Good to know.

to use the Costco pharmacy, unless that has changed. Where I live we are limited to Costco and Walmart for most things as the next shopping is 1 1/2 hours away. We all wear Costco clothes so it is hard to recognize anyone!!

Do you know about GoodRX and there is another one too. Check your drug prices with them too. I used them when I had a level 3 drug that was going to cost $300. GoodRX had it for $37.

We use GoodRx for one-off prescription, mostly (e.g antibiotics). The two exceptions are Ambien and an OTC allergy med insurance won't cover.

I create an excel spreadsheet during open enrollment every year comparing Costco to every plan available on a drug by drug basis (including mail order v. brick and mortar, find the total spend for the cheapest combination for each plan just to decide which plan. GoodRx isn't usually enough cheaper to make it worth it to add it to the spreadsheet. But when we make the first order for any med for the new year, we check GoodRx - and same thing for new prescriptions. Sometimes we get a surprise bonus. Yeah, I'm a bit obsessive about it.



The other different thing, although not really a surprise, is that only half of last year's plans still exist.

I was surprised at how much less variety the plans hsd this year. Only about $1000,from top to bottom.

You should check to see what your State's laws are on Pharmacies. Good Luck.

Was half what it was. I've been not using the plan because my script was cheaper using coupon on line.

That is what send to have changed significantly - the coupon prices/Costco prices are nearly the same as the insurance price - and using insurance ads to the out of pocket cap of $2000. So if your drug costs are anywhere near $2000 it may pay to buy through insurance. My spouse is right on the brink (and struggles to understand drug shopping . . . She just had two new prescriptions totaling about $1000 sent wherever the doctor had on file for other stuff - even though I've tried to drill it into her head that we have to shop every new prescription - fortunately she remembered in time for me to remove the credit card on file before they were shipped). For under $10 difference we'll just use insurance for everything for her this year

Last year, my dad moved from his home state to live near me, so 2023 was the first time I had to navigate the process. He's on a ton of meds, so it was helpful to take the time to enter all of them in the website to compare plans.

The plan I chose had a higher premium and higher deductible, but worked out to be cheaper overall by the end of the year, and the pharmacy we use was a preferred pharmacy. I had no issues.

For this year, I was given the choice to renew that plan or look at other options. I decided to see what else was out there, and boy was I in for a shock! Had I just selected the renew option, the cost would have been over $10,000! There have been no major drug changes.

I was able to find a plan that was similar to what we paid this year -- around $3500 for premiums and drugs for the year.

It makes me worry for the people that just renew without looking at options.

I check every single year. I've been on the same plan for 3 years now. My spouse has switched every year. Her savings this year by switching will be around $200. It was closer to $1000 last year.

They do two things regularly to keep profits high - changed the process for mid-range drugs(those between $150/year and $600/year),and move drugs to different tiers. The cheap drugs tend to stay the same from year to year. There's not usually much variation between plans for the high priced drugs - but those mid-range drugs vary tremendously from plan to plan, and from year to year within the same plan.

pharmacy and the cost savings are tremendous with the small business. I will be taking my higher priced drug prescriptions to them.

Not using your insurance (Costco member prices or GoodRX).

We don't have Mom and Pop stores around here, and preferred in network pharmacies are all within a couple of dollars of each other.