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ANCHOR: HAVING A FAMILY MEMBER IN AN ASSISTED CARE FACILITY CAN BE A HUGE FINANCIAL BURDEN... SO EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS. THAT'S WHY TONIGHT... "7 ON YOUR SIDE" INVESTIGATES HOW YOU CAN SAVE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR. ROSS MCLAUGHLIN IS HERE WITH DETAILS... ROSS?

Ross McLaughlin:

WE DISCOVERED THE PRICES RESIDENTS ARE BEING CHARGED FOR SIMPLE THINGS LIKE ASPIRIN, CALCIUM supplements AND OTHER OVER THE COUNTER DRUGS CAN BE OUTRAGEOUS.. THE FIX? A SIMPLE AS A TRIP TO YOUR NEAREST DRUGSTORE.

STORY:

PILLS...

AND LOTS OF THEM...

FOR MANY IN ASSISTED CARE, IT'S PART OF THE DAILY DIET.

Tim Traylor: "You take a lot of medicine every day."

LillianTraylor: "Oh everyday. Yes"

Ross:"Everyday."

Lillian Traylor: "Everyday."

Tim Traylor: "It can average anywhere from 500 to 700 dollars monthly."

SO HOW CAN ABC 7 EMPLOYEE TIM TRAYLOR SAVE MONEY FOR HIS AUNT LILLIAN? SHE GETS HER DRUGS THROUGH THE ASSISTED CARE'S pharmacy NEIGHBORCARE. IT'S NOT THE PRESCRIPTION PRICES THAT SEEMED OUT OF WHACK BUT THE OVER COUNTER DRUGS..LIKE ASPIRIN, A CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT AND A STOOL SOFTNER.

A TRIP TO THE LOCAL DRUGSTORE CONFIRMED OUR SUSPICIONS..BULK ASPRIN AT CVS WOULD COST LILLIAN ABOUT 3 DOLLARS PER YEAR ($3.79/Year). SHE'S PAYING THE ASSISTED CARE PHARMACY 16 TIMES AS MUCH.. 61 DOLLARS($61.32/Year) THE CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT JUST 15 DOLLARS. ($15.19/Year) LILLIAN'S PRICE ..MORE THAN 46 DOLLARS. ($46.72/Year) 3 TIMES MORE. AND THE STOOL SOFTENER? ($15.50/Year). LILLIAN IS BEING CHARGED ($38.02/Year) TWO AND A HALF TIMES AS MUCH FOR THAT.

Ross: "these are the pills that we bought over the counter okay. At a much reduced rate. Much cheaper."

IN ONE YEAR SHE COULD HAVE SAVE ABOUT 111 BUCKS ($111.58) ON JUST THESE 3 OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS.

Lillian Traylor: "That's a lot of money."

Tim Traylor: "A lot of money."

Lillian Traylor: "Oh it's a lot of money."

Joe DeMattos: "We've got to do something about this."

JOE DeMATTOS IS HEAD OF MARYLAND'S AARP. HE'S SEEN THIS BEFORE. SO WHAT'S THE ASSISTED CARE PHARMACY SAYING ABOUT IT? A SPOKESMAN SAYS THE EXTRA COST IS FOR PERSONALIZED SERVICE. INDIVIDUAL PACKAGING, 24 HOUR A DAY CONSULTATION AND TRACKING OF OTHER DRUGS TO PREVENT ADVERSE REACTIONS. BUT YOU CAN GET THAT SAME SERVICE FROM A 24 HOUR DRUGSTORE AND DeMATTOS BELIEVES THE SERVICE CHARGE IS JUST TOO MUCH.

Joe DeMattos: "Paying those kinds of prices unnecessarily means there just one crisis away from financial ruin."

LILLIAN HAS NEARLY DEPLETED ALL HER SAVINGS AND NOW WE'VE GOT HER FAMILY THINKING ABOUT CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES.

Tim Traylor:"Anytime you can save anything it

SOME NURSING HOME CONTRACTS FORCE RESIDENTS TO USE THEIR PHARMACY BUT CHANGES ARE ON THE WAY. MARYLAND HAS JUST INTRODUCED A LAW TO ENSURE RESIDENTS CAN CHOSE WHERE THEY THEY BUY THEIR DRUGS... VIRGINIA WILL GET INVOLVED IF CHOICE ISN'T GIVEN AND BEGINNING IN APRIL, DC WILL START REGULATING THESE ASSISTED CARE FACILITIES.

----------- IF YOU NEED HELP..GO TO WJLA.COM AND CLICK ON "7 ON YOUR SIDE" OR CALL OUR TOLL FREE HOTLINE...866-236-3401.