Shopping Around Brings Steep Prescription Drug Savings, Report Finds

Prices varied four-fold between pharmacies, and there are ways shoppers can save big bucks, experts say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Prescription drug prices at U.S. pharmacies can vary widely, and failing to shop around could result in people overpaying by as much as $100 or more a month on average, depending on the drug, a new study finds.

Researchers at Consumer Reports called more than 200 pharmacies across the United States to get retail prices (out-of-pocket costs) for a one-month supply of five popular medicines that have recently gone generic.

The medicines were: the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone); the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram); the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin); the blood thinner Plavix (clopidogrel); and the asthma drug Singulair (montelukast).

For a one-month supply of these drugs, there was a $749 difference between the highest- and lowest-priced stores -- a more than four-fold difference, according to the study in the May issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Overall, Costco outlets had the lowest retail prices and CVS had the highest, the report found. Among the specific findings:

A month's supply of generic Lipitor cost $17 at Costco, compared with $150 at CVS. Prices at Rite Aid and Target were also high.A month's supply of generic Lexapro cost $7 at Costco and $126 at CVS. On average, Rite Aid, Walgreens and grocery store pharmacies also charged higher prices.A month's supply of generic Plavix cost $12 at HealthWarehouse.com and $15 at Costco, compared with $180 at CVS.

Different business approaches are one reason for the wide price variations, according to Lisa Gill, prescription drugs editor at Consumer Reports.

"It really comes down to a store's business model. For example, big box stores tend to use their pharmacies as a way to get consumers through the door with the expectation that they'll buy other things," she explained in a Consumer Reports news release.

If you want to get the best deals, shop around and always request the lowest price, Gill advised.

"A consumer can't assume that the price of their prescription medications is set in stone," she said. "One of the big takeaways is that you have to ask for the best price and see if your pharmacist will work with you. Especially for the independent pharmacies, if they want to retain your business and loyalty, they will help you get the best price," she said.

Other ways to save money include:

Using generic drugs, which contain the same active ingredients as brand name drugs.Getting refills for 90 days, not 30 days. Most pharmacies offer price reductions on a three-month supply of a medicine.Look for other discounts. All chain and big-box pharmacies offer discount generic drug programs, with some selling hundreds of generic drugs for $4 a month or $10 for a three-month supply.Try shopping in rural areas. The study found that some grocery store pharmacies and independent drug stores had higher prices in cities than in rural locations. For example, a 30-day supply of generic Actos cost $203 at a pharmacy in Raleigh, N.C., compared with $37 at a pharmacy in a rural area of the state.

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Alzheimer's Patients Mimic Emotions of Those Around Them: Study

Findings may have implications for caregivers

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- People with Alzheimer's disease or early thinking and memory problems tend to mirror the emotions of those around them, researchers find.

This transfer of emotions, known as emotional contagion, appears heightened in people with Alzheimer's and related mental decline, according to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) team. And it can be important in the management of these patients, they added.

"Calm begets calm," said Dr. Sam Gandy, associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in New York City, who was not involved in the study.

Emotional contagion is a rudimentary form of empathy, enabling people to share and experience other people's emotions, said lead researcher Virginia Sturm, an assistant professor in the UCSF department of neurology.

"It's a way by which emotions travel across people quickly and even without awareness," explained Sturm. This process can shape behaviors and cause changes in the brain, she added.

In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and in people with mild thinking and memory problems, emotional contagion increases, the researchers found. It is even more apparent in people with dementia, they noted.

"In Alzheimer's disease and other dementia we think some people may have an increased sensitivity to other people's emotions," Sturm said.

"As their memory and thinking abilities decline, it seems this is accompanied by the enhancement of other emotional processes," she said.

This means that if caregivers are anxious or angry, their patients will pick up and copy these emotions.

On the other hand, if the caregiver is calm and happy, patients will emulate these positive emotions, Sturm said.

"This is a way Alzheimer's patients connect with others, even though they don't have an understanding of the social situation," she said. "In order to manage patients, it might be that the caregivers being calm and happy would go a long way in keeping their patient calm and happy."

Alzheimer's disease is an age-related brain disorder that begins slowly and gradually robs people of their ability to lead their everyday lives. In the United States, one-third of the nation's seniors die with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The study, published online May 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved 237 adults. Sixty-two patients had mild memory and thinking problems and 64 had Alzheimer's disease. The others were mentally healthy.

Participants took tests to identify depression and other mental health problems and also underwent MRI scans to identify changes in the brain related to emotional contagion.

The researchers found higher emotional contagion in those with mild mental impairment and Alzheimer's disease, compared with those who did not have these conditions.

This growth of emotional contagion paralleled the increase in damage to the right temporal lobe of the brain, reflecting biological changes in the neural system, the study found.

"The right temporal lobe is important for different aspects of emotion and social behavior," Sturm said.

Depression was also greater among those with mild mental impairment and Alzheimer's disease, the study found.

From a neurologist's perspective, "it is extraordinary that something so complex as emotional perception can be controlled by such a localized part of the brain," Gandy said.

"Also, classically it has been the frontal lobe damage that leads to emotional disturbance," Gandy added. "Now we know the temporal lobes can play similar roles."

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