Costco Pharmacy

I wanted to get a pneumonia vaccination (over 65) which is covered by Medicare Part B. I waited an hour and 15 minutes to be told that I would have to pay for the vaccine because the Costco system would not bill Medicare Part B. I went down the street to CVS, no wait, they said vaccination was covered by Medicare Part B, got the vaccination and was out the door in 15 minutes. Fast and friendly at CVS. No more Costco Pharmacy for any vaccines! I like Costco but the pharmacy service is terrible.

When I went to Silverdale Washington Costco and tried to fill my prescription I was told I had no choice but to use my insurance. For 90 days I pay around $23, if I use my insurance it a $25 copay for 30 days...I have been paying cash for years. When I called my insurance company they said that they never heard of such a thing. What was costing me $100 a year now is going to cost me $300. If this a new Costco company policy?

It is the 2nd time that the pharmacist named Vy ** tries to override doctor's orders. She did it again, this time I am absolutely appalled. The prescription read 2 capsules by mouth and she verbally overrode it to only one capsule. She claimed prescription was too high. The doctor had explained to us why he needed a high dose. Not to mention she had done the same before. To the extent of changing the written prescription! We had to personally go to the doctor and tell him face to face what she had done. The doctor was upset and made the prescription again and called the pharmacy to make sure that never happened again. Unacceptable. Does a pharmacist have this type of power?

We've been dealing with the Charlottesville VA Costco pharmacy for years. This year we changed drug plan carriers. When we tried to fill our usual prescription, we were told (A) this plan doesn't cover that drug but Medicare Part B does, and (B) Costco pharmacy doesn't bill Medicare so the price is the through-the-roof cash price. When we went elsewhere, we learned that Costco is the ONLY pharmacy in town that won't bill Medicare for Part B coverage. Wonder if it's just our Costco, or all of them. Pretty quirky bunch, Costco management.

I also shop at Costco for their large selection of organic groceries and reasonable pricing on other staples. Trader Joe's is also in the same shopping center as Costco & has good values and variety too.

They changed my ** (generic) again when going to Costco - I questioned this and asked if I could get the same med I got last time. I was not happy about always getting a different version of the med. I am 74 years old and have been an RN for 50 years. I do know a little something about Health Care and Pharmacies. I also questioned the Pharmacist and told him that I did not trust Pharmaceutical Companies. He told me that he didn't have anything to do with Pharmaceutical Companies. I said to him "Isn't this a Pharmacy and aren't you a Pharmacist?" - He then told me that I was not nice to his help and I had one more chance. I told him I had a right to question and this is who I am - A VERY BAD Experience!!!

For the past ten months, I obtained a prescription for my dog at a monthly cost of $26.79. On November 28, I picked up the same prescription written by the same vet after having to wait for three days while they resupplied. On the first of the three days (Nov. 25), I was told that it would take 30 minutes. After waiting almost two hours, they finally acknowledged that they had it on order and it would be ready on November 27 after 2:00. They should have told me that at the beginning of the long wait. My wife called on Nov. 27 and was told that the morning of the 28th would be the earliest availability. I came on Nov. 28 and had to work through an unfriendly woman at the counter who had me stand around waiting before finally asking me if this was the medicine. It was the same prescription as the previous ten months.

I purchased tickets to an event for $400 on costco.com. The funds were immediately taken out of my checking account. About an hour later I got an email saying my transaction was declined, however, $400 was still taken from my account. It was after hours already so I called Costco.com the next day, Friday, and they told me it was a system glitch and the funds will be returned Monday morning. Monday came and no refund. I had to call Costco every day for a week and every day they promised my money would be refunded the next day. Finally I got sick of getting the runaround and stayed on the phone for three hours with Costco until the issue was resolved. All the while the representative is discouraging me from holding on the line and trying to get me to hang up and call back the next day.

One time is enough. I'm on the road for several months and gave an address to the pharmacy for shipping. When I received the email shipping confirmation it showed my home address. Knowing that the online pharmacy is not open on Sunday, I sent an email about the confirmation late Saturday night and waited patiently until 4pm EST for a response, which did not arrive. (Yes, I checked the junk mail folder). I called and was told that a) their system always confirms the address on file rather than where the script is sent, and b) someone allegedly responded to my email. A properly designed system will show the correct shipping address. I don't believe that someone replied to my email when said reply is not in my inbox or junk box. It never happened. This is a level of service unacceptable for something as important as a pharmacy. I hope Amazon jumps into the online pharmacy business so the job is done right.

The only drawback to using the facility in San Luis Obispo is that I know the new prescription from my physician will not be ready until the next day, no matter what the medicine is. They can beat local prices, even my insurance co pay, by several dollars, so I would rather wait the extra day and drive back for the savings. Especially after being overcharged at CVS triple after breaking my ankle 18 months ago.