Eight pharmacy calls later.

I spent about three hours one afternoon calling specialty pharmacies to compare medication prices. Eight calls total. I kept a spreadsheet. I'm glad I did — not because it was fun, but because the difference between the cheapest and most expensive quote for the exact same medications was over $1,400.

Same drugs. Same doses. Different pharmacies. More than a thousand dollars apart.

Nobody told me to do this. It was in the orientation materials in passing — something like "prices vary between pharmacies, you may want to compare." It was not framed as "this will save you over a thousand dollars if you spend an afternoon on the phone." It should be framed that way.

What I found

The lowest full-protocol quote I received was from Prima Pharmacy — $3,680 for the complete stimulation protocol including Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix, and Ovidrel. The highest quote for a similar protocol was from Alto Pharmacy at $5,134. That's not a rounding error. That's a meaningful chunk of money for identical medications.

Pharmacy	Full protocol quote	Notes
Prima Pharmacy	$3,680	HEART Tomorrow applied for Menopur. Best total quote.
Costco Specialty	Competitive per-item	Ordered Follistim and Lupron here separately — pricing beat all others for those specific meds.
Alto Pharmacy	$5,134	Convenient app experience, highest price for comparable protocol.
Metro Drug Store	Mid-range	NYC local — convenient pickup, decent pricing, worth calling.

Prices from June 2026 — subject to change. Always call for current quotes. This is what I was actually quoted, not a general estimate.

What I actually did

I split the order. Follistim and Lupron through Costco — yes, Costco has a specialty pharmacy, and their pricing on those specific medications was lower than anywhere else I found. Menopur, Ganirelix, and Ovidrel through Prima Pharmacy, where the HEART Tomorrow discount program applied.

Splitting orders between pharmacies requires a bit more coordination — you need to make sure both orders are placed and arriving at the right times — but the savings made it worth it.

The discount programs

Three programs are worth knowing about before you order anything:

HEART Tomorrow / HEART Rx Initiative — for Menopur specifically. A manufacturer discount from Ferring Pharmaceuticals that can reduce the cost by up to 65% for patients paying out of pocket and not seeking reimbursement from a benefits provider like Carrot or Maven. Applied through the pharmacy. This is the one that made Prima the right choice for Menopur.

ReUnite Rx — for Follistim. Patient assistance program, ask the pharmacy or check reuniterx.com for eligibility.

Fertility Instant Savings (FIS) — for Gonal-F, Cetrotide, and Ovidrel. Coupon card at fertilityinstantsavings.com, must be obtained and applied at checkout.

Important: if you receive fertility benefits through Carrot, Maven, or a similar platform and plan to seek reimbursement, some of these discount programs disqualify you. Read the terms before applying, and ask specifically before assuming you qualify.