I have access to wholesale drug prices. Brand name BCP, such as Ortho Novum 7-7-7 cost the pharmacy about $1 per day for a 28 day dial pack. Not real cheap, but, for $3000 that equates to 100 months. Um, I think that is a bit more than 3 years. Generic Lo-Ovral ( CRYSELLE TB 0.3/.03MGBARR6X28) cost $103.44. Now, pharmacies sell at AWP (Average Wholesale Price). The AWP for this product is $183.12. Divide that by 6 and again you get 30 dollars per month. I am sure that there are cheaper products out there, and when a company such as Walgreen's or CVS sells a product, because of the quantity that they sell, their prices are lower due to contracts.
Trying to price drugs drives us crazy. There are contracts from buying groups that lower the purchase price, insurance companies require that certain NDC numbers (that is the 11 didgit number you see on a product package) have to be used. States MAC products (limit reimbursement to certain levelsand limit the product that you can use), and then insurance companies have formularies that have to be use first for the pharmacy to be paid if insurance is filed.
All that being said, I am at a loss how any woman pays 3K for BCP's over 3 years. If you walked into any pharmacy, paid straight AWP for Lo-Ovral at $352 for 6 months, that still only adds up to $2112 for 3 years. A 4 dollar cup of coffee from Starbucks per day for 3 years = $4380. hmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe insurance should pay for coffee, that costs more.