To the editor: President Trump conflates drug prices with healthcare, and unless his TrumpRx website includes lower wholesale prices to insurance companies, I don’t think it will help much (“Trump administration launches TrumpRx website for discounted drugs,” Feb. 6). There are already many ways to get deep discounts on prescriptions, including free websites or just asking. But sometimes you don’t even need to do that.
Some years ago, my dentist at UCLA prescribed a Z-Pak, a common antibiotic that contains only six pills. At that time, I didn’t have insurance or know much about prescriptions, except to ask for the generic brand. I went to the pharmacy inside Ralphs at the bottom of the hill, where I often stopped for a snack after the dentist.
The pharmacist asked for $170. I didn’t say anything, but perhaps I grimaced, because she immediately said, “Let me see if I can find you a discount.” I wasn’t expecting much — perhaps $140 or $139.95 — so I was absolutely shocked when she said, “That will be $12.”
It was at that exact moment I realized pharmacy prices are often a complete scam.
Gary Davis, Los Angeles