Does anyone know if there is a place to find a medication price list for FDA approved drugs??

Question

In this day and age with so many uninsured and Medicare Part D having its' "doughnut hole", I don't understand why a person can't find a list/chart of medications showing the comparison from Brand name to Generic, or am I just not finding it? I'd like to send "someone" a question and ask why aren't they advertising generics as well as the drugs that are $700. a month or more to fill so everyone can have their meds and swallow them too. ( Hey, I think I will! )

Drs. don't always know if a med is costly, heck, from what I read in an article at USAToday, some even prescribe meds which haven't been approved by FDA--which must mean pharmacists and manufacturers are in the dark also.
I would like to have a valid list or some sort of knowledge.

No matter what the issue might be, I always like to get the info from the correct place and know what I am saying is fact or approximate, not hearsay or an assumption.

Noralyn

Answer 1

No, there isn't. Pharmacies buy their medications in bulk and then it's pretty much up to them to price it competitively for customers. You really have to shop around. I have found that WalMart is usually the cheapest place to get prescriptions. There isn't a base-line price. It would be nice if the customer had that!

If you are having a hard time with medication prices--PLEASE contact the pharmaceutical company directly. This does work. They have found it's great public relations to give medications away to people who really need it and can't afford it. Email me if you need contact information--it's what I do.

Answer 2

I can't tell you how much your drug is going to cost you until I run it through the system, and the insurance tells me.
Generic marketing, by the way, is just starting to become big. We're only seeing the first attempts at that marketing. This marketing effort is directed to MDs. Generics are more profitable than their name brand equivalents. If possible, most pharmacists will fill the generic if given permission.
One cannot prescribe a drug which has not been approved by the FDA. MDs do not always keep up to date with the literature. In general, they are oblivious to the cost, but pharmacists are not. If you are on a too expensive drug, ask your pharmacist to see if she/he can get the MD to transfer it to a cheaper related med. It is a known fact that MDs are not always the best source for drug related information.
I can get lists of approved medications in the U.S., but most of these lists are on password sites. There is www.rxlist.com.