Generic Drugs By Mail Can Be A Raw Deal Tuesday, February 15, 2005 By Barbara Martinez The Wall Street Journal In an attempt to rein in its employees' fast-rising prescription drug costs, General Motors Corp. requires its workers to fill prescriptions for chronic conditions through the mail-order operation of Medco Health Solutions Inc. But some simple comparison shopping shows that GM, despite its formidable bargaining clout, is paying far higher prices for some drugs than ordinary individuals can get walking into retail pharmacies. Consider GM's price for ranitidine, the generic form of the popular anti-ulcer pill Zantac. GM pays Medco $176.22 for 90 pills mailed to a worker, who pays an additional $5 co-pay, bringing the total cost to $181.22, according to Medco's Web site for GM employees. If a GM employee were to simply buy the same ranitidine prescription at a retail pharmacy, it would cost a total of $62.88 for the 90 pills. A person without insurance could buy the same medication at Wal-Mart in Secaucus, N.J., for $78.62. At Costco Co.'s online service, Costco.com, the prescription would cost only $22 — and include 10 extra pills. Full article > Welcome | Latest News | Your Legislator | Mail Order | Questions Contact Us | Petition | Links Coalition for Quality Healthcare "Upholding high standards of personal service, assuring full access to consumer options and preserving the traditional contributions of local pharmacies to the state's economy" © Copyright 2004 Coalition for Quality Healthcare. All rights reserved.

Medco's Clash With Clarity 1 / 5 / 2006 Why You Should Support HB 5254! 11 / 1 / 2005 Generic Drugs By Mail Can Be A Raw Deal 2 / 15 / 2005 UAW plan pinches local pharmacies 2 / 8 / 2005 U.S. Maintains Medco Offered Insurer a Kickback 12 / 3 / 2004 Fill This! 12 / 3 / 2004 Medco May Face Turbulence 11 / 26 / 2004 Illinois ends Caremark contract 11 / 19 / 2004 Study: Shipping through mail can degrade medicine 10 / 27 / 2004 States Want Say on Drugs 8 / 22 / 2004 Express Scripts accused of defrauding state and consumers out of millions of dollars 8 / 4 / 2004 Competitive Concerns and Price Transparency in the PBM Market 7 / 27 / 2004 Protect the Upper Peninsula’s economy by ending restrictions on local pharmacists 5 / 5 / 2004 Drop restrictions on local pharmacists to protect local and state economies 5 / 4 / 2004 Competition will trim Michigan drug costs 4 / 28 / 2004 Pharmacies seek fair competition 4 / 27 / 2004 There Oughta Be a Law 4 / 26 / 2004 Medco to Pay $29M to Settle Accusations 4 / 26 / 2004 House panel eyes Rx break for pharmacies 4 / 21 / 2004 Prescription bills benefit consumers 4 / 2 / 2004 Pharmacists want to match mail-order prices 3 / 30 / 2004 No Cost Increases With CPPA 3 / 29 / 2004 Medicine by mail costly to jobs 3 / 16 / 2004 Mailing drugs may cost jobs 3 / 16 / 2004 Lost Jobs & Tax Revenue, Higher Unemployment Predicted by Study 3 / 16 / 2004 Mail-Order Prescription Mandates To Cost State 3,000 Jobs, $117 Million in Wages 3 / 16 / 2004 Forcing Employees to Buy Drugs Through the Mail. 2 / 19 / 2004 Medco Loses Deal To Supply Drugs To U.S. Employees 2 / 19 / 2004 New Legislation Helps Pharmacies Compete with Mail-Order 1 / 23 / 2004 New Laws Would Level Playing Field for Michigan Pharmacies 1 / 23 / 2004 Beloved Pharmacist Says Goodbye 1 / 20 / 2004 The drugs are in the mail and local druggists pay for it 1 / 20 / 2004 Prescription Coverage Editorial 1 / 4 / 2004