What should be done about the outrageous increases in prescription drug prices?

[Victorian Gray]

No, it's not.

-John

It's $2500 in India. And here is why, it's due to government /legal action.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...70-000-in-the-us-costs-2-500-in-india/274847/

 

[Zorkorist]

It's $2500 in India. And here is why, it's due to government /legal action.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...70-000-in-the-us-costs-2-500-in-india/274847/

That's like saying that Tobacco is cheap in North Carolina. It's only cheap in North Carolina because the Governments in the other states are taxing it 3x to 300x.

Meanwhile, tobacco, is just tobacco.

-John

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Lol healthcare experts

Republican hating Sportage excoriating them while the Obama administration strangled the only rational paradigm in it's cradle which Bush was lending support to. Tin God Democrats? Worthless. Republicans? Useless. This has been this "solution". Let's say the acquisition cost of a med is $100. A $3 dispensing fee is earned, thevnet reimbursement, plus 5%. The manufacturer increases the cost to $110. What do politicians do? They boast about cutting costs and do they control the med costs? NO. They cut reimbursement to the point that it's costs money to fill a prescription. It's an actual nloss. So you see Walmart and other companies which use pharmacy as a loss leader, but that results in dangerous staffing cuts so the mandate switches from care to productivity. Less time thinking and on communication. Count count count and shove the bottle at the person you used to say hello to but now never look up at. Now understand this. This is exactly what government and private health systems want and it's a dangerous thing.

 

[blankslate]

Use the Sherman Anti-Trust act to reverse the purchase of some of the smaller drug companies that produced generic drugs by the larger pharmaceuticals...

that or accept the fact that if you can't afford increased drug prices then you obviously don't make enough to matter to the people who make decisions about drug prices.


...

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

What should be done about the outrageous increases in prescription drug prices?

Not cut backroom deals with Big Pharma?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/internal-memo-confirms-bi_n_258285.html

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Use the Sherman Anti-Trust act to reverse the purchase of some of the smaller drug companies that produced generic drugs by the larger pharmaceuticals...

that or accept the fact that if you can't afford increased drug prices then you obviously don't make enough to matter to the people who make decisions about drug prices.


...

The problem is those laws are difficult to enforce when actions involve extra-national corporations. Further, it's a lot more complicated that that. In order to make most anything you need a source of raw materials. What has been happening with increasing frequency is that non-pharmaceutical entities are taking advantage of this fact. Here's a real world example. Tetracycline related drugs are cheap to make. Well they were, until the key ingredient needed to produce them was taken over and then stopped. That drove the remaining value of stockpiles ever higher and eventually these effective and inexpensive medications could not be had anywhere in the world.

At that point production resumes, but the price of that vital ingredient skyrockets, to the point that something which might cost 5 cents to make increases by almost a hundred times. You don't just "make stuff" to replace what you are being robbed for as costs are very high for tooling and refining for pharmaceutical grade ingredients.

So the "robber drug companies" are selling a ten dollar bottle of pills for $500 and of course that's because they are evil and gouging. Well, not in this an many other cases, so it's probably a good idea to not subscribe to the dogma of popular evil in absence of facts.

 

[IronWing]

From reading the various articles the issue is not that prescription drug prices are rising as a whole - its that the brand new drug costs are going up. Looking at the articles it seems the new ones are driving the average price up while the mean is falling.

One of my wife's asthma drugs has nearly tripled in price since it was released in 2004. At the current spot price, the drug sells for 14,000 times as much as gold per once. Thanks to the corrupt U.S. patent system, the drug was evergreened, delaying any possibility of a generic alternative for an additional ten years.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

One of my wife's asthma drugs has nearly tripled in price since it was released in 2004. At the current spot price, the drug sells for 14,000 times as much as gold per once. Thanks to the corrupt U.S. patent system, the drug was evergreened, delaying any possibility of a generic alternative for an additional ten years.

Which med?

 

[IronWing]

Which med?

