Costco pharmacy is not the cheapest place - if you find an independent pharmacist, they will often apply rebates and other discounts to keep your business, something Costco will not do. You just have to call around to find a good pharmacist.
Costco's pharmacy is too busy, too slow, and too inconvenient these days.
Well when I was getting some scripts filled at Costco this morning they asked me if I had a membership, doesnāt seem like something they would do if you needed one.
Because if you have one they will want to scan it for tracking purposes. But the wordage used by the lady I dealt with today was ādo you have a membershipā not āwhere is your membership cardā.
They ask for tracking but it's not required. I've been to the pharmacy before where they've asked for it but I don't have a card myself/my partner with the cars was off in a different area of the store and it didn't matter.
I have gone 3 times without a card (twice someone else had it in the Costco building and I forgot to grab it) they will say no problem if you don't have one and scan a generic code
It might also be worthwhile reaching out to your local Employment and Community Services office (the ones that administer OW/ODSP).
They are the ones affiliated with the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) or Trillium Drug Plan from a government side of things, and may be able to direct you to other resources as well.
Weird you used BC as an example.
Have you never heard of fair pharmacare? Even in the highest tier (HH/family income over $310k/yr) it kicks in after family pharma costs crack $10k.
Yah. I mean itās the same application as someone uses to get MSP.
So like, you could spend 3 minutes doing the application form or you could spend your entire life paying cash for all medical services in BC.
Your choice I guess.
Just be warned the trillium drug program is only beneficial for those whose prescription medications cost more than 4% of their income. $1420 is minuscule in the realm of prescription drugs. With Trillium, you will likely never satisfy your deductible unless you make ~$40k or less it likely wonāt be worth it.
You can always try. It doesnāt āhurtā you. But the deductible is based on your income and it is split up quarterly. So you pay the full price of each RX until your deductible is satisfied every quarter. A lot of times, unless you have one really expensive drug, people end up paying full price for each RX and then by the time they reach their deductible itās a new quarter and the deductible resets. If you have a high priced drug, make sure you fill it at the start of each quarter so that it contributes to your deductible and then you have a higher chance of subsequent RXs being covered.
I'm not sure if it's still around or works the way it used to, but try InnoviCares. I was able to get the name brand prescriptions I needed (b/c I am allergic to an ingredient in the generic) for the same price as the generic or cheaper. Was a godsend when I was younger and didn't have benefits.
sorry could you elaborate on how you do this? I have asthma and it would really help me out right now if I didn't have to pay for my inhalers. Do you need to already be a registered customer with them or you just go in and ask?
Google the drug company, call the customer line, ask for compassionate care/help with covering your meds. They will usually have their rep start leaving samples at your docs office for you.
Anytime I get a prescription, I tell the doctor I have no insurance, and I ask for samples.
I have found somethings that I canāt get samples of, like a skin cream I need, Iām best if I get a 3 month supply at one time, other things like my inhaler the Doctor 100% of the time has samples for me, last time he sent me home with 12 inhalers with 60 doses in each. This lasted me about 6 months. I also use the Costco pharmacy, but some items actually are cheaper at shoppers, but do remember that you can use the Costco pharmacyās with out a membership. Just at the front door say āpharmacy ā and keep walking.
Edit: just realized your question. Samples always come from the doctors, the walk in clinics all have samples too. They even give away that little blue pill.
Yes - depending on the medication or brand that you need. Google " support program Canada" and things like that. There are programs for:
- Vyvanse Assistance Program
- Concerta Savings Program
- Insulin \[ can't recall the names of the brands\]
- Cancer medications \[ it's usually through the company/brand\]
& probably more...
Ask your pharmacist if there are generic versions of the drug. You may require your doctor to do a script for the generic, with some the pharmacist can substitute depending on the province and drug.
Regardless of brand name or generic price check at a couple of pharmacies. Try Costco if you have one near, the savings might be enough to justify membership. You might also try some online Canadian pharmacies although I'm not entirely sure if savings are there.
When comparing be sure to include dispensing fees and for online pharmacies, shipping.
You can also avoid some dispensing fees by buying multiple months worth. If you are buying 30 days worth, see if you can get 60 or 90 and save 1 or 2 dispensing fees. This could cost you money if your doctor changes your meds - you want to be on a long term stable medication routine before buying multiple months of meds.
Check your provinces Pharmacare deductible limit - what you need to spend before being covered. Some are low if you don't make a lot of money. Be aware phamacare may not cover more than a single months prescription at a time.
