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Can Someone Explain To Me How CVS Stores Are Still In Business?
May 09, 2024, 09:42 AM
PASigCan Someone Explain To Me How CVS Stores Are Still In Business?
Piggybacking off my Claritin post, I was halfway to work yesterday and realized I needed to take one and didn't have any on me and I knew I'd pass a CVS. Stopped in there and started getting sticker shock at the prices of their OTC meds. Brand name Claritin for $49.99 and $39.99 a package. CVS brand for $29.99 and $19.99 a package. I finally found a small package of CVS brand 10 tablets for $9.99.
WTH? I can get a bottle of like 30 or 40 tablets on Amazon for $7-8 and I know I could get that in the grocery store for much less too.
How are they staying in business? Is it the pharmacy business? I know they own Aetna as that is my (very crappy) HDHP employer health plan is through. What is keeping these stores open with these ludicrous prices?
They are making it somehow and I'm not sure how.
May 09, 2024, 09:46 AM
Rick LeeCVS would be dead to me except that the pharmacy at my local Fry's won't sell me Zyrtec D, says there's something wrong with my drivers license, which no one else has ever mentioned. Even went to Ralph's (same as Fry's or Kroger) in CA once, had the same issue, but they sold it to me after I showed my club card. CVS doesn't hassle me about that stuff, so when I really need it bad, I'll pay what they charge. Also, Fry's stopped taking CIGNA insurance and that's what I have now. So I go to CVS for scripts.
May 09, 2024, 09:49 AM
TRIOCVS is the LAST stop of all the drugstore choices. Only going if desperate.
May 09, 2024, 09:49 AM
HRKBecause people figure out they need the stuff at the last minute and the prices at Y'all Mart, Target and CVS are similar.
If you have a Costco Membership, a single box of 15 tables, 24hr is $4.49.
Now the laws prohibit you from buying enough for a whole month, much less 90 days, so the secret is to get your Primary Care Physician to send a script to your pharmacy for 90 days of it. They can then sell you 90 days worth of Claritin D, I do this at Costco, and keep it active, that way you don't have to go back to CVS every two weeks.
LinkMay 09, 2024, 09:50 AM
nhracecraftquote:
Can Someone Explain To Me How CVS Stores Are Still In Business?
Yes, EBT Cards...
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May 09, 2024, 09:50 AM
6gunsI bought Claritin once on Amazon several years ago and had a strong suspicion it was fake. Packaging did not look official. I'm not suggesting what you bought there wasn't, but I question my purchase then.
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May 09, 2024, 09:52 AM
Jimineerquote:
Originally posted by PASig:
Piggybacking off my Claritin post, I was halfway to work yesterday and realized I needed to take one and didn't have any on me and I knew I'd pass a CVS. Stopped in there and started getting sticker shock at the prices of their OTC meds. Brand name Claritin for $49.99 and $39.99 a package. CVS brand for $29.99 and $19.99 a package. I finally found a small package of CVS brand 10 tablets for $9.99.
WTH? I can get a bottle of like 30 or 40 tablets on Amazon for $7-8 and I know I could get that in the grocery store for much less too.
How are they staying in business? Is it the pharmacy business? I know they own Aetna as that is my (very crappy) HDHP employer health plan is through. What is keeping these stores open with these ludicrous prices?
They are making it somehow and I'm not sure how.
30 to 40 off brand OTC on Amazon maybe. I too suspect their pharmacy keeps them in business. Around me, they closed about half the locations in the past 8 months but they were everywhere. So they probably aren’t doing great. And many of their prescription drugs come from India and Asia.
May 09, 2024, 09:54 AM
PASigquote:
Originally posted by 6guns:
I bought Claritin once on Amazon several years ago and had a strong suspicion it was fake. Packaging did not look official. I'm not suggesting what you bought there wasn't, but I question my purchase then.
I think a lot of the generics from there come right from where they are manufactured and no middleman, in a lot of cases it's India.
