Amazing how much lifesaving meds are overpriced in the US

[Jersey1971]

One big problem is the US subsidizes the cost of development while much of the rest of the world free rides off of that development. I work in pharma. If a drug won't be reimbursed in the US at ridiculous US prices, the company simply won't develop it, and it will never come to market, so there will be no problem with a new and expensive drug.

Xarelto is a good example. There is a perfectly good alternative: coumadin. It's basically free. But you have to monitor blood levels (not really levels, INR) and have to be careful about not varying vitamin K content in diet. But US payers were willing to pay for a safer, more convenient drug, so Xarelto was developed. In the future, it will be generic and cost $4/month at Walgreens, and we will be angry at an even better new drug that costs a lot.

All that being said, I understand your frustration and don't mean to minimize it. It's not right that you have to bear an undue share of the cost, just because of the way the system is set up. Fortunately, there are a lot of patient assistance programs, and I hope you find one that can make the drug more acceptable. I also agree that the companies often game the system by developing monopolies on generics (like colchicine), and I find that practice repulsive.

 

[DandyDon]

So many lifesaving drugs exist;

For that I am very grateful, especially to the researchers who did not work for the hope of riches.

So many people expect these drugs that will save, extend, or improve their lives to be available to them for a pittance.

I just wonder why the same med is 98% cheaper when I buy it elsewhere.

reasonable chance of making a profit

"When Mylan bought the device from a competitor in 2007, the cost for a set of two auto-injectors was about $94. Today, the cost for an EpiPen kit (pair of two pens) is over $700."

So many people think their snarky comments about pharmaceutical profits make them morally superior to the people who dedicate their lives to developing lifesaving drugs;

So few people who wonder why drug prices are lower in other places ever wonder why all those miracle drugs are not developed in those other places.

That part is really complicated, by design probably.

Anybody who suggests my prior post implied a suggestion on my part that the only alternative to economically illiterate whining about drug prices is to buy stock in pharmaceutical companies is being deliberately obtuse, possibly to discourage scrutiny of his prior posts.

 

[boulderjohn]

—So few people who wonder why drug prices are lower in other places ever wonder why all those miracle drugs are not developed in those other places.

Help me here. I am having trouble making a logical connection between these two issues.

Most of Coors Beer is made in Colorado--are you saying that Coors should cost 10 times as much in Colorado as it does in other states that don't make it?

 

[Scraps]

Help me here. I am having trouble making a logical connection between these two issues.

Most of Coors Beer is made in Colorado--are you saying that Coors should cost 10 times as much in Colorado as it does in other states that don't make it?

Are you saying Coors Beer is the result of a decades-long research project?

 

[noserider]

Nothing is ever free.... someone always has to pay the cost. I did part of my training in the NHS, I know.



Struggling a bit is an understatement. Don't forget that 10+ year pay freeze, and the fact that in the 2 years I was there, there were multiple strikes by the junior doctors and others.

A significant portion of the doctors are also fleeing whatever other situation or conflict was going on in their home country, so are thus willing to work in suboptimal conditions because its better than what is going on in Syria for example.

I didn't want to get political as many Brits on this forum. but the current problems are directly linked to the government, hence why I referenced it was the best and it will return once we get rid of the charlatans that are sin power currently.

Its not quite been a 10 year pay freeze but pay raises have been below inflation for 10 years and nurses salaries are significantly lower in real terms than they were in 2008.

Strikes are happening at the moment for odd days but for critical care the NHS rocks and delivers. We have always relied on immigrant doctor and nurses.

However despite the short term problems would still prefer this form of health care than a fully private one or the US system

 

[boulderjohn]

Are you saying Coors Beer is the result of a decades-long research project?

Still not getting your point. You suggested that it is right that drugs cost man, many times more in America than in other countries because they are made here. Please explain why.

 

[Ninjapug]

My Cardiologist scheduled me for another leg angiogram and sents, and I love this procedure for what it does for 750-year-old coot, restoring blood flow and removing leg pains. She wanted to replace my 81 mg aspirin with 2.5 mg Xarelto twice a day tho. She even gave me a 30-day sample supply along with a prescription I could renew for a year. "OK, doc, thanks" I started shopping...

View attachment 773284​

"Rivaroxaban was patented in 2007 and approved for medical use in the United States in 2011.[9] In the United States, it will not be available as a generic medication until 2024.[10][11] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[12] In 2020, it was the 86th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 8 million prescriptions." Great stuff I guess. It had better be for $1,000 a month!

GoodRX.com says I can buy it locally in a 90-day supply to save on costs for a little over $3,000. Healthwarehouse.com offered it to me for $1,757 which gets it down to $585 a month. My part D cost was a little lower, but not much. So I found Liferxpharmacy.com which seems to checkout fine as a respectable and fully certified mail-order pharmacy. It seems that while Rivaroxaban is patented by one owner, it licenses other firms to manufacture it under certain terms. Natco in India does, along with many other drugs shipped to US pharmacies like Tamiflu, but they have an agreement to sell it "in India only" for so much less. Liferxpharmacy buys it in India and ships it to me in a 168-count package for $188 = $67 a month!

