Yup. I was not surprised about the charge. Once I went to pick up a prescription for my grandfather and they asked for something like $250 cash per pill for a heart condition.
I’m 50% Spanish and always stock up when I’m over there. It’s not just that medication is affordable thanks to decent regulation (there are prohibitions on price-gouging, just as it’s illegal for banks to set draconian fees), but it also seems there is a wider variety of medication. For example: for serious migraines, I can easily get Zomig Flas over there, which I find much more effective than the regular Zomig. It’s been available for years. It works quicker, is more frequently successful and gives me fewer side-effects.
As for the ridiculous cost of urgent care visits here, in Europe I’ve paid about 25 euros for urgent care, so around $30. Why would a doctor charge more to take a 5-minute look at you? I guess it helps when you’re physician doesn’t have a $300k student loan to pay off and real estate costs are more or less reasonable.
