inflation and prescription drug prices in 2023/WALGREENS

There's been much talk by the government and in the media about inflation in 2023. Much of it has been about gas and food prices. I did an analysis (by quarter) of the price of my prescriptions from our local Walgreen's in 2023.

DATE NAME NUMBER WALGREEN PRICE DIFF DIFF CARD

3/23/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $8.53 - - SINGLECARE

3/23/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $15.39 - - GOODRX

3/23/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $53.95 - - GOODRX

3/23/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $34.80 - - SINGLECARE

3/23/23 TOTAL $112.67 - -

6/25/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $43.16 $8.36 24% SINGLECARE

6/25/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $15.39 $0.00 0% GOODRX

6/25/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $11.67 $3.14 37% SINGLECARE

6/25/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $53.95 $0.00 0% GOODRX

6/25/23 TOTAL $124.17 $11.50 10%

9/21/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $33.31 -$9.85 -18% GOODRX

9/21/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $16.44 $4.77 41% SINGLECARE

9/21/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $25.39 $10.00 65% GOODRX

9/21/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $44.59 $1.43 3% SINGLECARE

9/21/23 TOTAL $119.73 -$4.44 -4%

12/18/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $43.37 -$1.22 -3% SINGLECARE

12/18/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $31.91 $6.52 26% GOODRX

12/18/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $15.13 -$1.31 -8% SINGLECARE

12/18/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $54.25 $20.94 63% GOODRX

12/18/23 TOTAL $144.66 $24.93 21%

1st QUARTER $112.67

4th QUARTER $144.66

INCREASE $31.99 28%

The SAME 4 prescription medicines increased from $112.67 in March to $144.66 in December--+$31.99 (+28%)!!! In the last quarter alone, the price of Atorvastatin rose a whopping +$20.94 (63%) from $33.31 to $54.25--IN JUST 3 MONTHS!!!! 

Another area of double-digit inflation is taxes. But, you never hear the media or the government talking about double-digit increases in local taxes and assessments. They'd rather talk about the gas and food prices.

According to the Biden administration inflation is under control. 

YEAH, RIGHT!!!

Balneol/Amazon

Recently I received an order that I placed with Amazon for three 3-oz. containers of Balneol lotion. The containers were in a sealed envelope that was leaking inside a small sealed box. The sealed box also contained two large plastic bubbles, one of which was deflated. When I opened the leaking bag, a large amount of the product had leaked out of the containers. WHAT A MESS!!!

Balneol used to come in containers with leakproof caps. Besides being leakproof, the smaller hole for dispensing the product was easier with the old caps. 

There's an old saying: "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it."

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attribution: Cäsium137 (T.)Template from chris, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Later we got a threatening email from Amazon--an email that you can't reply to. The email threatened to charge our credit card for not returning the Balneol mess! RETURN IT?!? We told the Amazon representative that Balneol had leaked from all three containers and was unusable and nonreturnable!!!

Amazon made it impossible to talk with an Amazon employee about this problem. Why? Because it's a scam! Amazon doesn't want to hear about their and their suppliers screw-ups! They'd rather have the customer pay for them!!! as if Jeff Bezos doesn't have enough $$$$$!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos

I was able to send the following message:

Amazon,

I received an email from you (11/28/23, 2:48 PM) threatening to charge our credit card for not returning an order that was damaged so severely as to make it unusable and nonreturnable.

When we opened the delivery box that contained the Balneol, it had leaked from all 3 containers and from the leaking plastic envelope that they were in. one of the two bubble packaging cells was punctured. One corner of the delivery box was crushed.

We told Amazon's representative that the mess was unusable and nonreturnable. We cleaned up the mess and disposed of it.

Now, Amazon is threatening to charge us for the mess??? This is outrageous! Amazon and/or your supplier, epharmastore, should give us a credit for having to clean up the mess.

So, who’s responsible for the mess? not us. We didn’t package the Balneol for delivery. We didn’t place the bottles in a plastic envelope without packaging around them to protect them. We didn’t cause the tops on the Balneol containers to leak. It was obvious when we opened the plastic envelope that the tops had become loose and leaked Balneol in and through the plastic envelope.

we're not the only ones. If you check the reviews for this item on your website under "bottles and they leaked" you'll see many. Unfortunately, we didn't see these reviews until AFTER we received the mess. Also, we have a photo of the mess on our phone but were unable to attach it. we're more than happy to send it to you if you can tell us how to do so.

Why is it so difficult to get this resolved? Why can’t Amazon’s customers speak to a live Amazon employee to resolve problems?

We resent your threat to charge our credit card for a product that was so severely damaged when it was delivered as to make it unusable and nonreturnable.

Sincerely,

 

On their form Amazon asked "How likely is it that you would recommend Amazon to a family member or a friend?"

Our answer: 0% 

******************************************

Amazon charged our credit card. Lesson learned. We know now how amazon treats their customers. We won't be doing business with amazon anymore. 

We know now that amazon doesn't give a rip about its customers. That's why you can't discuss problems with a person at amazon. Robots make for poor customer service. 

Jeff Bezos has more money than dirt. He doesn't give a rip that amazon has lost us as customers. He doesn't give a rip that customers have no recourse with amazon's "my-way-or-the-highway" rules.

Adios amazon.