UPDATE: March 2009
The problem has now shifted to providers of Medicare
services and goods who invoice "any price they like" |
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Medicare is not going broke, it is being
burglarized by "providers."
Medicare Part D
prescription drug plan allows a $10 medication to be
invoiced for $163, etc., etc., etc... |
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Many years ago this website exposed the
disconnect between Costco, a great retailer, and their
outsourced Internet pharmacy service. Since that
primitive time millions of people have connected to the
web, with many excellent web based pharmacy now online
offering published drug pricing. A savvy shopper can now
find the best prices, and their physician should be
flexible about placing prescriptions with any legitimate
online pharmacy. Now the scam is the
Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.
Price transparency has forced competition; generic
medication costs are at bargain prices. Wal-Mart, for
example, now offers hundreds of generic prescription
drugs under their $4 for a 1-month supply program.
Cholesterol lowing statin drugs such as simvastatin are
not only generic but dirt cheap at $20/100 day supply
(source: costco.com). But there are no such bargains
with Medicare! Just the opposite; Our corrupt US
Government pays 75% of $170 invoiced for a mere
$20 of simvastatin. It is
the newest $scam on the block. That's right—Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.
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So what is the new evil, the new bad guy out there
ripping us off?
• Medicare providers
• Your local pharmacist
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Medicare pays "providers" to mark up prescription costs |
Medicare providers insert themselves between the
government and the Medicare recipient. They are a
for-profit middleman. Here is a table showing documented
over charges for Medicare Part D "Prescription drug
benefit." I believe Medicare Part D is a money scam
to loot Government funds.
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Medicare invoiced
$170 for $20
(retail) cost of medication...and
$163 for $10
(retail) cost... |
Actual retail
cost[1] vs
actual
price invoiced to Medicare by WellCare
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This proves Medicare Part D is a scam.
Retail cost = $53.00, Medicare invoice =
$437.00 |
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| Ordinary retail cost |
Invoiced to Medicare |
| Metformin, 90 day supply = $23.00 |
Metformin, 90 day supply = $104.00 |
| Simvastatin, 90 day supply = $20.00 |
Simvastatin,
90 day supply = $170.00 |
| zolpidem, 90 day supply =
$10.00 |
zolpidem,
90 day supply = $163.00 |
| Total = $53.00 |
Total = $437.00 |
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| Note: this is not made up. I
have all documentation to prove these prices and
the $amounts invoiced to Medicare. |
Do the math on Medicare Part
D with WellCare Health Plans
• Your retail cost: $23 + $20 = $43
every 90 days. That is $172/year. But
you also have to pay the provider
$29/month for the Part D premium.
That is $348/year.
• Medicare is invoiced: $104 + $170 = $274
every 90 days. That = 1,096.00/year.
You receive only $172/year worth of meds.
But since you had to pay WellCare 12 monthly insurance payments
of $29 ($348/year) your annual cost
is 200% of the retail! What benefit is
that to you? None! You pay double what
it costs without the Part D prescription
drug plan. Medicare Part D is not
a drug benefit to you - it is a benefit
to the Medicare provider.
The US Government is
invoiced a whopping $1,096.00 for your $172/year
worth of meds and pays out to the provider
75% = $822 net.
The provider also receives
your $348 in 12 monthly installments as
"insurance premiums". The provider takes
in $1,170.00 total. WOW!
How profitable is the provider scam?
The actual wholesale cost of the meds is
a fraction of the retail price.
Pharmaceuticals are commonly marked up
400% or more (even a lot more!)
above wholesale. Research has
shown, for example, that a 30 day prescription of
medication that costs $4 to the
pharmacy retails to you for a whooping
$75.00. That is a 1,775% markup. Not
a joke.
In the case shown here, for metformin
and simvastatin, the cost may actually
be about $40 for an entire years supply
of these very generic (cheap) medications. Despite this the
Medicare provider
walks off with $1,170.00. What
business can make $40 grow into
$1,170.00 by doing nothing more than
invoicing the government? Medicare!
Why Medicare cannot be reformed
According to the movie Sicko, every
senator and congress person in
Washington, DC receives money from drug
companies, medical insurance firms, etc.
Our "representatives" work for the corporations
that profit from this ongoing medical
scam. Healthcare is NOT expensive - its the layers of
profit takers that lay on top of it.
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| Moore's previous films such
as Roger & Me, or
Fahrenheit
911 were obnoxious. But Sicko is
like Moore turned over a new
leaf. He made a masterful
statement with this movie. Sicko
is Bravo! |
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| [1] Actual full retail price at
Costco Pharmacy |
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Local pharmacist = local rip off artist |
Local pharmacists charge any price they want for your prescription. I know for a fact
that generic Ambein, zolpidem, sells for about $13 for 30
tablets
retail. I know from experience that a Rite Aid
pharmacist tried to
charge $76 for 30 tablets generic zolpidem. Drugstore.com
and others sell 90 tablets for $40.
