The Cost of Prescription Drugs

[Willow325]

We, here in America, supposedly have the best health care system around and yet we have the sickest people on Earth, and over 50 million people don't have any insurance, whatsoever. Something is drastically wrong.

Willow325

Edited August 11, 2008 by Willow325

[Xan]

Medications are expensive because of the research dollars and all the years it takes for a drug to come to market (average 10 years). The pharmaceutical companies have to recoop their loss as well as make enough of a profit to justify making the product in the first place. Renagel, for example, may only cost 5 cents a pill (I have no idea, just speculating), but Genzyme put millions of dollars or more into the entire project. Since it was FDA approved in 2000, the patent will be running out soon, making the drug cheaper.

Obviously, I will not give out any medical advice, but has your husband's doctor tried him on Phoslo instead of Renagel? It's not recommended for patients with high calcium levels, and if that's the case with your husband, then he's better with Renagel, but it's worth looking into because of cost consideration.

Also, when I was between insurance companies, I discovered my medication is cheaper to me without insurance because it's on the national formulary. Now that I have insurance again, I have not reported it to my pharmacy. You might want to check into that. It's doubtful any of your husband's renal related meds are on it, and I am 99% Renagel is not, but hopefully you will save a few bucks by looking into it.

[mizzdy]

Over the last 10 years I have been no stranger to the price of meds, I have been on so many different ones it was hard to keep track of them. Costco is usually cheaper than anywhere else and you don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy. There are programs out there but have a very limited range as far as monthly income goes and I never qualified but you might look into it. I am on a med that I will need to take for the rest of my life with no exceptions and have no insurance and it costs me about 60 a month. I have been thinking of getting it from the UK and I can order it off the internet. A friend of mine does this and gets her meds really cheap so that may be something you could look into also.

As far as the commercials!! Just listening to the side effects is enough to kill a person.

[kat8585]

Everyone needs to read an earlier Dick Morris book, "Outrage", to see how the drug companies are raping us beyond belief. There are a lot of other outrages outlined in it, too. You'll get really angry reading it.

[Willow325]

Renagel, for example, may only cost 5 cents a pill (I have no idea, just speculating),

No, Renagel doesn't cost 5 cent a pill. I said, it would be nice if ALL prescription pills cost only 5 cent each. 180 x 5 = $9.00 for a bottle of 180 tablets. These Renagel tablets cost total, $1147.00. Each tablet costs about $9.67. Roughy $10 a tablet.

I'd be interested in finding out what the salaries of the CEO's of the pharmaceutical companies make. I would bet it is in the hundreds of millions or even billions. IMO, too much is spent on the people at the top. As for the research. How can the FDA passed drugs into society that kill the people who take them? and then turn around and say vitamins should be banned?

Willow325

[Xan]

Renagel, for example, may only cost 5 cents a pill (I have no idea, just speculating),

No, Renagel doesn't cost 5 cent a pill. I said, it would be nice if ALL prescription pills cost only 5 cent each. 180 x 5 = $9.00 for a bottle of 180 tablets. These Renagel tablets cost total, $1147.00. Each tablet costs about $9.67. Roughy $10 a tablet.

I'm talking manufacturing costs.

BTW, any thoughts on my suggestions?

[Xan]

As for the research. How can the FDA passed drugs into society that kill the people who take them? and then turn around and say vitamins should be banned?

Drugs being passed that are potentially fatal is the main reason so many years and monies are put into research before it comes to market. However, I agree the FDA has made alot of mistakes, which is why they have been hyper-vigilant the past couple of years (which they need to be). Vitamins should not be banned, but the concern is since they do not have to undergo FDA research standards, then safety and efficacy are not verified. I think the right thing for vitamins and other supplements have already been done, and that is not to force the manufacturers to comply with the lengthy and costly clinical research, but to also make disclaimers that any potential benefits is unverifiable.