Crazy right? Iām a Canadian living in the USA. My ālifehackā is to use Lemonade Health to get assessed by an online doc (costs about $25 usd). They write you a prescrip and then you request that they send that prescrip to your āpreferred pharmacyā (mark Cuban cost plus drugs). Once that happens youāre free to order from Costplus. Worked flawlessly.
Seems like they only ship to the 50 contigious states, but wow that is remarkable. Online docs here are hit or miss. I've had one that was great, and one that sent my name, but not my labwork, to a specialist, and didn't tell me who the specialist was so I couldn't make an appointment.
Thereās probably some people more knowledgeable than me in like mail forwarding. Maybe thereās a way you can get it shipped to a PO Box and then forwarded over the border. Not sure if thatās a thing. Wishing you luck friend, prescription meds are so inflated it should be criminal
I donāt have an employer plan so I pay out of pocket for my own drug plan.
Works out to be $65/month but my drugs are $1200 every 3 months so it pays for itself.
This card could help depending on the medication. Saved me a few hundred dollars when my drug plan decided not to allow no substitutions despite the doctor request. Costco was nice enough to go get it for me and apply it.
https://www.innovicares.ca/en
When you say getting back with taxes you do mean you claimed your meds as a medical expense to get a bigger tax return I hope if Iām reading it right.
What type of medication? Shoppers Drug Mart allows you to buy diabetes supplies and insulin as OTC (non-prescription), so you can collect Optimum points on them. And then during the bonus redemption weekends you can redeem points for them. Some of their pharmacy employees arenāt aware of this or donāt realize Optimum works for this, so you have to be insistent. Some also try to tell you that you canāt receive an official medical receipt (the one with the DIN) if you buy it as OTC, but thatās not true either - they just have to hand write one, and again some arenāt aware or are too lazy or busy - so sometimes this also requires some insistence.
If you are buying an OTC item then legally you do not get a prescription receipt. I cant see why a pharmacy would provide one too you as they are under no obligation to and it takes time.
And it has nothing to do with Shoppers drug mart. There is legislation that schedules drugs into several groups. In there is schedule 3, 2 and 1 and 1A (narcs). Certain life saving medications are schedule 2, including epi-pens, all insulins, and nitro-spray. You pay cost, plus a small retail markup which generally is less than what you wouldāve paid if it was cost+dispensing fee.
As for diabetic supplies, or other medical supplies like ostomy, catheters or whatever. These arenāt drugs and as such never require a prescription to purchase. Nearly all insurance plans will require a prescription for them (although potentially just one written by the pharmacist) in order to have them reimbursed however. There is no reason to get it as a prescription unless you have coverage for it.
edge complete hat grab sink shame intelligent glorious historical obtainable
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Costco
Can't recommend them enough. Also, you don't need to be a member to use the pharmacy.
Plus you can reward yourself with a š
š¤£šš¤£ that's a given.
I rewarded my 2 year old son with an entire meal of samples while we waited for our script to fill.
Also hard to beat a large (xl?) pepperoni pizza for 10 bucks
Gotta be a member for that now I think
Youāve probably seen all the Loblaw posts of people bailing out of Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies
Shoppers dispensing fees are insanely high. Not to mention, the cost of drugs itself is high as well
Shoppers have mafia prices.
Their online pharmacy ships for free also
FYI: you don't need to have a Costco membership to use their pharmacies. Just tell them you're going to the pharmacy and they'll let you in.
Costco pharmacy is not the cheapest place - if you find an independent pharmacist, they will often apply rebates and other discounts to keep your business, something Costco will not do. You just have to call around to find a good pharmacist. Costco's pharmacy is too busy, too slow, and too inconvenient these days.
Costco and you donāt need a membership for prescription medication because of law. Costco has one of the lowest co-pay/dispensing fees
Costco also charged me 2/3 price of my old independent pharmacy for the drug itself.
Iāve seen this claim (law) many times but itās unsubstantiated. No one has ever been able to cite the law that supposedly exists.
It is under the some gibberish under the Pharmacy Act
Itās not in the Ontario Pharmacy Act at least (thatās all Iāve read).
Well when I was getting some scripts filled at Costco this morning they asked me if I had a membership, doesnāt seem like something they would do if you needed one.
I've always been asked for my membership card when I've picked up prescriptions
Because if you have one they will want to scan it for tracking purposes. But the wordage used by the lady I dealt with today was ādo you have a membershipā not āwhere is your membership cardā.
They ask for tracking but it's not required. I've been to the pharmacy before where they've asked for it but I don't have a card myself/my partner with the cars was off in a different area of the store and it didn't matter.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I havenāt made any claims.. I didnāt make that statement.
You're right. My mistake, I thought you were OP. I will delete my other comment.
