High Cost Of Prescription Medications

[Gotabite 0]

Forgive me but I am really in a "fowl" mood right now. Yesterday I went to my pharmacy to pick up my monthly allergy medication, only to learn that my health insurance decided to no longer pay for allergy medications now that Claritin can be purchased over the counter. Excuse me, but two years ago when Claritin was a prescription, my doctor prescribed it for me.....and not only did it do nothing to ease my symptoms, it also gave me side affects of feeling like a total "zombie." My pharmacist told me yesterday that a notice had been sent to all of us on this insurance plan about the decision to not pay for allergy meds.. But I never received the notice. At any rate I have shopped around the various discount pharmacies here in the USA only to discover that the cost of this medication, even at a discount is very expensive........So, I have said "Hello," to our neighbors to the north in Canada, where my medication that is a prescription here in the USA, I can get right over the counter for a fraction of the price in this country.......probably about 80% cheaper. There are those here in this country who are desperately trying to stop us from using Canadian pharmacies. There are claim that Canadian drugs are not the same quality.The high cost of prescription drugs in this country is actually having some to chose between buying food and their daily medications. This is ridiculous. Medications in Canada are taken by Canadians every day. They seem to be doing fine, as are those in this country who are also buying and taking them. If our government choses to stand by and ignore how Americans are being exploited by pharmacy companies, and how insurance companies are ignoring serious health issues.....more than ever most of us are going to have to take matters into our own hands. Frankly I'm thankful for the Canadian alternative......I plan to utilize it to the max.............. :blink:

[Indy 8]

I can sympathize, Gotabite. My family is frequently in the same position.

 

I don't know how your insurance works, but with ours if a drug is no longer covered because something is available over the counter, it is possible for the doctor to submit to the insurance company that the otc drug is not appropriate in this particular case, and the insurance reluctantly agrees to continue covering the prescription drug. You might talk to your doctor and your insurance company to see if this is the case.

[Klingonmike 0]

There is a woman at work who's in her late 60's and she has to take heart medication amoung other types of medication her doctor has prescribed for her. She gets her meds out of Canada now too and she says she is saving hundreds of dollors. She told me one of her meds here in this country cost close to $75.00, Getting it from Canada she only spends about $30.00.

If the goverment tries to stop people from getting their meds from Canada it will only prove to me the big drug companies here in the U.S. are paying off the politicians with a little spending money to help their cause.

[therabidirishman 0]

I can sympathize, Gotabite.  My family is frequently in the same position.

 

I don't know how your insurance works, but with ours if a drug is no longer covered because something is available over the counter, it is possible for the doctor to submit to the insurance company that the otc drug is not appropriate in this particular case, and the insurance reluctantly agrees to continue covering the prescription drug.  You might talk to your doctor and your insurance company to see if this is the case.

Yeah,my father takes the medication Lotrel to control his high blood pressure.Two years ago his insurance stopped paying for that drug and he was prescribed an alternative medication that did not prove as effective,so his doctor got on the phone and demanded that the insurance provider pay for my dad's prescription.They did,and he is back on his Lotrel and doing fine.

[cptwright 1]

insurance, and pharmacutical companies are nothing but oportunistical, coniving, theives. i had a problem with my stomach needing to take prilosec it cost me 60 a month after insurance covered half, and they would only cover half because it was a name brand not a generic, but oh yeah there was no generic available. my mother also had to take this pill and her insurance would cover next to nothing because it was a name brand, and it cost her over a hundred a month, so she stopped taking it. shes as broke as it gets she cant afford that crap. all the higher echilan of these companies should be lined up and shot for the oportunistical greed at our expense.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

insurance, and pharmacutical companies are nothing but oportunistical, coniving, theives. i had a problem with my stomach needing to take prilosec it cost me 60 a month after insurance covered half, and they would only cover half because it was a name brand not a generic, but oh yeah there was no generic available. my mother also had to take this pill and her insurance would cover next to nothing because it was a name brand, and it cost her over a hundred a month, so she stopped taking it. shes as broke as it gets she cant afford that crap. all the higher echilan of these companies should be lined up and shot for the oportunistical greed at our expense.

Prilosec is available over the counter now - if your mom still needs it.

[Son_worshiper 0]

Its a shame the way our government allows the pharmiceutical companies to rob us,the way they do.I had older relatives that used to drive down to Mexico a couple of times a year and load up on their precriptions for a fraction of the cost they would have to pay here at home.Then the government,on behalf of the pharmiceutical companies outlawed that,and my relatives had to pay simply outrageous ammounts for their medications until the days they died.It was very sad.

