Medicare cards: No match for online prices

The Medicare-approved drug discount cards introduced on June 1 promise lower prices on prescription medications. But you can get a better deal by shopping online.

We compared the cost of five prescription drugs (which were among the top sellers last year) in five cities--Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, and San Bernardino, Calif.--on one day in mid-May 2004. We checked prices from all the discount-card programs in each city and at the www.costco.com and www.drugstore.com Web sites. San Bernardino had seven cards available; the other locations, about three dozen each.

As the table below shows, discount cards often had much higher prices. Except for the price paid for Prevacid, the Medicare cards’ average prices were invariably higher than those of the Web sites. Even the lowest discount-card prices we found were usually only $1 to $3 better for 30 tablets than those at the online outlets. The online sellers do have modest shipping charges: $1.50 at Drugstore.com and $2 at Costco.com.

Another consideration: Some Medicare discount cards are free; others have an annual fee of as much as $30.

Before you or any family members sign up for a Medicare drug-discount card, do some comparison shopping. Go to www.medicare.gov , or call 800-633-4227, and then check prices at www.drugstore.com and www.costco.com .

The bottom line. Pinning down discounts can be difficult because each Medicare discount-card provider can change its prices as often as once a week. Your best strategy might be to seek a Medicare card with no annual fee, compare prices often for the costliest drugs you take, and then buy from whatever vendor is cheapest when you need more of the medication.


Where the deals are

How Medicare drug-discount cards compare with two major online discount pharmacy chains. Listed in order of increasing price.