Executive Summary
In January and February of 2004, researchers from the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) examined pharmacies’ compliance with New York State’s prescription drug disclosure law. Our surveyors were also compiling data to examine the range of prices of ten of the state’s most popular prescriptions.
NYPIRG surveyors went to 100 pharmacies located in seven regions of the state to determine how easily New Yorkers could access required prescription prices. We found that New York State’s new law for allowing consumers to comparison shop is problematic. It requires that pharmacies give consumers pricing information upon request. While many pharmacists were cooperative and helpful, our surveyors found some pharmacists would not grant them access to price information. We also found a wide range in prices for the same drug. Yet, for consumers to benefit, they must travel from pharmacy to pharmacy to obtain these price lists – too cumbersome a requirement. Clearly, New York State is right to require that consumers have access to drug prices, unfortunately that law needs to be more consumer-friendly.
Findings:
Many pharmacies are not making it easy for consumers to get price information. In one third of the cases, our surveyors were unable to obtain price lists as required by state law. In addition, in nearly 40 percent of the cases, posting of a sign that indicates the availability of the price lists were not seen.
There is a huge range in prices. In all parts of the state there were wide variations in price. In New York City , for example, there was a $57 price difference for Zithromax!
Recommendation:
The State Education Department should post pharmacy prices on its website. New York State already believes that it is important for the public to have access to pricing information to shop smart for prescription drugs. The State Education Department (SED) should not only require that pharmacies maintain the current list of drug prices, but that they be required to send them electronically to the Department. The SED should post a compendium of individual pharmacy pricing information on its website in a user-friendly format. In addition, the current requirement that the pharmacy must alert consumers to the availability of this information should be amended to include notice of the SED’s prescription drug price web site address. Internet posting of comparative prescription drug pricing information can help consumers save money quickly and easily.