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Two new prescription drug fulfillment disruptors are in town, and according to many news outlets they have big plans to bring down the costs of medications. Amazon Prime and Cost-Plus state that in many cases they can fill a prescription for less. As we all know Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos and he has a proven record when it comes to online sales. Mark Cuban owns Cost-Plus, and he has a proven record of owning a basketball team and swimming with sharks… but I digress.
The issue of affordable medication has been largely resolved when it comes to generic medications, the issue is brand-name drugs that have no generic alternative… yet.
A quick price comparison of a very common thyroid medication (Levothyroxine) was revealing. Levothyroxine is generic and Synthroid is brand-name. Per federal law both medications must perform the same in the body. Not too surprising though was the fact that filling the prescription through insurance was the most expensive option. The downside to filling a prescription outside of insurance is that the cost is not deducted from the annual deductible.
Generic Levothyroxine costs between $8 and $21 for a three-month supply. Brand-name Synthroid costs $150 on average. Amazon was just under $10 and Cost-Plus $12.50. Through insurance was $21. The least expensive place was Costco using the GoodRx app at $7.75. But when it came to comparing prices of the brand-named Synthroid all the prices were basically the same, $150. |
