Have you compared what you are paying for your prescription drugs with competing drug stores? Probably not, because almost all pharmacies will not give you the cost "Until I check with your insurance." I asked for and was denied the cost of nasal spray once, and when the order was filled, I was presented with a $36.00 bill for nose spray. I told them they could keep it and bought some off the counter. A gay friend of mine was told after the prescription was filled at WalMart that he had to buy it. Wrong! (At right: a month's supple of PROZAC costs $1.16 at a Costco store but $18.72 at a Detroit WalMart and $46.69 at a CVS!)

Everyone has a similar story to tell. As if the high cost of pharmaceutical drugs were not high enough, the drug stores have conspired to keep us from shopping around by not telling the costs. You may think that they are all the same, but all drug stores are not equal. A news reporter has compared the wide variety of drugs in the Detroit area and posted his findings on line. If you want to see the difference and are ready for a shock, Click Here.

Maybe the best deal in prescription drugs in the US is at the super warehouse Costco stores where you can buy drugs without being a member often at a third to a half of the chain drug store prices. (Tell them at the door you are going to the Pharmacy, and you will have to pay by cash, check, debit card, or American Express -no other cards accepted.) You can also order your prescription drugs from Costco on line, but the price is considerably higher than store prices. but still better than most and delivered to you door. Again membership is not required.

Of course, the best price on drugs is to have a health insurance program that covers the cost of your prescriptions, but it does not look as if the US Congress (where every member is covered to the hilt) wants medical insurance for the people who put them in office.

(The above information can be verified on Snopes by Clicking Here.)