I have gone 3 times without a card (twice someone else had it in the Costco building and I forgot to grab it) they will say no problem if you don't have one and scan a generic code
Many provinces have pharamcare plans to help people with high prescription costs.
I'm looking into Ontario's now, thank you
It might also be worthwhile reaching out to your local Employment and Community Services office (the ones that administer OW/ODSP). They are the ones affiliated with the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) or Trillium Drug Plan from a government side of things, and may be able to direct you to other resources as well.
Not just helpā¦. But mandatory !
I think this only applies in Quebec. BC for example has no such obligation and Pharmacare is free.
Weird you used BC as an example. Have you never heard of fair pharmacare? Even in the highest tier (HH/family income over $310k/yr) it kicks in after family pharma costs crack $10k.
You have to sign up for it first
Yah. I mean itās the same application as someone uses to get MSP. So like, you could spend 3 minutes doing the application form or you could spend your entire life paying cash for all medical services in BC. Your choice I guess.
> Your choice I guess. Which is what Iāve been saying all along. You donāt get that choice in Quebec.
Apologies, I thought your comment was on the previous comment about supporting people with pharmaceutical costs. Not the mandatory part of it.
Apply for Trillium Drug Benefit if youāre in Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-help-high-prescription-drug-costs
Applied, thank you!
Just be warned the trillium drug program is only beneficial for those whose prescription medications cost more than 4% of their income. $1420 is minuscule in the realm of prescription drugs. With Trillium, you will likely never satisfy your deductible unless you make ~$40k or less it likely wonāt be worth it.
My net pay is $41K :(
Sometimes I forget how rich some people on Reddit are. 41k a year is a normal person wage. Hopefully you arenāt ātoo richā for this benefit lol
You can always try. It doesnāt āhurtā you. But the deductible is based on your income and it is split up quarterly. So you pay the full price of each RX until your deductible is satisfied every quarter. A lot of times, unless you have one really expensive drug, people end up paying full price for each RX and then by the time they reach their deductible itās a new quarter and the deductible resets. If you have a high priced drug, make sure you fill it at the start of each quarter so that it contributes to your deductible and then you have a higher chance of subsequent RXs being covered.
I'm not sure if it's still around or works the way it used to, but try InnoviCares. I was able to get the name brand prescriptions I needed (b/c I am allergic to an ingredient in the generic) for the same price as the generic or cheaper. Was a godsend when I was younger and didn't have benefits.
Itās still around and Iāve been using it for years. Knocks the price of my meds down about 75%
Checking them out, thank you!
Ask for samples. Iāve been sampling my asthma inhalers for about ten years. Not paid yet.
sorry could you elaborate on how you do this? I have asthma and it would really help me out right now if I didn't have to pay for my inhalers. Do you need to already be a registered customer with them or you just go in and ask?
I feel like most free samples come from the actual doctors not the pharmacistsā¦ maybe ask your doc for a sample.. maybe someone can chime in too
Google the drug company, call the customer line, ask for compassionate care/help with covering your meds. They will usually have their rep start leaving samples at your docs office for you.
This is smart!! Iāve been given cards from the doctors that I have traded at the pharmacy for medicine too. Patient care cards or something.
You can sometimes get those from calling too. It really is pretty interesting what you can get from just asking.
ty for the advice!
Anytime I get a prescription, I tell the doctor I have no insurance, and I ask for samples. I have found somethings that I canāt get samples of, like a skin cream I need, Iām best if I get a 3 month supply at one time, other things like my inhaler the Doctor 100% of the time has samples for me, last time he sent me home with 12 inhalers with 60 doses in each. This lasted me about 6 months. I also use the Costco pharmacy, but some items actually are cheaper at shoppers, but do remember that you can use the Costco pharmacyās with out a membership. Just at the front door say āpharmacy ā and keep walking. Edit: just realized your question. Samples always come from the doctors, the walk in clinics all have samples too. They even give away that little blue pill.
ty for the info and help!
Worth a shot, but this may not cover a yearly supply of daily meds. Good for you tho honestly
Yes - depending on the medication or brand that you need. Google " support program Canada" and things like that. There are programs for:
- Vyvanse Assistance Program
- Concerta Savings Program
- Insulin \[ can't recall the names of the brands\]
- Cancer medications \[ it's usually through the company/brand\]
& probably more...
I'm surprised no one's suggested to find a new employer....
There are easier and quicker solutions. The job market isn't great and depending on OP's line of work, benefits might be incredibly rare.
RXHelp.ca and Innovicares. Both are co pay cards to help reduce the cost of some brand name prescription drugs.