I never buy the stuff that looks hinky. Most of what I get from Amazon is their own Amazon Basic Care line which so far has been good.
May 09, 2024, 10:03 AM
12131quote:
Originally posted by TRIO:
CVS is the LAST stop of all the drugstore choices. Only going if desperate.
Yep, same with Walgreens. Stores around here never have more than 5 cars in the parking lot. If you see 5, that's busy for them. Typically, it's 2 or 3 cars.
Q
May 09, 2024, 10:09 AM
ZSMICHAELYou need to keep up with healthcare mergers.
this week, the Justice Department blessed a $69 billion merger between pharmacy chain CVS and insurance giant Aetna. CVS also owns Caremark, one of the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which negotiate drug discounts on behalf of health plans. With another tie-up between a PBM and an insurance company—Express Scripts and Cigna—awaiting likely approval, this signals an almost formal merger between the PBM industry and the health-insurance industry.
lINK;
https://prospect.org/economy/a...=This%20week%2C%20thMay 09, 2024, 10:17 AM
ibandaApparently selling drugs at a huge markup is a good business. Yes, CVS is making it, #6 on the Fortune 500 list. Get mad and shop at Walgreens? Not much difference, they are #18.
CVS $140 Billion in profit for 2023. I will say I admire them for one thing, as a supposed health business they stopped selling cigarettes 5 years ago and surrendered $2 Billion a year in revenue.
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May 09, 2024, 10:38 AM
HRKquote:
Originally posted by PASig:
quote:
Originally posted by 6guns:
I bought Claritin once on Amazon several years ago and had a strong suspicion it was fake. Packaging did not look official. I'm not suggesting what you bought there wasn't, but I question my purchase then.
I think a lot of the generics from there come right from where they are manufactured and no middleman, in a lot of cases it's India.
I never buy the stuff that looks hinky. Most of what I get from Amazon is their own Amazon Basic Care line which so far has been good.
Possibly, but there are a lot of fakes on Amazon from Clothing, Electronics, Car Parts to Drugs.
Champion parts for example are heavily copied by the Chinese and fakes are sold all over Amazon, if you get a great price, you have to presume it's not the real deal.
Amazons in house stuff may be the real deal, but I'd be wary of getting stuff from others.
May 09, 2024, 10:39 AM
smschulzquote:
They are making it somehow and I'm not sure how.
Maybe it's because they sell your goods with a profit.
Selling products at a loss or low margin that don't cover overhead is better?
May 09, 2024, 10:40 AM
PASigquote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
You need to keep up with healthcare mergers.
Which is why I had this in my OP:
quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
I know they own Aetna as that is my (very crappy) HDHP employer health plan is through.
May 09, 2024, 10:50 AM
bendableWalgreens is the same deal.
Baffles me
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May 09, 2024, 10:53 AM
selogicWe used CVS for a while and the pharmacy dept. was a constant headache . When Walgreens became an option for us we couldn't change fast enough . Now that same CVS has gone to all self checkout so I don't stop there for anything .
May 09, 2024, 11:05 AM
markandPharmacist at a nearby CVS claims her store does more than $1 million in pharmacy sales alone every day. That's how they stay in business. That and high prices for everything else.
May 09, 2024, 11:12 AM
egregoreOne up the street from me
didn't stay in business, although I don't know the specific reason for its closing. It was vacant for ~9 months, then a new Dollar Tree opened in its place.
May 09, 2024, 11:19 AM
ZSMICHAELquote:
I know they own Aetna as that is my (very crappy) HDHP employer health plan is through.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yes, and as a consequence you must use CVS for your drugs.
BTW mail order is the cheapest.
May 09, 2024, 11:28 AM
PASigquote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
quote:
I know they own Aetna as that is my (very crappy) HDHP employer health plan is through.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yes, and as a consequence you must use CVS for your drugs.
Not true at all
I use my local supermarket (Giant) pharmacy