Background
As most consumers know, the prices of prescription drugs can vary from pharmacy to pharmacy.
The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has created this website to help the citizens
of Michigan compare prices among pharmacies, since drug prices typically are not advertised or
even displayed.
The drugs selected for this website are 150 of the most commonly prescribed drugs in Michigan
as reported by MDCH's Medical Services Administration; prices are obtained from Medicaid prescriptions
and represent many of the State's retail pharmacies. This web site allows citizens to search for
information on particular listed drugs in a geographic region by pharmacy.
Since some of the prices listed on this website could be up to 6 months old, consumers should call ahead to their pharmacy of choice
to check the latest prescription drug price - before traveling to purchase a prescription drug.
Usual and Customary Prices
The prices reflected on the Rx Price Finder are prices that pharmacies reported to the Michigan Medicaid
Program as their
“usual and customary” prices. In most cases, these prices reflect the price for generic
drugs; there are in fact a few drugs where no generic is available – brand pricing must be used.
Prices are reported each time a pharmacy fills a prescription for a drug on the list in this survey.
Some pharmacies may not have filled a prescription for a drug in the time period of the survey, so
for those pharmacies, there will not be any price information for that particular drug. When this
event occurs, a “N/A” will be displayed in the results.
Other pharmacies may have filled many prescriptions for a particular drug during the survey time period
and reported different prices for the same drug – the Rx Finder will reflect the price that was reported
most recently.
The “usual and customary” price should be comparable to what a cash-paying customer without insurance
would pay. This price does not reflect any discounts a customer might receive while purchasing a
prescription drug. Prescription drug prices can vary from day to day, so the price that you find
at your pharmacy may not be the same price that appears in Rx Finder. Please note that some pharmacies
only service Long-Term Care facilities and in those instances the prices reflect the price for a
facility and not a retail pharmacy cash-paying customer.
Pricing information was last updated on
August 13, 2008; and reflects the usual and customary prices reported for generic
(or brand when no generic is available) Medicaid prescriptions filled during the period of
February 13, 2008 through July 31, 2008.
If you have any questions or need assistance please call 1-866-755-6479.