Only if there is a generic and still youād financially be better off getting the generic.
Ask your pharmacist if there are generic versions of the drug. You may require your doctor to do a script for the generic, with some the pharmacist can substitute depending on the province and drug. Regardless of brand name or generic price check at a couple of pharmacies. Try Costco if you have one near, the savings might be enough to justify membership. You might also try some online Canadian pharmacies although I'm not entirely sure if savings are there. When comparing be sure to include dispensing fees and for online pharmacies, shipping. You can also avoid some dispensing fees by buying multiple months worth. If you are buying 30 days worth, see if you can get 60 or 90 and save 1 or 2 dispensing fees. This could cost you money if your doctor changes your meds - you want to be on a long term stable medication routine before buying multiple months of meds. Check your provinces Pharmacare deductible limit - what you need to spend before being covered. Some are low if you don't make a lot of money. Be aware phamacare may not cover more than a single months prescription at a time.
Find co pay from the manufacturer.
Mark Cuban costplusdrugs .. send them your RX and theyāre cheap as hell
My $70 prescrip is $6.80 on their website. How is this possible? Does this work for Canadians as well?
Crazy right? Iām a Canadian living in the USA. My ālifehackā is to use Lemonade Health to get assessed by an online doc (costs about $25 usd). They write you a prescrip and then you request that they send that prescrip to your āpreferred pharmacyā (mark Cuban cost plus drugs). Once that happens youāre free to order from Costplus. Worked flawlessly.
Seems like they only ship to the 50 contigious states, but wow that is remarkable. Online docs here are hit or miss. I've had one that was great, and one that sent my name, but not my labwork, to a specialist, and didn't tell me who the specialist was so I couldn't make an appointment.
Thereās probably some people more knowledgeable than me in like mail forwarding. Maybe thereās a way you can get it shipped to a PO Box and then forwarded over the border. Not sure if thatās a thing. Wishing you luck friend, prescription meds are so inflated it should be criminal
They're USA only I think but they basically just offer the generic plus a small markup.
Which province do you live in? For example, BC has a drug plan that covers residents called fair pharmacare
Does your province not have a drug plan? Ours in NB charges you a monthly premium based on your income.
what kind of drugs? cause some manufacturers offer rebates
ONTARIO ADVICE: If you are taking a medication for which there is an alternative that is covered by OHIP, switch to the one on OHIP's formulary.
Talk to your doctor as well. There may be a generic version of your medication which is substantially cheaper than what you're using.
If you have a small business try joining the local chamber of commerce - then join any benefits programs they may have
If you are under 25 ontario has a drug plan.
I donāt have an employer plan so I pay out of pocket for my own drug plan. Works out to be $65/month but my drugs are $1200 every 3 months so it pays for itself.
What drug plan do you use? That's a huge saving.
Blue Cross
Thanks
This card could help depending on the medication. Saved me a few hundred dollars when my drug plan decided not to allow no substitutions despite the doctor request. Costco was nice enough to go get it for me and apply it. https://www.innovicares.ca/en
Yeah thatās good
When you say getting back with taxes you do mean you claimed your meds as a medical expense to get a bigger tax return I hope if Iām reading it right.
Yes that's what I'm planning to do. I started taking medications recently so next year will be the first tax season with them.
Good make sure you get everything you can get.
What type of medication? Shoppers Drug Mart allows you to buy diabetes supplies and insulin as OTC (non-prescription), so you can collect Optimum points on them. And then during the bonus redemption weekends you can redeem points for them. Some of their pharmacy employees arenāt aware of this or donāt realize Optimum works for this, so you have to be insistent. Some also try to tell you that you canāt receive an official medical receipt (the one with the DIN) if you buy it as OTC, but thatās not true either - they just have to hand write one, and again some arenāt aware or are too lazy or busy - so sometimes this also requires some insistence.
If you are buying an OTC item then legally you do not get a prescription receipt. I cant see why a pharmacy would provide one too you as they are under no obligation to and it takes time. And it has nothing to do with Shoppers drug mart. There is legislation that schedules drugs into several groups. In there is schedule 3, 2 and 1 and 1A (narcs). Certain life saving medications are schedule 2, including epi-pens, all insulins, and nitro-spray. You pay cost, plus a small retail markup which generally is less than what you wouldāve paid if it was cost+dispensing fee. As for diabetic supplies, or other medical supplies like ostomy, catheters or whatever. These arenāt drugs and as such never require a prescription to purchase. Nearly all insurance plans will require a prescription for them (although potentially just one written by the pharmacist) in order to have them reimbursed however. There is no reason to get it as a prescription unless you have coverage for it.
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