Price spread on Tamiflu prompts investigations

UNDATED - Children who have swine flu are sometimes given a liquid form of Tamiflu because it is easier for them to swallow. But some law-enforcement officials are having trouble swallowing the price some pharmacies are charging.

The attorneys-general of both Connecticut and Mississippi want to know why the anti-viral is being sold at such widely divergent prices.

One benefits firm says inflated pharmacy charges are as much as five times over the average cost.

USA TODAY reports Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company that manufactures Tamiflu, has focused on producing capsules, which can be made more quickly. Because the liquid form is in short supply, some pharmacies produce their own child-friendly Tamiflu elixir by adding the capsules to sweet liquid.

But the extra work cannot account for price swings this big, Bruce Schneider of Hart Pharmacy in Witchita, Kan. tells USA TODAY.

"We're dealing with a national health epidemic. If I want to sleep at night, I don't think I should be taking advantage of the situation." Hart Pharmacy charges $49.

A spokesman for CVS says prices at its stores range from $52 to $83, depending on dosage. Walgreen's charges $94.49, and the director of clinical retail services said she was surprised that other stores' prices were lower.

In California, the price of Tamiflu ranges from $55 to $130; in Kansas $49 to 99; in Colorado $65 to $120.

High drug prices do not only affect the uninsured. Inflated drug prices are a big reason insurance companies reject claims. Letters have gone out to prescription benefits-providers from the National Community Pharmacists Association about coverage problems.

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