[Klingonmike 0]

Its still legal to get meds from Canada for now,the goverment is trying to stop it but there are places here in Florida that order meds from up north over the computer for a fraction of the cost.

[nik 0]

insurance, and pharmacutical companies are nothing but oportunistical, coniving, theives.

Yeah, you're right. People are getting killed (literally and metaphorically) by HMOs becuase the blood-sucking lawyers who never took a biology class are telling

physicians how to do their jobs. When my son was born a few years ago, he had to

spend his first week of life in the ICU with a tube down his throat and in great pain because of an injury incurred during birth. I had fine insurance too, and they

denied the claim - an astronomical amount of money. After reading through the policy, I found out that my son was covered. I called them, and they covered the expenses and gave me very little resistance. I talked to a lawyer friend of mine, and he said that many companies automatically deny claims because many people don't call their bluffs on it, and they can get away with not paying a bill. Isn't that fraud?

If you think you're getting jacked around by your insurance company, I would really

call them and ask what the heck's going on. In many cases, they may be dealing

from the bottom of the deck.

[edmcgon 0]

Some things to remember about drug companies:

 

1. All new drugs are the results of many hours of hard work and testing. They do NOT grow on trees. Ok, maybe some of them do, but they still have to be tested, and the U.S. has some of the most stringent requirements for drug testing in the world. This is usually why drugs are available in other countries before the U.S. Of course, meeting the U.S. requirements can cost hundreds of millions of dollars for a single medication. To give you an idea, Merck spent $2.7 billion on research & development last year, $2.5 billion in 2001, and $2.3 billion in 2000. As of September 30th, they are already up to $2.2 billion in R&D. In four years they will probably have spent around $10 billion for R&D. That is just one company!

2. From the Merck 2002 Annual Report:

"The Company believes that it is in compliance in all material respects with applicable environmental laws and regulations. Capital expenditures for environmental protection are forecasted to exceed $525.0 million for the years 2003 through 2007. In addition, the Company’s operating and maintenance expenditures for pollution control were approximately $87.8 million in 2002. Expenditures for this purpose for the years 2003 through 2007 are forecasted to approximate $515.0 million. Expenditures for remediation and environmental liabilities were $31.1 million in 2002, and are estimated at $107.0 million for the years 2003 through 2007." 

3. It costs money to manufacture and sell drugs. Merck spent $6 billion on marketing and administrative costs in 2002. They also spent $33 billion on materials and production.

4. In 2002, Merck made $7 billion in net income out of $51 billion in sales. Sounds like a lot? If a prescription drug made by Merck cost you $51, $7 would go to Merck's "bottom line". Of course, that is assuming no profit by the pharmacy AND no sales tax.

5. As of 12/31/02, Merck's total equity was about $18 billion. Their total current and long-term liabilities total $17 billion. Not a whole lot left over if they hit hard times. While I am sure any individual can live on a billion for a long time, large companies like Merck don't last too long without drastic measures if things go south quickly (i.e. the Tylenol tampering scare of the 80's) unless they keep a lot of money "in the bank".

6. Drug company employees have health insurance too. They use drugs too. They are NOT perfectly healthy greedy androids. They have families and health problems just like the rest of us.

 

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT work for Merck, I have never worked for Merck, nor do I know anyone who has ever worked for Merck. I only chose them because they were a drug company with which I was familiar with the name. All information about Merck is from the 2002 Merck Annual Report, which can be found at the SEC website (www.sec.gov).

 

I could continue about health insurance companies also, but I suspect what I find would be similar. Aside from that, I am tired of looking at annual reports.

 

Regarding the issue of getting medicine from Canada, it sounds like a good idea. Which means the government will eventually mess with it, as they never leave a good idea alone!

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Edmcgon, you raise good points about the cost of preparing drugs - a lot of research. Klingonmike, I'm really not sure if ordering from Canada is legal or not - I heard they just opened several hundred foreign packages for "inspection" and found they included drug orders. Nik I hope you son is fully recovered - I am sorry to hear he had a rough start.

 

I've been thinking about this issue and would like to add a couple of thoughts.

 

1. While I was aware of R&D costs I had heard in a political speech (but don't have time to follow up) that much of the R&D costs are subsidized by the taxpayer - ie claimed as deductions or subject to grant etc. This would take some accounting digging but they could list the money as expenditure and at the same time claim it as a deduction.

 

2. In some instances drugs purchased from foreign countries were actually manufactured in the US . I still don't understand how other countries can purchase these drugs from US manufacturers and then sell them back to American citizens at a lower cost and still make a profit? It would seem the US companies are selling them at less cost to the Canadians etc. Many manufacturers of all sorts sell to large volume customers at reduced price. (That's why WalMart stays in business). Perhaps we need a large scale distributor in the US than can make volume purchases from the companies and sell to individuals.

