April 10, 2007 - 2:03pm
Why do people say ballpark estimate anyway, kinda weird when you think about it?
Anyway... I'm losing my health coverage on april 24th and I won't get it back for anywhere from 3-5 months. I'm covered under my fathers policy until im 19, but if i'm a full-time student--I'm covered till i'm 23. I'm going back to school this fall which will resume my coverage. Anyway I'm going to see if my doctor can write me a prescription for a large quantity of painkillers at a larger dose (eg. 240 oxycodone 10/325) since I could split them in half and get 480 doses out of it which would last me about 120 days, although 5mg of oxycodone wont do great for my relief it will help somewhat. But my question is if he gives me a prescription a few months from now to help me out, what are some of the full prices costs?
If anyone can give me an estimate on:
Hydrocodone 7.5mg
Oxycodone IR 5mg-15mg (with and without acetamiphen)
Oxycodone ER 10mg-20mg
Any help would be greatly appreciated, or if you have any other ideas as to what I could do in this situation I'd love to hear it.
Thanks
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Tuna
April 10, 2007 - 10:40pm
#2
Your dr. can also post date
Your dr. can also post date prescriptions instead of writing for a larger one to begin with although that doesnt help your insurance problem. I would suggest using costco/price club or another wholesaler. Even wal-mart might be ok. I would suggest trying to go without the ER meds for a few months as especially with the oxycontin generics going fast it will have a hefty pricetag. And with your hydrocodone 7.5, that depends on the apap ratio as vicodin ES tends to cost less that norco, lortab, etc. Here is what I have come up with based on costco prices which many other pharmacies will match.(NOT walgreens, but major grocery stores, mom and pop apothecaries, etc.)
Norco 7.5/325 50 tabs=$23.55 200 tabs=$60.59 (mallinckrodt)
Lortab 7.5/500 50 tabs=$21.69 200 tabs=$90.70 (watson)
Vicodin ES 7.5/750 50 tabs=$15.30 200 tabs=$46.77 (mallinckrodt)
oxycodone IR 5mg tablets(costco does not stock capsules and will fill any 5mg oxy rx with tablets) 50 tabs=$10.97 200 tabs=$39.15 (mallinckrodt)
percocet 5/325 50 tabs=$11.69 200 tabs=$42.71 (mallinckrodt)
percocet 10/325 50 tabs=$29.87 200 tabs=$108.43 (mallinckrodt)
and last but not least
oxycontin (going with brand as gnereic supplies are depleting quickly) 10mg 60 tabs (1 month at BID dosing) is $122.59 180 tabs (3 mos. @ BID dosing) $296.13 (Purdue)
oxycontin 20mg 60 tabs=$127.77 180 tabs=$337.52 (purdue)
So, as you can see, prices can vary greatly depending on the pharmacy and even what part of the country/world you are in. Costco is generally the cheapest around Portland, OR (wal-mart beats em with the $4 generics but none of those are narcotics) Costco does not carry 15 and 30mg oxycodone IR tablets however they are also fairly inexpensive but are hard to find. Most pharmacies will just give you the 5mg IR tablet and times the amount by 3 or 6, depending on whether it is the 15 or 30mg tablet, or unless you objects to taking your meds this way. (I once had an rx for #60 30mg oxy IR and ended up with 360 5mg oxy IR tablets with the instructions of taking 3 to 6 at once. (1/2-1 30 mg tablet)
Also, I think if you are 19, you can be on your parents insurance before school starts and should be covered. I know I was covered by my parents health insurance till I turned 23 (was a student about half the time) and am even now on an extention of the plan called a cobra policy. You should be covered regardless if you were on the same insurance plan before you turned 18. Keep going to your dr. and the pharmacy and I'll bet you will keep getting coverage, or at least I did. They can always re-bill stuff too. I would call your ins. co and inquire a little more about this, especially if you are only 19. Do youi live with your parents? If so, you definitely qualify, student or not. Well, sorry to ramble but best of luck with your insurance and getting the meds you need. I just wanted to give you the above prices to show a comparison of available meds and that they are much cheaper at a non walgreens type pharmacy like Costco or wal-mart. Alberstons/Sav-On pharmacy is awesome also and will always match any other pharmacies price and are extremely quick, if there is one in your neighborhood. Good luck with school as well and dont let pain dter you from being a successful student.
Feel free to private message me if you ever want to chat or want to talk about something not on the forum.
JeckPDX
April 10, 2007 - 11:17pm
#3
Thanks for the great
Thanks for the great responses!