You can pay $228 or
pay $40—for the exact same medication!
| $228 or $46 or
$10... Same drug,
different pharmacy. |
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Price Comparison for generic
10mg zolpidem (generic Ambien) |
| Pharmacy: |
Price |
| Rite Aid |
$228 for 90 tablets |
| Walgreens |
$220 for 90 tablets |
| Drugstore.com |
$46 for 90 tablets |
| Costco |
$10 for
90 tablets |
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Keep the above table in mind every time you
shop at your local pharmacy. The charming pharmacist may
very well be smiling because your medication has only a
wholesale cost of $3. But you are paying them $75 retail.
That smile is the smile of a weasel.
Want to learn more about the great Medicare rip-off called
"The Medicare Part D
Prescription Drug Benefit?" |
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Why you MUST compare prices |
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Medications cost =
$520/year, or $772/year, or $1,010/year? |
| "...People without prescription insurance
coverage need to be aware that they are subsidizing
the insurance companies, the pharmacies and all the
folks who do have prescription insurance
coverage..."
More... |
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Update: January 2006 — You have to shop around for the
best prices on prescription drugs. The sample below shows the
dramatic price differences that still exist. Drugstore.com often has
good prices, but not on every medication. |
|
Medication |
Dose |
Costco.com
Annual cost |
Drugstore.com
Annual cost |
Best price? |
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Metformin, 1,000mg |
2x/day |
$155.41 |
$540.08 |
Costco |
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Nadolol, 20mg |
1X/day |
$235.75 |
$89.19 |
Drugstore |
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Hydrocodone, 7.5-750mg |
3x/day |
$186.04 |
$291.87 |
Costco |
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Methocarbamol, 750mg |
1X/day |
$195.24 |
$88.97 |
Drugstore |
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Total annual cost |
$772.44 |
$1,010.11 |
$519.61 |
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I firmly believe my website shamed Costco into becoming price competitive
with
prescription drugs. When I started this site 5 years ago things were
pretty bad with their online pharmacy. I do not know if they ever
improved that because the Costco VP banned me from using the online
pharmacy. Nevertheless, when Costco lowered the price of the key
diabetes medication (metformin) to the lowest cost available anywhere I
declared victory. From my first prescription of glucophage for $205
at Costco to a recent one for the generic (metformin) for only $26—I
call that success! |
About 3 years ago I complained about my Sealy bed.
It was a midpriced, posturepedic that I had had for a year. During that
year, I paid a fortune out to chiro and physio for my constant
backache, never dreaming that my new bed was the problem.
Visually, the bed began to sag BADLY. Laying a pole across it, I
photographed the sags in the middle, about 3 inches in depth. I
emailed Sealy the photos, saying there was something badly wrong
with that bed.
They said I could send it back, at my expense,
and they will decide whether or not to fix it under warranty. In
the meantime, I would have no replacement bed and it would take
weeks for them to decide. I thought not.
I emailed back a
screenshot showing the domain name www.sealysucks.com was
available, and I received a phonecall to say the delivery man
was on his way with a temporary replacement bed and they would
fix mine. The guy duly arrived, looking very perplexed as to why
I was being treated like the queen.
My bed was returned a months
later, remade with new springs, padding etc (but the same cover
- bit strange I thought) The new mattress has been good, but
started giving me backache after two years, so now I have boards
under it and it is OK.
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I have often thought of the thousands of
poor people suffering due to these faulty beds, all over the
world (I'm in Australia). I've only now thought about doing a
search to find you! More
email...
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 The Sealy
"PosturePedic" scam at Costco
More... |
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Beware of buying a Sealy "PosturePedic" mattress from a Costco.
The one I purchased had no support—it acted like a hammock! Even
Consumer Reports failed to wade through the problems of an industry
ruled by elusive claims of comfort. Sealy makes up names such as Fenway, Allendale, etc. for their Costco models; these names do not
exist anywhere else. This prevents you from comparison shopping. The
Fenway I purchased was expected to be a quality bed; equivalent to a
$900 retail item but the first night I slept on it—it felt like a
$250 piece of junk. I returned it.
I am not alone! On craigslist.org I found a Fenway for sale for
$400. The owner said his physician told him to stop using it!
Mattresses have no technical specifications regarding support,
weight limits, or quantifiable standards of softness. It is all a
salesman's game of impressing you with their phony "StayTrue™" foam
or "Plush Euro Pillowtop". What they should say is "This bed is
great for a person under 150 pounds. If you weigh more it becomes a
hammock and you can't roll over unless you can roll uphill." How
many beds would that sell.
Costco needs to take Sealy to task and insist that the term "PosturePedic"
actually mean something that can be demonstrated by some
scientifically derived methodology. If not, then drop that deceptive
phrase. There was nothing "PosturePedic" about my Fenway nor was
there for the guy selling his on craigslist.
Read the letters...
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WHAT SUCKS |
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| The Costco Web Pharmacy, in
email, displayed only a P.O. Box number, not a street
address. Employees seemed unable to use email, so they turned the "Web Pharmacy" into an
old fashion "telephone
pharmacy." |
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