Generic Losartan is now available! Great News!

[Maryka]

I just got my pills renewed for the month and, just as Dr. Hal Dietz had told me at the conference awhile back, it has a GENERIC VERSION! My lousy health care plan (I am on COBRA and have little choice) covered every single one of my drugs now that they are all generic. There was no charge for my big bag of medications. What a relief! Last month the charge was something like $129. Two months ago, when I took the Losartan variety (Cozaar) that combines Losartan with a diuretic the charge was in the $300 range--none of it covered by my lousy insurance. (I now have a separate prescription for a generic diuretic which, of course, is free.)

In case anyone has forgotten, Losartan seems to stop the growth of aneurysms, among other good things. People with connective tissue problems are now taking it, even if they do not have high blood pressure, to slow or reverse the growth of aneurysms.

 

[Ross]

What's wrong with this picture?

Cozaar - 100mg Tablets
Quantity Our Price
90 tablets $279.33 - save 13% ($41.18)

Losartan Potassium - 100mg Tablets
Quantity Our Price
90 tablets $259.97 - save 10% ($28.49)

 

[Maryka]

I am confused by your pricing summary of costs. Where did you get the little chart? (For instance, when it says "our price" whose price is "our price"?)

My pretty-bad COBRA health plan told me to use "CVS pharmacy" which I did, despite some very bad experience with them years ago. So, the outrageous Hyzaar prices they charged me were either based on the questionable CVS scale or on my crummy health-care I got on COBRA or a combinationof both. My regular internist was the one who thought Hyzaar would be a cool choice instead of the Cozaar I had been on for awhile. The old health plans and old pharmacy did not charge much more for Hyzaar. But CVS was the one that went over-the-top. (When I was saying $300 for Hyzaar, the the way, I was talking about 90 days and I had rounded up to the $300 from somewhere in the upper 200's--similar to your cryptic-to-me previous posting.) Then, I got my cardiologist to change my RX to Cozaar with a second RX for generic diuretic. I had switched my RXs to every 30 days after the staggering approx. $300 charge on the previous order, so the Cozaar plus generic diuretic still cost me a staggering $129 for 30 days, as I recall. Then this month, there was no charge at all for my many RXs because Cozaar had a generic version.

So, what were you trying to say, Ross? That Cozaar and Hyzaar should cost different amounts? That whatever pharmacy you were quoting is still charging as much for the generic version of Cozaar? Or maybe CVS finally figured out they had been grossly overcharging me all along (which I can agree with, believe me.) My brain is turning to mush, Ross. You probably need to repeat your entry with all of the details included, so I can understand what you are saying.

 

[Maryka]

I have been trying to figure out what you were trying to say, Ross. My brain is probably a little clearer now...perhaps. You were saying that YOUR pharmacy's listed cost for the new generic was only a little below the old non-generic Losartan?

Other possible explanation for my free RX: My health-care plan agrees to pay for any generic version of a drug that a physician has prescribed? (Or as I said in the previous email, good old CVS decided they had been overcharging me all along and is finally cutting me a break???)

 

[BarbJean]

Maryka, I was glad to see your post. My son, Colin, is going to begin taking the Losartan, in addition to his betablocker today. He will be going on COBRA in a month. We have Empire Blue Cross so I don't think we would have had a problem not using the generic, but I will see when I go to pick it up today. His COBRA is going to cost over $600 a month. If only the part of the new health care bill, kids can stay on parents until 26, would kick in soon. The monthly payment will really hit us hard, but we have no alternative. Insurance issues scare the heck out of me. Thanks for the info.

 

[Ross]

www.drugstore.com

I'm trying to understand why brand and generic are nearly the same price. Haven't been able to determine if the manufacturer is generic branding along with their name brand.