USA Pharmaceutical Prices all over the map: Want cheaper prescription drugs? You better shop around

The American Health-Care System rated worst in the Western World

Consumer Reports found that in the US cash prices for several common generic medications like Cymbalta could vary greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy, even in one zip code.

Desiree Bercilla's life was jolted in May when her boyfriend was diagnosed with Bell's palsy. She received another surprise when she phoned her local pharmacy and found the drug he needed, the antiviral Valtrex, would cost nearly $600.

That was the price for the brand-name version but even the generic was more than $200. Bercilla continued to make calls until Costco, the warehouse chain, quoted her a price of less than $39 for the generic.

"My initial reaction was shock," Bercilla said. "Because I can't believe that in order for me to get the best price from the pharmacy, I have to shop around."

Bercilla, a 37-year-old with a 3-year-old daughter, got similar results when NBC News asked her to check the cash price — the amount paid by someone not using insurance — of Valtrex in her area again last month.

Prices ranged from a high of $596 at Walmart to $473 at Costco for the brand-name prescription. For the generic, Walgreens had the highest price at almost $242 while the cheapest was at Costco, selling for just under $39.

Experts say the disparity Bercilla encountered isn't a fluke. Lisa Gill, prescription drug editor at Consumer Reports, told NBC News that prices vary wildly from pharmacy to pharmacy, even in the same region.

A new Consumer Reports survey of 1,200 adults on prescription medication found 22 percent — which would translate into about 27 million Americans — saw a price hike for at least one drug. For one in three of those consumers, the hike cost them at least $50 extra per month.

That's why shopping around can really pay for consumers, many of whom don't even realize how much they can save.

"When we look at retail prices across the country we see — for the same drug, for the same dose, for the same quantity, everything the same — incredible price differences even within the same zip code," Gill said.

"It can be up to 10 times bigger," Gill said.

Read more: Want cheaper prescription drugs? You better shop around | Euronews