No. of Recommendations: 1
There have been innovations in the way that I can compare prices across multiple retailers for any product, but those are general to retail and not limited to drugs. Forty years ago I couldn't compare name brands to generics across mail order and retail stores
I have been buying prescriptions for myself for over 50 yrs. I was able to compare prices because I live in MN--which has a vigorous and highly competitive market. How competitive? Costco tried to set up their first Minnesota store near where I lived--in Minneapolis (late 70s or early 80s, I forget which). I checked it out because it was new. However, Costco was forced to close after a year or two because numerous competing retailers and grocery stores ran specials all the time--either meeting or beating Costco prices. That was not atypical for us because there are (or were) a LOT of companies in the various food markets and they ALL wanted a piece of the action. Sam's Club was in suburbia in the 1990s--but not in any city. Costco came back and was successful. The one Walmart in St Paul closed a few years ago. But they are successful in suburbia. I get deliveries from them.
Regarding drugs, the market used to be essentially two types of sellers. One was serving the relative short-term needs of most people--so Walgreens, CVS, and other traditional pharmacies. The other was serving primarily long-term customers who bought a variety of products based on price because that was their way to save money. I bought one drug from Walgreens because I bought a year-plus's supply at one time (400 tablets). Got it for $30. My doctor had no problems issuing such a prescription. In the late 1990s, the bulk resellers were acquired and shut down by various large pharmacies. The death knell for them was the 2003 Medicare reform under GWB. Bulk buying was essentially no longer available. Having drug purchases modestly subsidized by the govt eliminated the ability to buy from a "specialty" pharmacy because it would NOT be included in any network. They undercut the cost of other pharmacies, so they had to be OUT of the network. They closed. Both Amazon and Mark Cuban don't want to touch it unless they choose to only do it within the network. They will NOT challenge the market.
