MI Attorney General Finds CVS Pharmacy in Grand Rapids Charging $140 for Flu Medicine
As this year's cold and flu season intensifies, many pharmacies are giving out free doses of flu medicine. But the Michigan Attorney General found that the CVS Pharmacy on Fuller Ave. in Grand Rapids, MI. is not only not giving away the medicine for free, it's charging more than any other pharmacy in the state it surveyed.In an undercover investigation, the Michigan Attorney General's Office surveyed 50 pharmacies across the state to see how much they charged for the flu treatment and prevention medicine Tamiflu. Among the Attorney General's findings: the CVS Pharmacy on Fuller Ave. in Grand Rapids charged $140 for medicine which many pharmacies have been giving away for free. That's more than any other pharmacy surveyed in Michigan. You can see the full results of the Attorney General's survey here.
"The high cost at some pharmacies of a drug that can save lives is disturbing," Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said in a statement. Attorneys General in Mississippi and Connecticut agree: both are investigating Tamiflu prices at pharmacies in their respective states.
Senator Christopher Dodd, who chairs the Senate health subcommittee on children and families, has asked for a federal investigation into pricing differences.
"Forcing some parents to pay three times the cost for medicine for their sick child during a national health crisis is deplorable," Dodd said in a statement. "Price gouging is never acceptable = but price gouging on Tamiflu endangers our children. If it's happening, it must be stopped, and it must be stopped now."
This isn't the first time customers have faced price issues at a CVS Pharmacy. The chain is the single most penalized retailer in Massachusetts for overcharging and other pricing violations. CVS has also been caught charging more than its advertised prices, as noted in a survey by the Chicago Department of Consumer Services. 54% of the CVS stores inspected by the agency in September 2007 were charging consumers more than items' advertised prices.
Prices for H1N1 drug Tamiflu vary widely for same dose [USA Today, 11/18/09]
AG probes varied prices of liquid Tamiflu at Michigan pharmacies [Detroit Free Press, 11/23/09]
Report Shows Some Parents Being Charged 3X More For Children's Medicine [Senator Christopher Dodd Press Release]
Posted by Alex G. on November 23, 2009, 5:59 PM
2 Comments
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CVS should be ashamed of itself. They should be investigated and prosecuted.
Excellent stuff.