Health Care Gouging

     I am one of the 20% of individuals who cannot tolerate Statins. I have tried over a half dozen including CoQ10 and Red Rise Yeast. I have had to give them all up because of the physical chaos they cause me.

     Physicians at several universities know about this fairly common intolerance. When they got wind that Costco’s pharmacy was going to stop selling Niacin, a natural substitute treatment, they wrote Costco stating that it would be a serious incontinence to do so to a large portion of the public.  Costco responded by keeping in stock 1,000 count bottles of 500mg tablets. These were sold at about $24 a bottle.

     No more. Costco has stopped stocking this Niacin. It is introducing a slow release variety called SLO NIACIN. It comes in 500mg pills, but only 175 pills per bottle. And a bottle will cost just below $15 each.

     To get the same number of pills now will cost over $85. That is a price increase of over 250%!

     And we wonder why health care in general is rapidly increasing in price. It is this greedy gouging customers that is morally questionable. I am surprised that a company with Costco’s reputation for value and fair treatment would stoop to such a thing.

     And is this form of Niacin as effective as pure Niacin with the baby aspirin to take care of the flush?