Weekly · pharmacy prices as of Oct 28, 2026

Generic Price Check

Every week, Medicaid surveys what retail pharmacies actually pay for drugs. Here is what a basket of the most common generics really costs the pharmacy, next to what a satirical bill says it costs. The pharmacy costs are real. The bills are not.

22 generics, one supply each: $31.62
Billed as (satire): $18,982
Cheaper this week: 0
Pricier this week: 0

This week 0 of 22 generics got cheaper for the pharmacy and 0 got more expensive. The biggest mover: Atorvastatin 20 mg, down 0.0%. The cheapest pill on the list is Amlodipine 5 mg, at $0.0102 a tablet: about a penny, with change. One typical supply of all 22 costs the pharmacy $31.62. Our satirical bill for the same basket comes to $18,982.06. Nobody can explain the difference, which is how you know it’s working.

Generic of the week

Rosuvastatin 10 mg

$1.07 for a month’s supply (30 tablets)

$0.03553 a tablet, what pharmacies pay on average, per CMS. Down 11.0% since Jan 7, 2026.

Weekly pharmacy cost per tablet, Jan 7, 2026 to Oct 28, 2026

Once a brand-name blockbuster. Now a generic with a blockbuster explanation of benefits. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.

Statement of charges (satire)

Rosuvastatin 10 mg × 30 (what the pharmacy paid)	$1.07
Markup, as a courtesy	$521.23
Fax transmission, outbound	$28.55
Pill counting (by five)	$16.59
Fax transmission, lost	$24.89
Proprietary spread (confidential)	$4.35
Manufacturer coupon (applied to the fees)	−$6.74
Billed as	$589.94

Only the first line is real. This is not a real bill or price from any pharmacy, insurer or pharmacy benefit manager.

The whole basket

Generic	Pharmacy pays	This week	Billed as (satire)	Commentary
Amlodipine 5 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.30$0.0102 each	■ 0.0%−8.6% since Jan 7	$283.76	About a penny a pill. The bill, on the other hand, has several digits. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Amoxicillin 500 mg30 tablets · a ten-day course	$2.38$0.0793 each	■ 0.0%−12.5% since Jan 7	$1,003.48	Kills bacteria. The pricing model is resistant. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.
Atorvastatin 20 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.86$0.0286 each	■ 0.0%−7.0% since Jan 7	$851.20	Lowers cholesterol for pennies. Raising the bill takes a team. Flat. Even the price has learned to wait.
Azithromycin 250 mg6 tablets · a five-day pack	$1.63$0.2709 each	■ 0.0%−14.3% since Jan 7	$1,068.45	Six tablets in five days. The explanation of benefits runs longer. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.
Cephalexin 500 mg28 tablets · a seven-day course	$3.27$0.1168 each	■ 0.0%−6.7% since Jan 7	$2,769.21	Four times a day for a week. The prior authorization takes longer. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Fluoxetine 20 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.88$0.0292 each	■ 0.0%−2.7% since Jan 7	$320.07	Famous since 1987, affordable since the patent expired, confusing ever since. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.
Furosemide 40 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.86$0.0288 each	■ 0.0%−11.7% since Jan 7	$312.78	Removes excess fluid. Excess fees are handled elsewhere. Flat. Even the price has learned to wait.
Gabapentin 300 mg90 tablets · a month’s supply, three times a day	$2.95$0.0328 each	■ 0.0%−3.4% since Jan 7	$848.88	Three times a day, one price a pill, several prices a claim. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.
Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.34$0.0114 each	■ 0.0%−7.7% since Jan 7	$376.37	A diuretic. Money also goes somewhere. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Ibuprofen 800 mg90 tablets · a month’s supply, three times a day	$5.00$0.0555 each	■ 0.0%−1.1% since Jan 7	$3,650.06	Prescription strength. Prescription paperwork. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.
Levothyroxine 50 mcg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.20$0.0401 each	■ 0.0%−20.2% since Jan 7	$775.15	Measured in micrograms. Billed in dollars. Flat. Even the price has learned to wait.
Lisinopril 10 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.54$0.0180 each	■ 0.0%−4.3% since Jan 7	$147.51	The blood pressure comes down. The deductible does not. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.
Losartan 50 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.99$0.0332 each	■ 0.0%+6.7% since Jan 7	$734.46	An ARB, not to be confused with arbitrage, which is what happens after it leaves the wholesaler. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Metformin 500 mg60 tablets · a month’s supply, twice a day	$0.89$0.0148 each	■ 0.0%+4.8% since Jan 7	$457.12	A 1950s drug with a 2020s explanation of benefits. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.
Metoprolol succinate ER 25 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.59$0.0529 each	■ 0.0%−7.7% since Jan 7	$1,294.99	Slows the heart rate. The claims process needed no help. Flat. Even the price has learned to wait.
Montelukast 10 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.30$0.0432 each	■ 0.0%−8.7% since Jan 7	$604.65	Helps you breathe. The price breathes on its own. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.
Omeprazole 20 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$0.91$0.0305 each	■ 0.0%+1.3% since Jan 7	$615.75	Treats heartburn. The bill causes it. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Pantoprazole 40 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.10$0.0368 each	■ 0.0%+2.1% since Jan 7	$647.37	Delayed release, like the reimbursement. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.
Prednisone 10 mg20 tablets · a short course	$1.04$0.0521 each	■ 0.0%−12.3% since Jan 7	$464.74	A steroid. The markup, on the other hand, is natural. Flat. Even the price has learned to wait.
Rosuvastatin 10 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.07$0.0355 each	■ 0.0%−11.0% since Jan 7	$589.94	Once a brand-name blockbuster. Now a generic with a blockbuster explanation of benefits. Unchanged this week, like the fax machine.
Sertraline 50 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.05$0.0348 each	■ 0.0%−10.1% since Jan 7	$523.65	Cheaper than the phone call about whether it’s covered. Flat. Stability: the one thing the formulary lacks.
Tamsulosin 0.4 mg30 tablets · a month’s supply	$1.47$0.0489 each	■ 0.0%−5.1% since Jan 7	$642.47	Improves flow. The money flows in one direction. No change. The price, like the hold music, continues.

About the numbers

Real: “Pharmacy pays” is the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC), Medicaid’s weekly survey of what retail pharmacies pay wholesalers and manufacturers for a drug. Figures are from NADAC (National Average Drug Acquisition Cost) 2026, published by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, via data.medicaid.gov, as of Oct 28, 2026. A month’s supply here assumes a typical dose; the per-tablet price is CMS’s. NADAC leaves out the pharmacy’s dispensing costs, and what you pay depends on your plan, your pharmacy and your deductible. How NADAC works.

Satire: the “billed as” figures, the statement of charges and the commentary are made up. They are not prices, bills or charges from any pharmacy, insurer or pharmacy benefit manager, and they are not financial or medical advice. The jokes are about the pricing system, never about anyone who takes these medicines.

Generic Price Check

Rosuvastatin 10 mg

The whole basket

About the numbers

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