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April 14, 2010

Prescription acid reducers are EXPENSIVE (, , )

by fluffy at 7:11 PM
So I finally got a new scrip today, for Nexium (the purple pill), which my insurance was willing to cover. My cost after insurance was still $42 for a one month supply. The cost before insurance was $180! Zegerid looks like it costs over $200 for a one month supply. That's insane!

At least that costs me less than the (not at all effective anyway) OTC version ($20-$30/week depending on brand) but why does the prescription version cost three times as much for what is basically the same medicine plus a time-release capsule?

At least this is just a once-a-day pill. My prescription also only covers two more refills, so maybe the intent is that I take it for three months and then I'm done with it since supposedly the ulcer-causing bacterium will actually be gone by then, and my doctor will be able to suggest something else for maintaining the acid reflux.

Comments

#13029 04/14/2010 08:36 pm
Since Zegerid is a version of omeprazole, a generic, this is indeed a bit of a mystery. Maybe the time-release formulation is patented?
#13030 04/14/2010 10:02 pm
The specific thing that's different about Zegerid is that it's a time-release formula which also includes some sodium bicarbonate (i.e. baking soda) which modifies the absorption properties. I had been trying to get around this by taking one OTC Zegerid (which is 20mg and has the same amount of sodium bicarbonate as the prescription pills) and one OTC generic omeprazole (ostensibly time-released) but it obviously wasn't doing enough.