Where to get prescriptions cheap in Winnipeg?

[MeMew]

We moved from a province where prescriptions for children are 100% free at all pharmacies to Winnipeg. As far as I know, we will have to pay out of pocket for our children's prescriptions here and Manitoba unfortunately does not have any cap limit on dispensing fees, meaning that if we want to buy prescriptions for our kids, we have to shop around Is that really true? In your experience, where can we get the cheapest prescriptions: SDM, Rexall, RCSS, WM, Costco (do we need a membership card to get access to their pharmacy?)? Are prices of different stores under the same banner (eg. all SDM stores) the same for the same prescription or different?
My kids will soon have to restock their prescriptions and I want to find ahead which pharmacy gives us the best deal.
Thanks in advance for any advice and inputs.

[fitzgirl]

walmart has the lowest dispensing fee.
you can go to safeway and earn airmiles but the dispensing fee is more. Same with shoppers or Sobeys.

[bmpsmommy]

I use Walmart for most things. Our 'bigger' prescriptions I use Costco since we have the executive membership & get 2% back on our purchases.

I don't believe you need a membership at Costco - there was a post on another board about this.

I have used RCSS in the past as well as SDM. SDM is more of convenience thing since there is one close to my work.

[Super Mel]

https://www.merconbenefits.com/home/...MayJun_CAN.pdf


June 2011 Manitoba dispensing fees are at the top of page 2 of the link above. Costco is cheapest by far, SDM most expensive. Depends on what you collect however (Airmiles, SDM points, HBC points), it may not be worth your while to shop by dispensing fees alone. Costco does NOT require a membership to take advantage of their low costs at the pharmacy.

[lorressa]

i herd costco is the cheepest and u dont need a membership you just tell them your going to the pharmacy

i use safeway not the cheapest but its right next door to me ! i also get 7x the air miles!
i dont have a car so bussing else where would cost more in the long run

[Ilikefree]

If you have any sort of insurance, most will bill your insurance directly and you only pay the difference on what isn't covered.

[maggiespice]

Costco is for sure the cheapest. I was really surprised actually the difference for what WM charges for my prescriptions compared to Costco. I wish I discovered this a lot sooner. Oh well, live and learn!

[MeMew]

Hi all
Thank you very much for your inputs!
I have just checked out with the nearest SDM, their dispensing fee is 12$ and worse, they do not accept SDM Giftcard as a method of payment for the prescriptions - so I definitely will not fill our prescriptions there.

I checked Safeways website and learnt that:
Safeway Pharmacy Base Offer
$20 = 7 reward miles**
Earn 7 reward miles for every $20 of prescription purchases in a single transaction**
Only 7AM for every 20$, not attractive enough for us

Sobeys: earn ClubSobeys points for prescriptions

I also found out a very useful document which listed 2011 dispensing fee in Winnipeg of major pharmacies here: http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/cms-fi...g-fees2011.pdf
It seems to be consistent with the document that SuperMel posted above.

Also, from CTV, it seems that those having lower dispensing fee also have lower drug costs, so I will head out to Costco tomorrow (luckily that we have monthly pass so taking bus will not be an extra cost to us). See the article here: http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/lo...b=WinnipegHome

In short, Costco will be my choice (unless tomorrow experience at Costco is too bad)

[Super Mel]

In short, Costco will be my choice (unless tomorrow experience at Costco is too bad)

LOL... It won't be bad if you don't have a membership! Everytime I step foot in that place I ended up spending about 100$ more then I meant to

[shmeelady]

I use rexall.
I don't think my dispensing fee's are that much, but I am not 100% sure on that. I used to use SDM and for the same prescription I was paying $14.60 (around there) But with Rexall I've been paying $13.19. You also get 1 aeroplan mile per $1 you spend. I dont shop at rexall much but somehow I managed to rack up enough aeroplan points since January to redeem for a $50 Rexall GC

[Jezebel]

I actually use SDM for the reason they deliver and I get points...and doesn't matter which pharmacy I would have to bus it to any of them mentioned above...

[MeMew]

Ok, here is my report for Costco trip for my kid's prescriptions:
- Dispensing fee: 4.49$ only - BUT it is 4.49$/drug - so if you have 2-3 drugs on the same prescriptions and the drug costs are about the same in Walmart, etc., it'd not be a good choice to go to Costco! Or you should order the refills at the same time so you just have to pay dispensing fee for that drug once. I do not know about dispensing fee in other pharmacies, whether they charge per drug or per prescription! Anyone may help clarifying from their own experience pls?
- Waiting time: they told me 1 hour but in fact it was about 40-45 min or might be shorter (I was busy browsing the store so did not come back earlier to ask but after 40min when I came up to their counter they had had the drugs there already)! Well, for those who are in a rush it may not be a good choice either. But for me, at least it's my first trip to Costco even without a membership card, I spent 1 hour browsing around the store to check prices, etc. Lol, I even see that 4L 2% milk jug at Costco is more expensive than RExall (4.29) or Extra Foods. But I love their meat section, haha
- Drug cost: impressive! Despite the dispensing fees are charged per drug, the amount of money I saved from drug costs is worth my trip. Eg. Flovent 125mg costs 59.25$ at SDM for 1 box and at Costco only 41.80$, so the difference is 17.45$ per box. I want to order 1 refill at the same time (to save dispensing fee and my time to bus there), and the cost saving is 34.9$ as compared to SDM!!! Similarly, Ventolin costs 19$ per box at SDM whereas only 5.52$/box at Costco.

In short, Costco is still the best choice. I had to take bus there but it's a beautiful day and I had chance to view a new neighbourhood as well as to go pallet-shopping in Costco, so it's still good experience in my opinion

[Super Mel]

As far as I know, all places charge dispensing fees by drug per visit.