 

3. A few months ago a US News article highlighted drug company acitivities - and one of the practices mentioned was a bonus paid to insurance companies for promoting their drugs over a competitors. It wasn't a kickback because kickbacks are illegal. It just served the same purpose. (Merck was doing this with Prilosec before it went OTC).

 

4. As disgusting as the money situation is - the health concerns are alarming. Patients may never know of a drug that may be better for them because the insurance company has a deal with another manufacturer.

 

5. I have a couple of other questions and I hope to make it to the SEC website to follow up. Thanks for the reference.

[ddillard 2]

I know the feeling. I am on anti depressants and have to go through insurance companies with two jobs now and the first one made me go through trying 7 different prescriptions before they would agree to pay for the one that I need (Most of which made me sick) then with the insurance from the job that I have now is now wanting me to go through the same list of medications again to prove that they don't work in order to get them to agree to cover the one that I need. It is very frustrating especially since it means that right now I do not have any meds and it will take about two months of going through this list and giving each one a chance before I can get what I need, which really messes up my system.

[Klingonmike 0]

Ordering drugs from Canada is still legal here in Florida and there are hundreds of older people here that get them from there.There was a thing on the news this morning about a business called RX Depot that is trying to be shut down by that state (Can't remember which state) and they showed a group of old folks picketing outside condeming the goverment for trying to close them down.One Older couple says they save $600.00 a month getting their meds from Canada and if they close this place down there health will be in jeapordy since they can't afford the drugs they need with American prices.

It seems to me that the goverment is no longer "For the People" its more about "for the corperations" which give the politicians the money they now enjoy.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Ordering drugs from Canada is still legal here in Florida and there are hundreds of older people here that get them from there.There was a thing on the news this morning about a business called RX Depot that is trying to be shut down by that state (Can't remember which state) and they showed a group of old folks picketing outside condeming the goverment for trying to close them down.One Older couple says they save $600.00 a month getting their meds from Canada and if they close this place down there health will be in jeapordy since they can't afford the drugs they need with American prices.

It seems to me that the goverment is no longer "For the People" its more about "for the corperations" which give the politicians the money they now enjoy.

I know people in Florida order meds from Canada but the law is a Federal law not a state law so it would be illegal everywhere. There are a couple of state governments that sponsor buying trips to Canada which the FDA is looking into going after. I did a little research on this and the best I could find was that individual purchases fall into a "gray area". The government has been ignoring individuals and mainly going after resellers. I'm afraid that is going to change because of the drug company lobby.

 

On the other hand if they lock everyone up for importing meds they have to provide meds at state expense :angry:

[Klingonmike 0]

When did it become a Federal law? The woman I work with just ordered some from Canada last week thru a company here in Ft.Myers.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

When did it become a Federal law? The woman I work with just ordered some from Canada last week thru a company here in Ft.Myers.

Prescription medications are regulated by the FDA, a federal agency.

 

ABC News

 

Here's a disturbing article. They know we have to pay their cost or die - so the drug companies will quit selling to Canada if they sell back to US residents.

 

Fox News

 

This article proves one of my prior points - American drug companies sell their medicines to Canada at a cheaper price than what they sell to Americans.

 

Fox News

 

I lost my job (and hence insurance earlier this year) - I was very lucky in that one of my prescriptions just went OTC.

[Klingonmike 0]

I talked with the woman I work with this morning and she says they have not closed down the places she orders her meds from which she says she's thankful for.There are about a half dozen places in the area that order meds from Canada. Barbara (The lady I work with) says she is saving close to $300.00 a month and if they take away tha Canada connection she doesn't know what she'll do.She's very pissed off at the goverment and the drug companies right now.Something needs to be done or eventually there will be thousands of good honest people breaking the law because TPTB are not cutting them a break.

[trekzone 0]

thatsa big bummer Gotabite!

[Gotabite 0]

I sincerely appreciate all of the feedback I have gotten here. The unrealistic cost of trying to take care of one's health is a huge problem in this country. This issue needs to be addressed by our Congress, President, governors on down. I think something is very wrong when people have to resort to measures like this in order to maintain their health. I myself work for a medical center, which has, in the eyes of it employees, one of the worst insurance plans you could ever offer. My supervisor who has been unable to breathe through his nose for two years, had to post pone a surgery to fix this problem, because this same insurance company made him PROVE that the operation was absolutely necessary........now isn't breathing necessary? Why should you be forced to breathe through your mouth? At any rate I long for the days when I had good ole Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, and insurance seemed to be much more helpful to me than it does now.