View attachment 773285​

This box was actually made by Bayer in India, marked "for sale in India only," but that was fine by me. You can pay more at Liferxpharmacy to get it made in Turkey, Canada, or the UK, but I didn't see any need.

Now I know that mail orders from India can go awry so to make sure that I had plenty, I decided to stock up. "In the United States, it will not be available as a generic medication until 2024," but in India it's available. I got 180 for $33 = $11 a month!

View attachment 773286​

It's the very same lifesaving med made by a reputable company that commonly supplies US pharmacies, but I used a fully certified pharmacy to work around the contracts and rules. Help me out here, tho: $11 a month vs $585 a month = a 98% savings, right?

Now that I had spent $221 on a five-month supply, my next appointment was with a senior Cardiologist at the same office who tells me that I only needed to take the first 30-day supply I was given but could now go back to aspirin. Oh great. I'll see the first doc in April and I am tempted to ask why she gave me a 12-month prescription, but probably not. I don't want to piss off the gorgeous doc who has helped me so much in saving me from myself. I'll just keep in mind that she writes the scripts, but I do the shopping, and maybe I should ask more questions.

Sorry to hear you had to go to these measures but most of us have been forced to “shop” for medications to offset our medication expenses. I often price everything because insurance formularies are becoming smaller. Even though insurance may cover a medication, it is well known that copays may be higher for your meds than using goodRx or similar service. I personally think this is a win-win-win for Insurance. They pay nothing to the retailer, your out of pocket /deductible expense does not count , and they still get paid for premiums.

 

[Joneill]

Better to get something in return for paying taxes than giving our money to mega corporations.

Lobbyists paid politicians to make the rule that Medicare cannot negotiate drug prices.
There are now over 1700 registered lobbyists for big pharma buying elections and bribing politicians.

Irrelevant to my point that his healthcare was not “free”…

 

[Angelo Farina]

Aside from cost differences, nothing is free - you are paying taxes for your “free” public health system.

No , I am not paying significant taxes for sustaining our free healthcare system.
Rich people are paying a lot of taxes for allowing low-income people like me to have free public health.
People not used to highly progressive taxation systems do not really understand how fair is our system.

 

[tridacna]

My Cardiologist scheduled me for another leg angiogram and sents, and I love this procedure for what it does for 750-year-old coot, restoring blood flow and removing leg pains. She wanted to replace my 81 mg aspirin with 2.5 mg Xarelto twice a day tho. She even gave me a 30-day sample supply along with a prescription I could renew for a year. "OK, doc, thanks" I started shopping...

View attachment 773284​

"Rivaroxaban was patented in 2007 and approved for medical use in the United States in 2011.[9] In the United States, it will not be available as a generic medication until 2024.[10][11] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[12] In 2020, it was the 86th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 8 million prescriptions." Great stuff I guess. It had better be for $1,000 a month!

GoodRX.com says I can buy it locally in a 90-day supply to save on costs for a little over $3,000. Healthwarehouse.com offered it to me for $1,757 which gets it down to $585 a month. My part D cost was a little lower, but not much. So I found Liferxpharmacy.com which seems to checkout fine as a respectable and fully certified mail-order pharmacy. It seems that while Rivaroxaban is patented by one owner, it licenses other firms to manufacture it under certain terms. Natco in India does, along with many other drugs shipped to US pharmacies like Tamiflu, but they have an agreement to sell it "in India only" for so much less. Liferxpharmacy buys it in India and ships it to me in a 168-count package for $188 = $67 a month!

View attachment 773285​

This box was actually made by Bayer in India, marked "for sale in India only," but that was fine by me. You can pay more at Liferxpharmacy to get it made in Turkey, Canada, or the UK, but I didn't see any need.

Now I know that mail orders from India can go awry so to make sure that I had plenty, I decided to stock up. "In the United States, it will not be available as a generic medication until 2024," but in India it's available. I got 180 for $33 = $11 a month!

View attachment 773286​

It's the very same lifesaving med made by a reputable company that commonly supplies US pharmacies, but I used a fully certified pharmacy to work around the contracts and rules. Help me out here, tho: $11 a month vs $585 a month = a 98% savings, right?

Now that I had spent $221 on a five-month supply, my next appointment was with a senior Cardiologist at the same office who tells me that I only needed to take the first 30-day supply I was given but could now go back to aspirin. Oh great. I'll see the first doc in April and I am tempted to ask why she gave me a 12-month prescription, but probably not. I don't want to piss off the gorgeous doc who has helped me so much in saving me from myself. I'll just keep in mind that she writes the scripts, but I do the shopping, and maybe I should ask more questions.

Game Changer. I owe you big time.