Argus Increases Medicare Rx Card Discounts, Has Lowest Price On Key Pfizer Drugs
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Argus has the lowest retail pharmacy prices for Lipitor, Celebrex, Bextra and Geodon after the first round of revisions to the Medicare card price comparison website. Lowest mail prices for many drugs are available through new entrant Envision Pharmaceutical Services.
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Argus' Medicare-endorsed drug discount card is the price leader on key Pfizer products after the first round of revisions to prices posted on CMS' price comparison website. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services first posted comparative drug prices for the cards April 29. Pricing revisions supplied by card sponsors were posted May 10; data will continue to be updated every Monday. Retail pharmacy prices available through the ArgusRx card dropped by $1.75 across the board on a one-month prescription compared to the previous week. The price reduction was enough to make Argus the lowest-cost retail option for Pfizer's Lipitor , Celebrex , Bextra and Geodon . For example, the lowest retail price previously offered on 30 capsules of Lipitor 40 mg was through WellPoint's PrecisionDiscounts card, at $96.42 (1 (Also see "Medicare Rx Card Comparison: WellPoint Offers Lowest Price On Lipitor" - Pink Sheet, 29 Apr, 2004.)). ArgusRx now offers the same prescription for $95.62, or 80¢ less. WellPoint continues to have an advantage with its free-of-charge enrollment; Argus charges $30. Argus administers Pfizer's Share Card drug assistance program for low-income patients, but is not involved in the manufacturer's Medicare-endorsed U Share card. HHS Secretary Thompson predicted that drug prices through the card program will continue to drop as sponsors compete to enroll Medicare beneficiaries (2 (Also see "Discount Card Drug Prices May Be Lower Than Those Posted On Medicare Website" - Pink Sheet, 3 May, 2004.)). Program discounts will start June 1. One card sponsor, Envision Pharmaceutical Services, for which information was not available on the Medicare website until May 10, is now offering the lowest prices through mail order for many products. The EnvisionRx Plus card is selling 90-day supplies of Lipitor 40 mg by mail for $252.41, almost $11 less than the next lowest competitor, the Pharmacy Care Alliance. Envision charges a $30 annual enrollment fee. - Scott Steinke |