On Monday night (July 22), Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for
channel 7 News, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies.  He
found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up
as much as 3,000% or more.  Yes, that's not a typo..... three thousand
percent!  Mr. Wilson did a thorough research, and checked out all the major
drugstore chains, discount chains, independent pharmacies, and even checked
on some Canadian pharmacies.  His findings, and report, made me see red to
say the least.

So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and
usually rightfully so.  But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the
pharmacies themselves.  For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug,
and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.  The pharmacist
might ell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost
$80, making you think you are "saving" $20.  What the pharmacist is not
telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

The following link is to the story itself, so that you know that this is not
a hoax of any kind.

www.detnow.com/news/0207221204.html

The next link is to read about the reporter, Steve Wilson.

www.detnow.com/about7/anchors_reporters/wilson.html

Within the story, Mr. Wilson provided a comparison chart, using several
drugs, and several pharmacies.  The link to that chart follows.

www.detnow.com/news/0207221204-table.html

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not
there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said
that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic
drugs.  They gave the link to Costco, which I will include here, so that you
can go and check prices for yourself.

www.costco.com

I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get it's
online price.  It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the
online prices.  I was appalled.  Just to give you one example from my own
experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in
chemo patients.  I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60
pills at CVS.  I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100
pills for $19.89.  For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57.  I could have
got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store,
you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a
federally regulated substance.  You just tell them at the door that you wish
to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in.

When I think of all the seniors, people who don't have prescription
coverage, and people who don't have insurance at all, I get so very angry
that these people are doing without necessities, or without the medications
themselves, because they are so cost prohibitive.  I personally know of at
least one person that is forgoing taking needed medication, because she does
not have health insurance, and can not afford the drugs.  And all of this so
that the large drugstore chains, and independent pharmacies can make a
bigger profit.  One pharmacist from Birmingham had the gall to say "Well...
these folks are affluent.  They can afford it."

When anyone complains to me about an "injustice", I usually ask "what are
you going to do about it?, as it does no good to complain, without taking
some sort of action.  This is my "action".  I have emailed channel 7, asking
them what I can do, as a consumer, to help get the word out.  In the
meantime, I am telling anyone that I can think of to help alert as many
people as possible.  I am sending this to every person listed in the church
directory with an email address, and also to everyone in my personal email
address book.  I am going to contact as many churches as I can in the area,
asking them to put a message in their church newsletters.  I will be asking
my apartment management to do the same. with our newsletter.

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and
pasting it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with an
email address.  And if anyone has other ideas of how to address this
problem, please contact me at cleg@bignet.net.

This practice is almost sinful, and just maybe, working together, we can
make a difference.

Thank you for your time, and thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Patty Clegg

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Additional comments:

I did hear from Mr. Wilson, and in fact, he and his cameraman came and
interviewed me for almost two hours.  He did a follow up story and you can
read it in it's entirety here:

http://www.detnow.com/news/0209251703.html

If you have a media player, you can click on "video" and watch the whole
story as it was broadcast.  I had to download RealPlayer in order to see it,
but you can do that free at:   www.real.com

This has to do with "generic" drugs, and for people who do not have
prescription coverage.  The problem does not lie with the drug manufacturers
or congress..... it lies with the pharmacies who mark up the generics in
order to make more profit.

I have heard from several pharmacists trying to justify this practice,
because they make so little "profit" on the name brands.  The problem is
that they are hurting the people who can least afford to pay for their
medications.  I received an email from a drug rep. who told me that my
emails were spot on......  and then he asked "why do you think pharmacies
have all these signs pushing generics?"  The point of my campaign is to
inform people that not *all* pharmacies follow this practice, and it is up
to us to find out which do not, and use them for our generic needs.

This does not only affect "seniors".  I am not a senior.  However, I *am*
legally disabled and on a fixed income with no prescription coverage.

I do not have time to do the leg work for everyone else....  I sent out my
original two emails, telling people to "shop around".  I am not promoting
Costco per se.  I do not work for Costco, and in fact have never been inside
one.  It was the one place in the reporter's original story that did not
outrageously mark up generics.
But in doing my own research, I have found that there are several places
around that do not follow the practice, both chains and small independent
pharmacies.  And, since the stories were aired, several pharmacies have
changed their pricing.  However,  it is up to each individual to find out
for themselves which stores do or do not mark the generics up to these high
prices.

I  do not have the time to find out if there is a store close to the writer
or not.  I also do not have time to look up drugs for people and to compare
prices.The website for Costco is www.costco.com and you can find store
locations, drug prices, etc. there.

Some people have stated that they have had trouble at the site.  I checked
it out.. and had no problems at all.  Please be sure you are spelling the
name correctly, or just click on the above link.

When you get to the site, click on "pharmacy" and then click on "pricing
information".  If you have any other questions, I'm sure if you call your
local Costco, they will answer them for you.

Just remember... it depends on which state you live in as to whether or not
you need to be a member to buy your prescriptions.  Here in Michigan you do
not... but in other states you do.  I'm sure you can find out prices at
other sites, or by simply making some phone calls.

Some people have also told me that their particular drugs are more expensive
at Costco.  Again, I don't know about any particular drugs except for those
I had to take.  I don't know if these folks are talking about generics or
name brands.  And quite possibly, on some drugs, Costco may be more
expensive.  Another reason why I encourage people to shop around... and not
just at Costco.  Target and Wal-Mart have been reported to be well in line
with Costco prices.

I am aware of people buying their meds in India, Mexico, and Canada.
Personally, the only country I would trust would be Canada.  But if you need
the meds right away, that is not a feasible solution.

I have been asked if the "mail-in" meds providers are also price gouging.  I
have no idea.  Again.... it's up to the individual to check it out for
themselves.

I do not know if any of the other chains provide on-line information for
their generics.... but I'm pretty sure that most chains have web sites that
you can easily find to check it out for yourselves.

I am not interested in promoting anyone's business or products that they are
trying to sell on the internet.....

It really is unbelievable how many emails I receive each and every day.  And
it is equally unbelievable as to what I am asked to do in some of those
emails... such a Medicaid patient asking me to help them get a pair of
glasses........

Again... my sole purpose in starting this campaign is to inform as many
people as possible that they must shop around for their generic drugs.  But
it is up to each individual to do their own homework, and then to help
spread the word to as many people as they can.

I have received emails from people who have managed to get their local TV
stations to do a story on this problem..... THAT is what we are all
about..... to get the word out.

The bottom line is that we each must take responsibility for our own heath
care.  We must do the work to make sure we are getting the most for our
money.  I have tried my best to get the word out to "shop around", and now
it's up to each individual to do their own research in their own community,
and to help further the information to others.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

Patty Clegg