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Why do MD's prescribe outrageously expensive meds? UPDATE it's a paid med trial

N

nanette1985

Diamond Member
Even if you have insurance, it just costs the insurance co more. I can order the stuff online from Canada for less, but doesn't anybody think about these things??



Update - rhematologist looked into this, turns out it's a drug trial, and the doc gets paid for every person he enrolls into the trial.

Probably not getting paid much, but I wish doc would have said something. I don't want to be a random guinea pig.
 
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Most doctors will prescribe an alternative if there is one and you inform them you cant afford the cost. Canada drug sales to the USA are a whole different matter. Drug in USA 285.00, Canada 64.00
 
Capt Caveman said:
Most insurance companies will make the prescription filler to use a generic if possible. Or you can always request it...
Click to expand...

This.

Whenever I get a prescription, I ask the doctor if a generic is available and if not, I ask if there is an alternative medication that would work but has a generic.
 
Expensive meds means more money for insurance companies which means more money that doctors can charge which means more money for them, too.

Our insurance system is absolutely abysmal, as is almost any industry that uses it. Medical stuff is just ridiculous. $200 to sit in a clinic waiting room and then have the doctor tell you in under 2 minutes that nothing is wrong? Fuck. That. I don't give a shit if my insurance takes care of it, it shouldn't be that fucking expensive in the first place. Horseshit.
 
Capt Caveman said:
Most insurance companies will make the prescription filler to use a generic if possible. Or you can always request it...
Click to expand...
Then the manufacturer offers a coupon that covers your co pay so you ask for the newest most expensive drug and the insurance has to cover it.

Follow the $$. In the end, we the people, get the shaft.
 
Beev said:
Expensive meds means more money for insurance companies which means more money that doctors can charge which means more money for them, too.
Click to expand...

Lol you have no idea what you're talking about. Insurance companies are actually giving kickbacks to doctors to switch patients to less expensive drugs. Our system is messed up but not for the reasons you think.
 
Doc says this generic is dangerous. Doesn't give me much confidence in the med. Aren't generics usually pretty close to the original.
 
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Beev said:
$200 to sit in a clinic waiting room and then have the doctor tell you in under 2 minutes that nothing is wrong? Fuck. That. I don't give a shit if my insurance takes care of it, it shouldn't be that fucking expensive in the first place. Horseshit.
Click to expand...


I agree 1000%.
I went to the ER on a holiday because I had lost one of my prescription bottles and didn't have any refills. I waited 3 hours and during that time they took my blood pressure and temperature. I saw the doctor for under 1 minute. He literally just walked in said "What is it and when do you think you can see your real doctor', I told him monday and he walked out, 10 minutes later they brought the paperwork and I left.

Fees:
$250 ER fee --- ? for what , chair rental ?
$155 DR. consult fee - ggrrr
$35 supplies - tongue depressors have really gone through inflation.
__________
$440 for a dr to use his pen for 1 minute
 
Capt Caveman said:
Most insurance companies will make the prescription filler to use a generic if possible. Or you can always request it...
Click to expand...

Yep. Most insurance companies have a PBM that make up a forumlary of what they'll cover, how much they'll cover, and if it should be auto-subbed for a generic.
 
nanette1985 said:
Even if you have insurance, it just costs the insurance co more. I can order the stuff online from Canada for less, but doesn't anybody think about these things??
Click to expand...
i am fortunate and have pro blue medical coverage, i pay $20 for brand and $10 for generic prescriptions
 
nanette1985 said:
Doc says the generic is dangerous. Doesn't give me much confidence in the med. Aren't generics usually pretty close to the original.
Click to expand...
heh sounds like $$$ changing hands

and i don't think you can call it a 'generic' drug unless it has the same exact active ingredient as the name brand.
 