Spiriva

 

[BUTCH1]

The problem is those laws are difficult to enforce when actions involve extra-national corporations. Further, it's a lot more complicated that that. In order to make most anything you need a source of raw materials. What has been happening with increasing frequency is that non-pharmaceutical entities are taking advantage of this fact. Here's a real world example. Tetracycline related drugs are cheap to make. Well they were, until the key ingredient needed to produce them was taken over and then stopped. That drove the remaining value of stockpiles ever higher and eventually these effective and inexpensive medications could not be had anywhere in the world.

At that point production resumes, but the price of that vital ingredient skyrockets, to the point that something which might cost 5 cents to make increases by almost a hundred times. You don't just "make stuff" to replace what you are being robbed for as costs are very high for tooling and refining for pharmaceutical grade ingredients.

So the "robber drug companies" are selling a ten dollar bottle of pills for $500 and of course that's because they are evil and gouging. Well, not in this an many other cases, so it's probably a good idea to not subscribe to the dogma of popular evil in absence of facts.

Some members of congress have asked these companies why prices are skyrocketing back in late October, they have yet to receive any responses. If indeed the cost of the raw materials needed to manufacture these drugs have shot way up in price it would take a very short amount of time to relate that information. People will just end up dying over this fucking corporate greed, at this point and for the first time I'm ashamed to be an American citizen.
EDIT:, I've found the letter requesting information that was sent Oct. 2nd by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, also below click the links and see the staggering price increases in that have happened in ONE year, sometimes over 750%!, get ready to have your eyes pop out of your head!, http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congress-investigating-why-generic-drug-prices-are-skyrocketing

 

[Pens1566]

LOL

Ridiculous.

-John

Care to expand, or are you still not taking your meds?

 

[Sonikku]

Bush already took care of rising drug costs years ago with Medicare Part D. I can only conjecture it was a resounding success as it didn't take any criticism like Obamacare did.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Bush already took care of rising drug costs years ago with Medicare Part D. I can only conjecture it was a resounding success as it didn't take any criticism like Obamacare did.

Dems bitched and moaned about Medicare Part D for years and years. I thought it was interesting that costs came in much, much lower than their apocalyptic projections.

 

[BUTCH1]

The letters target ten commonly prescribed drugs that have had outrageous price hikes. The representative drugs they have asked for information on include doxycycline, an antibiotic that has been in use for decades, which has gone from $20 a bottle for 500 pills in October 2013 to $1,849 a bottle in April, 2014. Other drugs listed in the request include pravastatin, which lowers cholesterol, digoxin, a widely used, crucial drug for millions of cardiac patients which has been around for literally hundreds of years, and albuterol tablets, an asthma medication. The price of Digoxin has increased 884%. The price of the migraine and anti-seizure medicine Divalproex Sodium ER has increased 736% for a bottle of 80, 500 mg extended release tablets. You can see the chart of the medicines released by Sanders and Cummings here.

According to a study by Pembroke Consulting posted on Drugchannels.net the increases are staggering. For example, from July 2013 to July 2014 Captopril 50 mg tablets went from a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost ("NADC") by pharmacies of 3 cents a tablet to $1.31 a tablet. That's an increase of 3,806%. Captropril is taken by millions of people to control blood pressure. It is a very old, safe drug. There is no shortage or other reason to explain the increase. During the same time period the NADAC cost for the antibiotic tetracycline 500 mg capsule increased a whopping 17,714%. Tetracycline is another very old drug. It's not some cutting-edge treatment that a company recently spent millions to create.

Senator Sanders said in a statement, "It is unacceptable that Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Generic drugs were meant to help make medications affordable for the millions of Americans who rely on prescriptions to manage their health needs. We've got to get to the bottom of these enormous price increases." Rep. Cummings said, "When you see how much the prices of these drugs have increased just over the past year, it’s staggering, and we want to know why."

