Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart??? :: Saint John, NB - Health & Wellness

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  #1  
Old 03-03-2010
coffeegal coffeegal is offline
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Question Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

I just recently learned that Medivie Blue Cross will no longer be supporting the cost of prescriptions filled at Shoppers Drug Mart, starting as early as next week. Just wondering how many isaintjohn readers this affects, what your thoughts are and what you are planning to do for future prescriptions.
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  #2  
Old 03-03-2010
Piper Piper is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

We heard that today at work too. You will have to pay for your prescriptions up front and then be reimbursed. I'm not sure how long it takes to get your money back, but I'm sure this will affect a lot of people!
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  #3  
Old 03-03-2010
V6Nside V6Nside is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Just go to Lawtons, or Walmart or Zellers or Superstore or where ever, there are lots of other choices.
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  #4  
Old 03-03-2010
walter walter is offline
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Smile Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Shop elsewhere!

Yes - I encourage everyone to tell Shoppers that they are making quite enough $$$ from the HUGH mark up on prescription drugs, especially the generic brands. It's easy to switch your prescriptions elsewhere, but be sure the competition is not as greedy as Shoppers. MediTrust, doesn't accept the B/C cards either and they used to be the least expensive place to buy one's drugs.

Good Luck!

Quote:
Originally Posted by V6Nside View Post
Just go to Lawtons, or Walmart or Zellers or Superstore or where ever, there are lots of other choices.
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  #5  
Old 03-04-2010
Crystalbeach Crystalbeach is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

We've been using Shoppers for over 20 years...and now they have really peed me off...
we transferred all of our prescriptions to Superstore yesterday (6 in total)..it was very easy ..they did it for us..I will not shop there again......ever!
We are in a position that we could have paid for our drugs up front..but a major pain to drive every time out to east Saint John to get re-imbursed...
However, here in the north end ..there are three senior complexes and you have to know that most of these people do not have cars and it would be a major deal for them to go out to McAllister Drive...however Sobey's and Superstore have drug stores so there's no problem.

I believe that Shopper's have truly shot themselves in the foot...and it looks good on them!
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  #6  
Old 03-04-2010
oasis oasis is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Piper View Post
We heard that today at work too. You will have to pay for your prescriptions up front and then be reimbursed. I'm not sure how long it takes to get your money back, but I'm sure this will affect a lot of people!
Usually about 10 minutes, unless they are very busy. You just go to the Blue Cross office on Westmorland road, hand them your card and receipts. The girls there type it up then hand you a check.

Only problem there is not every one can get there that easy. Also Some drugs can run into quite a bit of $$. Even if you use the shoppers right next door, You still need to pay for it first. My wife is on one prescription, that I would have to fork out almost $700 for then go get my refund. Fine if you have the $700 to start with!

Most times I would not have enough to go get it!
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  #7  
Old 03-04-2010
demeter demeter is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

If I have refills of medication currently at Shoppers, how exactly do you have those switched to another drug store without having to go get another prescription?
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  #8  
Old 03-04-2010
fergiak fergiak is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

You just have the new drug store do it for you, no problem. It is done all the time. they will look after it for you, once you set up your new script account.
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  #9  
Old 03-04-2010
momof2sweethearts momof2sweethearts is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Yes it's very easy to switch drug stores. If you have a drug plan or even if you don't. The other stores will just put your info into their systems. Shoppers Drug mart has always been known for charging a lot more for prescriptions, even their dispensation fee is more than any other company. I don't like how the benefit companies are turning "american" in that they are really trying to get away with paying as little as possible, but still keeping their monthly plans the same but in this case I can understand. It was only a matter of time before that would happen. Superstore is cheaper, Zellers is pretty much the same and you get HBC points and Walmart is cheaper too, any of those places are fine and may only use generic brands but I'll let you in on a little secret, they are all the same (unless your dr specifically tells you non-generic) So overall you will save by not going to Shoppers for prescriptions, until of course they lose most of their customers and put their prices at reasonable rates
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  #10  
Old 03-04-2010
Lynn Doucette Lynn Doucette is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Shoppers Drug mart

No longer accepting Blue Cross coevrage. That really sucks, oh well their loss
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  #11  
Old 03-04-2010
Intrepid Intrepid is offline
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Lightbulb Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

From what I've read, some other pharmacies may also be doing this soon... so even if you switch, you may get the same situation later.

This CBC article has some info:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswi...pers-drugs.htm


Some of the comments are insightful... I found this one helped explain things:
_______________
For those of you concerned, it is not just Shoppers that is no longer accepting Blue Cross insurance cards, other independant pharmacies and chains such as Lawton's (also Sobey's, they're the same company) are in discussions with Blue Cross regarding the terms of the new agreement that Blue Cross tried to force on them at the beginning of February when their old contract expired. The New contract essentially says that Blue Cross will only pay the lowest available list price from anywhere in the country to a pharmacy. If this doesn't make sense, here's an example.

In Ontario, Furosemide 20mg may cost 5c/Tablet because that is the price the generic drug companies such as Apotex have agreed with the provincial government to charge for them.

In Nova Scotia however, the provincial government pays 10c/Tablet, so that is the price the drug companies charge the pharmacies to buy them.

Essentially, Blue Cross wants to pay pharmacies in Nova Scotia 5c/Tablet because it is the lowest cost available in Canada, even though the pharmacies are paying 10c/tablet for them. Therefore each prescription is a loss for them.

