- Costco's pharmacies are open to everyone including people without insurance.
- The retailer offers mail-order service and also takes pet prescriptions.
- But only members can take advantage of the retailer's massive drug discounts.
Costco pharmacies are open to everyone, even those who don't have insurance.
But there's a catch.
Costco does not offer non-members discounted prescription pricing.
And that discount can be steep.
"The Costco Member Prescription Program offers discounts on prescription drugs up to 80% or more, depending on the medication," according to the chain's website.
The retailer accepts prescriptions from any walk-in customer, even prescriptions for your pet.
If you don't have insurance, no worries.
Costco will still process your prescription, but you'll have to pay out of pocket for the medication.
Costco also offers mail orders of prescriptions, but getting deliveries launched can be tricky.
On its website, Costco states, "we cannot guarantee" that all insurance plans will work with Costco as many "treat Costco Mail Order Pharmacy very differently from the local Costco pharmacies and may not accept claims from us."
In a live chat, a customer service representative told Business Insider that people should "double-check with your insurance provider if they might have a specific mail order service they would want you to use."
Transferring prescriptions to Costco from another mail-order service is only sometimes possible. In most cases, you'll have to get your doctor to send your prescription directly to Costco, according to the company's website.
"Most mail order pharmacies will not transfer prescriptions out, especially to other mail order pharmacies," the company states on its website. "If your previous mail order pharmacy has advised you that they will transfer the prescription out to us, please contact us via phone or Live Chat to have us request the transfer."
Costco did not respond to Business Insider's request for additional comment on its pharmacy operations.