Modelworks said:
I agree 1000%.
I went to the ER on a holiday because I had lost one of my prescription bottles and didn't have any refills. I waited 3 hours and during that time they took my blood pressure and temperature. I saw the doctor for under 1 minute. He literally just walked in said "What is it and when do you think you can see your real doctor', I told him monday and he walked out, 10 minutes later they brought the paperwork and I left.

Fees:
$250 ER fee --- ? for what , chair rental ?
$155 DR. consult fee - ggrrr
$35 supplies - tongue depressors have really gone through inflation.
__________
$440 for a dr to use his pen for 1 minute
Click to expand...

You went to a facility that is set up to provide emergency care. If they didn't charge out the ass everyone would go there for every little thing. Under a single payer system I doubt you would have been able to see a doctor at all for losing your meds on a holiday. No health care system is really going to provide that. Personally I would have called the doc and asked him to call a script in assuming it wasn't something highly controlled.
 
And it not's just kickbacks...it's just pure marketing. If you just had a drug rep come through your office and bring your staff a nice hot lunch from a local restaurant and give you an hour lecture on his latest and greatest arthritis or seasonal allergy med and gives you a handful of inkpens with the drug name on it that you use daily it's going to be on your mind.

He's not getting paid for that, it's just basic marketing and name recognition. It's no different than Coke, Budweiser, Doritos, GM, McDonalds, ect.
 
Modelworks said:
You do it online or drive . My mom knew a guy that made a trip to Canada once a month for the seniors in the area to get cheap drugs.
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The drive would be a little far. I was wondering if you knew of a specific website 🙂
 
the DRIZZLE said:
You went to a facility that is set up to provide emergency care. If they didn't charge out the ass everyone would go there for every little thing. Under a single payer system I doubt you would have been able to see a doctor at all for losing your meds on a holiday.
Click to expand...

The cost is to discourage people going ? wrong, it is all about profit. The argument that if ER were cheaper then people would use it for everything is false because people already do, they just don't pay the bill.
 
nanette1985 said:
Doc says the generic is dangerous. Doesn't give me much confidence in the med. Aren't generics usually pretty close to the original.
Click to expand...

The only difference between brand name and generics are the inactive ingredients used, I believe. I've read of adverse reactions due to the absorption/release rate of some active ingredients in some generics due to the inactive ingredients.
 
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Modelworks said:
The cost is to discourage people going ? wrong, it is all about profit. The argument that if ER were cheaper then people would use it for everything is false because people already do, they just don't pay the bill.
Click to expand...

It's not about profit. ED's are a money pit for a hospital. By law they can't turn people away and have to provide service regardless of ability to pay. The bills they charge have to subsidize the no-pays to at least keep some semblance of budget.
 
nanette1985 said:
Doc says the generic is dangerous. Doesn't give me much confidence in the med. Aren't generics usually pretty close to the original.
Click to expand...

A generic is, by definition, the same drug as the branded version. For example, advil is a brand name, but ibuprofen is the actual drug. You could buy a box of advil for $5, or you could buy a box of generic ibuprofen for $.25. They both contain the same number of tablets, each tablet containing the same amount of the same active ingredient. All that may be different, is the type of filler used, the shape of the tablet, and flavorings, easy-swallow coatings, etc.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the generic is medically identical to the branded.

However, there are a few cases where there are differences:
Some drugs, like the very powerful immune system suppressor, ciclosporin. For complex reasons, the absorption of ciclosporin depends dramatically on what it is dissolved in - oil, water, or other solvent, and whether it is taken as a liquid (or taken as a liquid filled capsule - which dissolves after a delay). There are several brand names, and generics of this drug, and they all give radically different blood levels for what is, on the label, the same dose.

Some drugs are specially forumalated with time-delayed release. E.g. some blood pressure or pain drugs need to be taken 4x a day, because they get excreted quickly. This is inconvenient,so manufacturers have developed special tablets that take 24 hours to dissolve, and release the drug at a controlled rate. Often, this slow-release technology is proprietary and specific to the drug - and generic manufacturers may not have the same, or equivalent slow-release mechanisms.
 
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