How much do prescription drugs really cost americans.

[Epidemic]

I went to the doctor about a year ago and they told me I had an infection (non viral).

The doctor gave me a prescription for Ciperal (spelling)
Upon reflection I asked the doctor why he chose the most expensive anti-biotic. He said because it was more effective on what I had. Now I am not allergic to any illin products. They usually knock out what ever I have in 2 to 3 days. What could be more effective than that. Besides how can a doctor determine what would be more effective with out a culture and some lab time.

How much more effective could the 700 dollar a bottle stuff be than the 5 dollar a bottle stuff.

Now I know about the free trips and stuff they get on the drug companies and all that. But why would my insurance company even consider it.

How much more effective could Ciperal be than 500 mg amoxcillin TID.

How much do prescription drugs really cost Americans to actually get the job done versus doing it a split second faster or eliminating a instant of pain?

Now it is different if one drug cures you and the other does not. But in the big scheme of things is it worth it for one day less runny nose or an extra day with a migraine when comparing 700 dollars versus 5 dollars.

How many of the drugs given to the elderly meet the “better but barely perceivably” category. I see grandma taking a regiment of 50 drugs and each with a side effect worse than the previous and have to wonder what her life would be like absent the drugs. Or with a modified regiment.

I watched my grandfather degrade slowly with out such a regiment over a period of years and watch a grandmother degrade at virtually the same rate with serious drug intervention. Grandpa took glycerin and grandma is on fancy drugs.

I just wonder where the truth lies. Has anyone ever done a real study on the effectiveness of drug therapies versus cost. Does the 50 vial regiment really improve anything. Is the cost of these drugs offering a day, a year, or more. Is the pain that some of the more fancy medication relieving more pain to a point where a person would actually pay hundreds of dollars a bottle if it came out of their pocket.

Can’t help but wonder.

With my cold I would not pay more than 20 bucks to relieve 3 days of symptoms. If it came out of my pocket I might even wait for severity to increase a bit. With my back pain that I have that cripple me up I usually suffer through the 30 to 40 day it takes for it to subside with little more than aspirin or Motrin.

If people had to pay their own money for some exotic drug would they choose to use it or would they grin and bear some of the pain. Is this were much of increased health care costs come from. People who decide well heck it is only a 5 dollar co pay I think I will get my cold looked at again.

Perhaps major medical care should be looked at as if it were your money. Where you ask the doctor (is there a cheaper alternative which will yield the same results)

Personal experience would say that more often than not the doctor will say yes (after some prodding).

[whitebeard21]

I had a heart attack, r/x after a stent was inserted. a drug that is now banned because it kills more than it cures. a drug to lower my blood pressure from 135 over 85 to 115 over 80 said right on the bottle do not discontinue or you die (B.S.) also take 1 aspirin a day.
I could afford the prescription but not the $145.00 3 minute monthly office call for the renewal of the R/x so I gradually reduced my intake to 0 havent died blood pressure back up to 130-135 over 80-85 if I cut out salt it drops 10 points .
I havent had a flu shot since 1965, had the flu twice.
The way I see it take a which gives sideeffect b so take d to correct c which causes e,f,g and so on.
imho only an idiot is going to tell a doctor what drugs they require. Yet people do it all the time, they see the ads to fix this fix that and ignore the side effects. Sort of like telling an airline pilot what altitude and route to take.
the bottom line in my opinion is if an aspirin will not cure it in two weeks then see a doctor. Buy a physicans desk refrence and look up any drug before you fill any prescription. You will be amazed at the alternatives ( cheaper, less side effects) and some of the side effects listed for some of these popular drugs.

[osprey4]

Originally posted by Epidemic
Has anyone ever done a real study on the effectiveness of drug therapies versus cost.

Absolutely. Insurance companies and prescription benefit companies do this all the time. Even the FDA does it. For example...

originally published in BW Online
For drugmakers, this fall's Cipro saga contains the germ of a potential nightmare. No, not because of worries that the antibiotic is scarce or that anthrax will bring America to its knees. The scary part for the industry was watching tough-talking Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson bully Cipro manufacturer Bayer into slashing its price by threatening to take away its patent-protected monopoly.

In one fell swoop, Thompson highlighted the fact that Cipro costs about 10 times as much as equally effective drugs, he emboldened Brazil and other countries to break patents to lower drug costs, and he set a worrisome precedent for future government meddling in the cost of medicines. If a free-market Republican Administration can force Bayer to cut its price, how will the government be able to resist stepping in when the soaring cost of a future Medicare drug benefit threatens to break the bank?

[Epidemic]

I am not for price controls per say. on a chemical level how much does it take to produce cipro? do you think that bayer would no longer produce cipro if people could not afford it? Comes back to deep pockets AFAIAC. Were there no insurance cipro would cost materials and labor plus 10 to 20% markup.


I guess what I am saying is Using the Police power of the USA how much money do you force your fellow american to pay to keep someone alive for 5 years. IS there a limit to that.

Using the police power of the USA how much money do you take from people to cover non life threatening illness.

Broken arms, Glasses, Common cold, Alergy, ADD drugs. Do you restict access to poor people if they can not afford the above.

How bout blood pressure drugs and blood pressure monitoring where diet is a big part of the problem. Do you cover that by redistributing money under the authority of the US government, from the rich and middle classed?

Government health care will have to grapple with such concepts.

Currently does the government force an old person on medicaid to stop smoking in order to receive benefits or to stop drinking the fat from his bacon?

Does the government make medicaid recipients pay for bogus office visits for inconsequential problems? I doubt it that would require judgement calls and when it is not your money why go through the effort.

Is personal responsibility even a requirement when receiving government benefits?

[MTAtech]

With respect to cost-effective treatment, I don't know why there are so many heart bypasses done. A small company (http://www.eecp.com) has a proven treatment for heart blockages. Unlike procedures such as bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty, EECP treatment can be administered in outpatient sessions, carries little or no risk, and is relatively comfortable. On top of that, bypasses cost $50K-75K and EECP is around $10K.

Now, EECP doesn't eliminate the need for surgery for some people but it can for many.

[Epidemic]

Do you demand that poor people have this and allow those who have money to get open heart surgery which does not require constant upkeep. The open heart surgery will free you from those weekly EECP vis****. Some would say that the poor person should not be restricted in their access to the best alternative (for the sake of argument call the best openheart surgery)

Where the EECP may save the life the open heart gives more freedom. (if you dont die on the operating table )

[no1_vern]

I personally think we shouldnt allow price controls. We SHOULD ensure there are at least 3 different manufacturers for each product to ensure price competition allowing for the lowest price point possible.

Our system isnt set up that way now and it should be. The only time you will have price gouging is when there is no competition(monopoly).

[whitebeard21]

What gripes me is the research done with government grants, then a drug co patents the results and charges a 100,000 % markup on the mfg cost and justify it by saying look at the research cost completely ignoring the fact the taxpayer footed the bill.

[MTAtech]

EECP doesn't require weekly visits. The treatment requires a number of treatments over a course of several weeks. After that, your arteries are clean. EECP is superior to heart surgery and cheaper.

[Epidemic]

Mta let me rephrase the question a bit.

Do you allow people who cannot afford their own care a 100,000-dollar prosthetic leg or a 800 dollar wheel chair and a pair of crutches that can get them around. Virtually every high-end medical procedure has a best alternative and less desired alternative. You can go on dialysis or get a kidney transplant. A heart transplant or light duty and medication. Do you give people who cannot afford the best alternative the best at any cost even if there are cheaper alternatives which can do a REASONABLE job.