The Health Shopper

Via Consumerist comes a list of supermarkets, pharmacies and other retailers who have begun offering customers low-cost generic drugs. At the moment, in addition to Target and Wal-Mart, the following pharmacies offer low-cost-in the neighborhood of $4 for a month's prescription-drugs:

• Safeway
• Kroger
• Fred Meyer
• Giant Foods
• Ralph's
• QFC
• Meijer
• K-Mart
• Walgreens

According to commenters on the website, several other regional chains offer similar programs including:

• Wegman's Stores
• HEB
• Hannaford Supermarkets
• Publix

Something to keep in mind with these programs: Some insurance plans have set co-pays, even for generic drugs, that are actually higher than the out-of-pocket costs on drugs at these stores. If, for example, you have a $10 co-pay for a month's generic drug supply, you'll end up saving by buying the drugs independent of your insurance.

Consumer Reports latest health analysis focuses on the growing trend of banks offering credit cards specifically to cover medical costs. While these credit cards routinely offer no interest financing for up to two years, consumers who do not pay off this debt in full during the teaser period, or miss a payment, can be hit with retroactive interest rates of up to 27.99 percent. Consumer Reports also notes that once consumers have arranged financing through a credit card, they may not be able to qualify for charity care or negotiate lower costs with a hospital or doctor. The organization does note that these cards can be valuable for consumers who pay off their bills within the no-interest time period, however.

Their point-by-point break-down of common medical credit cards is available here.

The Los Angeles Times has devoted its weekly health section to giving patients advice to find better health care. The Times notes that, even with common but serious treatments-such as heart bypass surgery-patients tend to better by seeing doctors and hospitals who have more experience with the condition. For patients who suffer from less common ailments, it's even more important to look for doctors who have experience with the rare disorder. The Times also suggests:

• Asking doctors for referrals to physicians with more experience in the condition
• Doing research through the government's database of medical trials at www.pubmed.gov
• Looking for clinical trials for the condition at www.clinicaltrials.gov
• Finding support groups-they can give emotional support and valuable advice about treatments
• Remaining realistic. There won't always be a cure and if there is, it may be expensive.

Add Safeway to the growing list of grocers and retailers who are selling $4 generic medications. According to the Washington Post, Safeway will be offering the prices on a variety of drugs including antibiotics and generic blood pressure medicine, though thus far, the grocer has only rolled out $4 prices on the east coast. The grocery chain Kroger, along with Target and Wal-Mart, all offer some version of $4 generic drug pricing.

Consumer Reports has developed a rating tool to help consumers pick hospitals based on how aggressive hospital staff are when treating patients. Based on the Dartmouth Health Atlas, the tool lets consumers search for nearby hospitals and ranks hospitals based on how aggressive, or conservative, the hospital is in treating patients toward the end of their lives. The tool comes with some caveats: It does not necessarily give an indication of hospital quality, and it doesn't contain any information about the costs of different treatments.