Costco discounts Rx for uninsured
ISSAQUAH, Wash. —Costco is enrolling up to 5,000 new members per week in its Costco Member Prescription Program that gives uninsured members deep discounts on hundreds of prescription drugs.
The program launched at pharmacies last July and now is available in every state in the United States where Costco does business. “It’s kind of a unique program for our members who don’t have insurance,” said Costco vice president of pharmacy Vic Curtis. “We work with our manufacturers and are able to offer members a discount through savings passed on either from the manufacturer or, in Costco’s case, from within our own margins.”
To qualify for the program, customers need to be current Costco members and fill out a registration form confirming they don’t have insurance. To deliver the extra savings, Costco works with manufacturers to create a preferred drug list of branded and generic drugs that can be provided with a discount.
When filling a prescription for a program member, pharmacists check the list for the prescription or search for a similar less-expensive drug that serves the same need. “Our pharmacists have members check with their physicians to make sure a drug on the preferred list will work for them,” Curtis said.
Typical monthly savings on a 30-day supply of drugs is $15, but the savings vary. Curtis said the best example is a 30-day supply of Prevacid, which is available to program members for $101.17 at a cost savings of $49.58. On the lower end, members can save $7 on a one-month supply of Lunesta.
Costco expects to add more drugs to its preferred list as more pharmaceutical companies join the program. Costco will also begin adding signs in its pharmacies to let people know the program is available after giving it a soft launch last summer.
Curtis said Costco currently has 61,000 members in the program and hopes to enroll many more in the coming months. “Our goal is to eventually have 250,000 to 300,000 members enrolled in the program.”
Costco also announced plans to open a second central fill center this year in the city of Corona, Calif., that will help fill orders online and at dozens of pharmacies in Southern California. “We’re going to be working with AmerisourceBergen, and we hope to have it up and running by September,” said Costco senior vice president of pharmacy Charles Burnett.
He said the fill center in Corona—located about 40 miles east of Los Angeles—would fill prescriptions for about 40 warehouses in Southern California and as far away as Las Vegas.