does it matter which pharmacy i use (especially if I have Aetna insurance)?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if costs are lower if I used CVS for my aetna insurance instead of safeway. I heard aetna has some deal with CVS and was wondering if it would affect the cost of prescriptions.

[Anonymous]

Yes, absolutely it matters. CVS and Walgreens and WalMart and Costco all could have different prices for your drug. It’s hard to figure out in advance how much places will charge, but in my experience Costco is the best, Walgreens has been less than CVS and the grocery stores are more expensive than other places.

The system is broken.

[Anonymous]

Avoid CVS. It's terrible across the board.

[Anonymous]

Does your insurance company have an online calculator? I have CareFirst and can actually look up my cost by pharmacy, whether it’s part of the plan formulary, etc. If you can’t find one, you could also call your plan’s customer line and they may be able to help you.

[Anonymous]

Cvs bought Aetna/. Some plans they offer require use of cvs but the vast majority do not. Some require use of cvs mail after 90 days are filled. Some not.
The drugs won’t be cheaper. Still, prices can vary store to store so it makes sense to shop around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Avoid CVS. It's terrible across the board.

CVS is great for me. Picked up an that was $45 per insurance and CVs used a code that brought it down to $19.

[Anonymous]

Picked up an RX two days ago*

[Anonymous]

If CareMark is your PBM, then I would use CVS. You get the same price as home delivery with the speed of retail. You also can get free delivery from the CVS store. So I pay home delivery prices and get same day delivery. It’s awesome!

As far as cost goes, if your using insurance you’ll pay the same amount retail everywhere EXCEPT if the cost of the script is lower than your script copay. For me, it’s not worth telling the dr to send med A to pharm A and med b to phar B and then for me to run all over town to save a few dollars. The max I pay for a formulary 90 day supply is $20 so YMMV.

[Anonymous]

It probably depends on your prescription plan. You can look up prices across different pharmacies through good RX.

[Anonymous]

Use GoodRx to check prices - often CVS is really high and Safeway is much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering if costs are lower if I used CVS for my aetna insurance instead of safeway. I heard aetna has some deal with CVS and was wondering if it would affect the cost of prescriptions.

Yes it matters. I was getting Rx at HT and it was 9 per refill. Its 3 at Walgreens.