Tools to Check Drug Costs

Tools to Check Drug Costs

By JONNELLE MARTE
Wall Street Journal

(See Clarification below .)

Online drug-comparison tools can help consumers research a drug's cost, including less-expensive alternatives, and any potential side effects.

Last month, AARP and Consumer Reports Health released an online tool, at drugsavings.aarp.org, that lists generic alternatives for brand-name drugs and estimates what the monthly costs would be for each option. (The prices quoted don't factor in health insurance.) The tool, which provides information from independent researchers, also lists a drug's common uses and side effects.

For example, the tool shows that a 20-milligram dose of the heartburn drug Nexium costs an average $248 a month, while the generic alternative Omeprazole has an average monthly cost of $19. A separate tab offers important information about this drug class.

Some health insurers offer tools that tell members how much a drug is likely to cost them under their specific plan.

For instance, Cigna's tool, at myCigna.com, lets you see your plan's price for a specific drug and if there's a price difference at pharmacies in your area. Humana offers similar tools, including one at humana-medicare.com that allows you to see what a specific drug costs under various Medicare drug plans. Both insurers let you search drugs by health conditions as well.

Be sure to discuss all options with your doctor before making medical decisions.

Write to Jonnelle Marte at jonnelle.marte@wsj.com

Clarification

The drug-comparison tool at drugsavings.aarp.org suggests Omeprazole as a generic alternative within the drug class of proton pump inhibitors. It isn't the generic drug for heartburn medication Nexium.

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