Pharmaceutical companies lobby both Republicans and Democrats and they have very deep pockets, which is why the proposal to allow Americans to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada eventually failed, despite widespread support from Americans. We hope politicians from both parties will get on board with changing the fact that Americans pay the highest prescription drug costs in the world. We subsidize cheap drugs prices in Europe. That needs to stop.

 

[OverVolt]

Its called the drug companies, flailing around and dying, and jacking up the price of drugs still on patent.

 

[Linux23]

I'm a huge fan of banning direct to consumer advertising (DTCA).

They should ban all Alcohol, Tobacco and these Pharmaceutical ads. Why as a consumer do I need to know about new products from these people? I would never understand the chemistry involved in them anyway. The doctor should be the one recommending new drugs to put their patients on and not the patients recommending new drugs to their doctor to prescribe them.

 

[rudeguy]

I don't care about the politics...I just wish someone would help.

In the past year the cost of my son's insulin has gone from roughly $40/month to $120. My coverage didn't change, the cost of insulin did.

 

[piasabird]

I thought Obama care was going to lead us into the promised land?

 

[piasabird]

Eat more vegetables.

 

[BoberFett]

They should ban all Alcohol, Tobacco and these Pharmaceutical ads. Why as a consumer do I need to know about new products from these people? I would never understand the chemistry involved in them anyway. The doctor should be the one recommending new drugs to put their patients on and not the patients recommending new drugs to their doctor to prescribe them.

LOL, so alcohol and tobacco should be included now as well, just because you don't use them?

I don't use tampons, and demand those ads be taken off the air!!! They're offensive to me as a man, because I have womb envy!!! Society needs to adjust to me and my sensitive feelings!!!

LOL, "liberals"...

 

[marincounty]

LOL, so alcohol and tobacco should be included now as well, just because you don't use them?

I don't use tampons, and demand those ads be taken off the air!!! They're offensive to me as a man, because I have womb envy!!! Society needs to adjust to me and my sensitive feelings!!!

LOL, "liberals"...

Drug companies spend more on advertising than they do on R and D. Why do they need to do television ads aimed at consumers?
LOL, right winger apologists for gouging.

 

[rudeguy]

Eat more vegetables.

what in the hell are you talking about?

 

[inachu]

The prices will crash one day. Currently they think the price can go up up up and soon we could see these firms just going on a fire sale as they buy out each other.

Of course you should know what is going to happen yes?

China will buy them all out of course.

 

[BoberFett]

Drug companies spend more on advertising than they do on R and D. Why do they need to do television ads aimed at consumers?
LOL, right winger apologists for gouging.

What does alcohol and tobacco have to do with this? Notice my post had nothing to do with pharmaceuticals.

And LOL at me being a right winger. You're so far left your chubby has become permanently lodged in Mao's rotting sphincter.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

ccording to a study by Pembroke Consulting posted on Drugchannels.net the increases are staggering. For example, from July 2013 to July 2014 Captopril 50 mg tablets went from a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost ("NADC") by pharmacies of 3 cents a tablet to $1.31 a tablet. That's an increase of 3,806%. Captropril is taken by millions of people to control blood pressure. It is a very old, safe drug. There is no shortage or other reason to explain the increase. During the same time period the NADAC cost for the antibiotic tetracycline 500 mg capsule increased a whopping 17,714%. Tetracycline is another very old drug. It's not some cutting-edge treatment that a company recently spent millions to create.

I'm aware of the cost increases and while pharmaceutical companies can and do play games I have this question for you-

Doxycycline and tetracycline were examples I used. There are no patents on them. They can and are made in many countries including India, not just the US.

Can you explain how every single company on the planet stopped producing these if there was no reason? I mean the entire world. Not a couple companies. Every bloody one. There were as many as there are dinosaurs now. How was this conspiracy organized? That people in government hadn't a clue is hardly surprising. They don't know how to tie their shoes.

There's a whole lot which goes on and while many are guilty just saying "big pharma" is incredibly naive.