is higher than the shelf price and you get the item free of charge-limit one item of one product free if you bought several-the store i frequent often has produce on sale yet the computer charges a higher price- i no longer correct the checker- i go to the service desk after checking out-i once got bags of apples, tomatoes & pears free, because the prices were wrong- saved over $9 almost $10 saved right there--wow-who else does that-albertsons does i think-yet not gracefully--I LOVE WALMART- I CAN BUY STUFF THERE AND KNOW I AM PROBABLY GETTING THE BEST PRICE ON MOST PURCHASES I PURCHASE ESPESCIALLY NATIONAL BRANDS & THEY DONT HAVE TO BE ON SALE--I DONT KNOW WHERE ELSE YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT IN ONE PLACE--FOOD, DRUGS, SOAPS, CANDY,PRODUCE -- I AM A SATISFIED CUSTOMER--i recently told the store mgr. about a diet peach tea they had but seemed short of supply often- he ordered ten cases -40 items- i told him i would buy 15 or 20- he said -no problem i will order 10 cases every few days,so it will be there for you !! that was darn accomodating & decent of him-very pleasant fellow-pretty rare these days, from any retailer !!! WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR ???!!!
631133
If an insurance company tries to substitute Drug X for Norvasc, beware. Not all drugs within the same class are equivalent. Check with your doctor first.
263667
My guess is that, in general, demand would be fairly inelastic.  People are in pain all the time (I mean, nothing is happening in general to reduce people's little aches and pains) so, their overall demand for pain relievers won't change much with regard to a change in price.\nI would think that where you would see price elasticity would be for brand name pain relievers.  As the price increases for pain relievers like Tylenol, Alleve, and Advil, I would expect to see demand fall, but it would shift to generics, like Wallgreens, Walmart, CVS, and other  store brands of the same underlying pain killers (generic ibuprofen, etc.).
447785
Anything without a generic and a good equivalent will be expensive.  From experience I know that Zofran (fancy no-puke drug) is at least 50 bucks a dose, and you can take that every 8 hours.  Some osteoporosis drugs that are taken monthly can run a few hundred bucks a dose.  There's a drug called Hemopoietin that stimulates red blood cell production, I know that costs at least a few hundred a dose.  Comparison shopping and buying in bulk can also effect cost.\n\nIf you really want to know, hang out at a drug store and wait for an old person to come out.  They can talk about this stuff for hours.
308670
The coverage gap, occurs when the prescription drug costs reach $2250 (in most cases.) The drug plan pays 75% and the beneficiary pays the other 25%.  During the coverage gap, the beneficiary is responsible for 100% of their drug costs, but after they spend $3600 out of pocket the plan pays 95% and the beneficiary pays 5%.\n\nThere are a few prescription plans that do not have a coverage gap.  \n\nNo plan is perfect, but for people that have no drug coverage at all, Medicare does help.  People on Medicaid and Medicare still pay very little for their meds.\n\nI am a Medicare customer service rep, so all I hear are complaints. People never call up and say that they are happy with their drug plan...