@gtrplayr, I meant my doctor writing a big prescription for just one of the mentioned drugs. If I asked him for a giant script for all of those he'd probley kick me out of his office ;D, typically he writes me smaller size prescriptions for my medication (2 week supply or so)... dunno why he doesn't just give me a months worth. But, I am afraid of him writing a script for 240 10/325s would raise a red flag with my insurance company and they'll give my doc or me a hassle about it. Thanks for the prices/links
@jeckpdx, I am 100% sure I'm going to lose my coverage when I turn 19 I received a letter from my insurance company telling me I'd be losing it at the end of this month. I also did get a letter in regards to COBRA but it's something like 370 dollars a month to continue my coverage, and that isn't quite affordable for me. I'll make sure to bring up the subject of post dated prescriptions with my doc, he's pretty reasonable so I think he'll work with me.
Anyway, I just got switched to oxycodone IR 5/325 about a week ago which is good since that looks like one of the more affordable pain medications so my doc should work with me on continuing that or oxy IR w/ no acetamiphen. Again, thanks for all the help and looking into this subject for me, it's greatly appreciated.
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Tuna
April 11, 2007 - 11:07am
#4
Many times if you talk with
Many times if you talk with the right person at the ins. co., you can pull some strings, and/or go through some loopholes to extend your coverage a little longer. Are you not a studenmt right now or within the past year? Are you living with your parent(s) currently? Who is your insurance provider? It is always worth trying to talk to them as youll be suprised of the results on occasion. As for your dr. I know my ins. co has a voluntary half tablet program so if you are taking 5/325 percocet, ask your dr. about writing for the same number of a 10/325 or 10/650 percocet tablet. If you can get him to do a months rx, than this would give you a two month supply. Make sure and let the dr. know you will be losing your rx coverage so this way you can aviod paying cash prices and can get your meds cheaper. On the flipside, if your ins. wont be paying for this rx at all, I would avoid the 10mg percocet tablets as they tend to be much more expensive than the 5/325 regardless where you go, unsure as to why. For example 90 5/325 percocet (mallinckrodt generic) cost$27.62 @ costco with 180 going for $53.52. However 90 tablets of the 10/325 is $66.76 and $74.31 for the 10/650 so it would be cheaper to stay with the 5mg unless you are just paying a co-pay and then it shouldnt matter much as they will all cost the same theoretically (all ins. co's work differently) Best of luck!
JeckPDX
April 25, 2007 - 1:00pm
#5
I know this thread is old
I know this thread is old now but I justed wanted to post a follow up, I got my employer to continue me under COBRA for the next 3-4 months for 309 a month, which is pretty amazing considering I work at a 7-eleven and the owner is paying the 309 out of pocket, it looks like I'll be out of coverage for about 4 days now rather than 4 months, yay.
Anyway, my script is due today (hopefully they don't hassle me this time) and I will have to pay that out of pocket, no big deal. I called the CVS down the street, $17 for 30 junky mallinkrodt 5/325s, called the "mom and pop" pharmacy near my work where i usually get my perc's since they are the only ones that don't carry mallinkrocdt, $12 for 30 endo's..... I can manage that ;D
Anyway, just wanted to post a follow up. There's a alot of prices here, perhaps I should try and get some more and we can make a table of some kind? This seems like very useful information.
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Tuna
April 25, 2007 - 1:59pm
#6
for people who do not have
for people who do not have prescription coverage united states pharmaceutical group offers a discount card that will save you money on your prescriptions. i saved a lot of money with this card when i did not have insurance. for example 60 soma's cost me $10.
Depends on which pharmacy you use.
And, are you talking about 240 pills of each of the medications?
That being said, don't be surprised if your doctor is hesitant to grant this request.
We can find out, ballpark estimates, how much each of the meds is going to cost you let us know if you use a big chain drug store, or a little mom & pop store.
I can tell you, without looking it up right now, that the ER medication is definitely going to be expensive without insurance. Even at the 20mg dose, you're going to be looking at a hefty price. The 7.5 hydrocodone tablets, as well as the oxycodone w/acetminophen might be a little cheaper. As for the oxyIR, it is probably going to be expensive as well.
Using Walgreen's (sorry everybody) price per 30 as an indicator the prices I show are the following.
Hydrocodone 7.5/650 30ct =42.19, total for #240 would be 337.52.
Oxycodone 5/500 per 60= $48.99 total for #240 would be $195.96
Oxycodone 5mg per 60 = $18.99 total for #240 would be $75.96
Oxycontin 20mg per 60 = $208.99 total for #240 would be $835.96
OxyIR capsules, 5mg per 60 = $30.99 total for #240 would be 123.96
Keep in mind, that as the quantity goes up, the price may not necessarily go up at the same rate. For instance, looking at the oxycodone 5mg (non apap) for $75.95 for #240 seems extremely low.
I hope this helps. If you go to Wallgreens.com and go to the DrugInfo search you can find a lot of this at cost information.
Gtrplayer