If you look up something called the "Locke Study" done in Newfoundland, it showed that pharmacies in Newfoundland operate at a profit margin of ~5% which means that getting all these cutbacks from insurance companies means that they could potentially end up losing money and having to close. This is OK somewhere where there are many pharmacies such as Halifax that can absorb the new customers to overcome the money loss, but in a small town where there is one independant pharmacy it could kill the pharmacy and cause the patients there to suffer.
_______________


So I understand why Shoppers wouldn't want to take a loss on some drugs like that.

At the same time, Medavie Blue Cross is a not-for-profit corporation, so they're at least not like those greedy HMO/insurance companies in the US. But it seems like instead of paying the lowest price from any province, Blue Cross should pay whatever price each province charges for pills/drugs.

But on a broader scale, I think the provinces should get together and use their collective power to bargain for better prices from drug companies, and then there could just be standard national prices.

Last edited by Intrepid; 03-04-2010 at 02:59 PM..
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  #12  
Old 03-04-2010
Crystalbeach Crystalbeach is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

In any event..I do not want to be a part of all this stuff..it was way easy to just switch and I have to say that staff at Millidgeville Market were very courteous and efficient.
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  #13  
Old 03-05-2010
Beechnut Beechnut is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

This is really more complicated than meets the eye.

Shoppers are a business and a business needs to make money to stay in business. Yes they are more expensive, but they are also open longer hours and on Sundays and Holidays.

Blue Cross is a "non-profit orginization" , which means they just give the extra profit they make to their CEO's or build a nice new building in Moncton, when they raise your premiums to help pay for it. Make no mistake. Blue Cross is all about the bottom line, just like any other business. In an effort to reduce costs they are offering a contract to the pharmacies that do not even reimburse the cost that the pharmacies have paid for the products.

Now assume you run a business and sell something for a certain price, that for years you have estabilished will pay for the product, expenses and a little profit. All of a sudden your clients have decided that they will buy it but only pay 80% of the price and you are forced to sell it to them at a loss. Every time. How can you afford to stay in business?

How would you like it if all of a sudden your employer tells you that he will only be paying you 80% of what you make now? You will not be able to survive, and neither will the drugstores (this is not just Shoppers's problem) . Staff will be let go, and you wil now have to wait longer to get your prescriptions, until smaller pharmacies close.

I am sure this will be worked out soon. If you can afford to pay up front and wait for the check, that will be supporting your regular pharmacy, that would be the best thing to do. If you choose to move to a different pharmacy, that is your choice, but you have to realize that everyone's Blue Cross contract will be up before the end of the year, and you will only have to do something else then.

And in response to the Momof2Sweetharts the less expensive drug stores like Zellers are less expensive because they are not open Sunday and Holidays. (Staff get paid extra on holidays etxc) not because they use generic drugs. Every insurance plan has a clause they they will only pay the least expensive price of a product. So when a generic is available they will only pay that price. Consumers don't like to pay the difference for the brand name, so most prescriptions are generic.

Last edited by Beechnut; 03-05-2010 at 02:58 PM..
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  #14  
Old 03-06-2010
Crystalbeach Crystalbeach is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Personally it has nothing to do with me if they choose to stay open longer hours..I prefer not to pay for that particular perk.
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  #15  
Old 03-06-2010
winmore winmore is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Blue Cross and Shoppers Drug have signed their contract.
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  #16  
Old 03-06-2010
andrea andrea is offline
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Talking Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

drugs

i just called..i have a special guy who needs lots of meds to make him better...
the man who answered the phone said they will be accepting the cards their ,,,nothing has changed that they have reached an agreement...
whhhewww...
my boys dad pays for their medical..and he would never pay me upfront to get a prescription,,nor would he have the money to pay me back..i would have changed
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  #17  
Old 03-06-2010
Crystalbeach Crystalbeach is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Well they lost me in the meantime..cause I did not like they way they handled their clients..
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  #18  
Old 03-08-2010
momof2sweethearts momof2sweethearts is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beechnut View Post
This is really more complicated than meets the eye.


And in response to the Momof2Sweetharts the less expensive drug stores like Zellers are less expensive because they are not open Sunday and Holidays. (Staff get paid extra on holidays etxc) not because they use generic drugs. Every insurance plan has a clause they they will only pay the least expensive price of a product. So when a generic is available they will only pay that price. Consumers don't like to pay the difference for the brand name, so most prescriptions are generic.
Yes I realize that Shoppers is open longer but only for the last couple years , but that also means they make more profit because people like me who normally get our prescriptions from less expensive stores are forced to go there if we need to during those times. I know a pharmacist personally and she told me not to go to Shoppers, and she worked all over so she didn't have anything against Shoppers, she wasn't a competitor, she just knew that from working in various pharmacies that they charged more and at that time we didn't have coverage. I honestly can't say that I agree with having to pay more for prescriptions at a store just because it is open longer, but that's jmo.
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  #19  
Old 03-08-2010
Beechnut Beechnut is offline
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Default Topic: Do you get your prescriptions at Shoppers Drug Mart???

Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2sweethearts View Post
Yes I realize that Shoppers is open longer but only for the last couple years , but that also means they make more profit because people like me who normally get our prescriptions from less expensive stores are forced to go there if we need to during those times. I know a pharmacist personally and she told me not to go to Shoppers, and she worked all over so she didn't have anything against Shoppers, she wasn't a competitor, she just knew that from working in various pharmacies that they charged more and at that time we didn't have coverage. I honestly can't say that I agree with having to pay more for prescriptions at a store just because it is open longer, but that's jmo.
I pay more for stuff I get at the corner store when the grocery store is closed. You are paying for the convenience.

You are lucky you live in a larger city where you have choice. In a small town with this Blue Cross contract independent pharmacies will close. The people will have no choice but to pay more.

And it just seems to be over. All they have done is agreed to let Shoppers bill until they get a contract.
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