Sam’s Club Pharmacies Offer Great Savings on Prescription Drugs
I discovered the prescription drug savings at Sam’s Club pharmacies completely by accident.
While I have a few prescriptions I take regularly, it wasn’t until my dog, Abby, needed a potentially life-saving drug that I found what a deal Sam’s Club offers on many prescription drugs.
Abby’s hospital stay complete, the doctor asked to which pharmacy we’d like Abby’s prescription sent since the hospital didn’t stock the pill form of the drug she’d been given.
Not knowing any better, and needing the prescription quickly, we had it sent to the local CVS.
The next morning when I picked up the prescription, I was the one feeling ill when the bill came to $175 for 22 days of meds.
Considering she would need to be on these pills at least a few months, if not much longer, that price was not an option.
As soon as I got home, I started researching less expensive alternatives.
I checked Walmart, and a “discount” drug store in the area and both were roughly $200 for a month’s supply.
It was then that I thought of Sam’s Club, and checked the website.
Sam’s Club Pharmacy Savings
I was amazed when I found a prescription drug list that showed the drug I had just purchased at CVS for $175, pricing at $10 per 30 pills!
Not completely trusting the listing I was looking at, I called the closest Sam’s Club pharmacy and was assured that the price I saw was correct.
The catch – which really isn’t a catch considering the significant price differential – you have to be a Sam’s Plus Member to get the significantly reduced pricing.
A Sam’s Plus Membership is $100 per year and provides a few additional benefits over the Sam’s Saving Membership ($45 per year), the biggest of which – in my opinion – is the preferred prescription drug pricing.
Additionally, Sam’s Plus Members have 5 prescription drugs available to them, free of charge. Those prescription are:
- Donepezil
- Pioglitazone
- Escitalopram
- Finasteride
- Vitamin D2 50,000IU
If you take any of those medications, and pay anything for them, I would venture to say a Sam’s Club Plus Membership would easily pay for itself.
Here’s the link to the Sam’s Club Plus Members drug listing.
Take a few minutes to scan the listing to see if the Sam’s Club drug pricing compares favorably to what you’re currently paying.
And then see if it makes sense to switch to the Sam’s Club pharmacy, even with the $100 annual membership fee.
Once I saw the savings I could get for Abby’s meds, I checked my own prescriptions and found I could save there as well. On one prescription, the savings will amount to almost $400 per year.
Which brings me to another point. If your specific medication/dosage isn’t listed, call the Sam’s Club pharmacy and ask to check that drug’s pricing. While it may not be the low $4 or $10 per 30 pills pricing, it still may beat the price you’re paying now.
That was the case for the prescription on which I’ll save roughly $400 over the course of a year.
Prescription Drug Price Comparisons
Here’s a look at Sam’s Club Plus Membership pricing for a few of the most commonly prescribed medications.
- Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) $10 per 30 pills
- Clopidogrel (generic Plavix) $10 per 30 pills
- Omeprazole (generic Prilosec) $4 or $10 per 30 pills
- Amoxicillin $4
A while back I wrote a piece titled, “Can Blink Health Lower Your Prescription Drug Costs?” in which I looked at the web-based business, blinkhealth.com, that negotiates drug pricing to achieve overall savings.
As a quick comparison, here’s how Sam’s Club Plus drug pricing compares to Blink Health’s.
Atorvastatin 40 mg – 30 tablets
Blink: $11.29
Sam’s Club: $10.00
Clopidogrel 75 mg – 30 tablets
Blink: $11.00
Sam’s Club: $10.00
Omeprazole 20 mg – 30 capsules
Blink: $6.94
Sam’s Club: $4.00
Amoxicillin 875 mg – 20 tablets
Blink: $11.41
Sam’s Club: $4.00
As you can see, both offer very competitive prescription drug pricing.
Sam’s Club beats Blink Health’s pricing for each of the listed prescriptions, but not by much.
If you pay for your prescriptions out-of-pocket, out of a Health Savings Account, or even through a health insurance policy with poor prescription drug coverage, either would be a good option to consider.
Wrap Up and an Option to Save Even More
Of course, as with most things, it’s best to shop around.
Which is exactly how I came to find the significant savings Sam’s Club pharmacies have to offer.
And, I would be remiss, if I didn’t mention that occasionally, deals can be found on Sam’s Club memberships.
In fact, in our recent post, “Big Savings Deals at Sam’s Club, Walmart and Chipotle,” we passed along a Groupon deal that provides a Sam’s Club Plus Membership for only $45!
The Groupon deal appears to still be available, so if you find Sam’s Club can save you on your prescription drug costs, you may want to jump on that $45 Sam’s Club Plus Membership package deal and save yourself $55 on your first year’s membership.
Prescription drugs can be outrageously expensive. But, there are options to lower those costs, and, hopefully, the information we’ve provided will help you to do exactly that.
Were you able to lower your drug costs with either Sam’s Club or Blink Health? Or, are you aware of other prescription drug money saving options that could help Savings Beagle readers with their health care costs? Please share in the comment section below.
image courtesy of SamClub.com
