Ever Incrasing Drug Prices: Who Pays?
Thursday, November 20th, 2008First…a move has sapped me of time. We will soon be back and posting more information. Sorry for not being able to be here for you.
Who Pays for Increasing Drug Prices?
Pharmaceutical companies will raise the price of their drugs, historically as high as 75% in a year.
By increasing the price they boost profits and set themselves up to steer patients away from cheaper generic drugs.
Lets say the patent is nearing the last year of protection. The company will launch a longer acting version of the drug (with a new patent to protect it) the year before. Then to get the patients to switch over to the new, the price of the new drug will be so low it will be a bargain.
By the time the generic versions hit the market, they will have milked the original drug for all it is worth and now have loyal buyers for the new product that is protected.
So what you may think.
There are two problems this creates for all.
Who do you think pays for the increase? We do in the form of increased health care premiums. We do again in the form of higher prices of products from employers who pay increased premiums. We do yet again when we have to pay the co-pays.
It gets better (or worse if you do not have stock in a pharmaceutical and are a user). What if a person take a drug for “off label” reasons. Many drugs have benefits other than what they are approved for. In such cases, the insurance companies will not pay for the drug.
Although the company hopes they will be used for off label needs, if caught promoting for off label uses, they could be fined, often for hundreds of millions. This is not a problem that cant be fixed by yet another price hike.
This results in many who just stop taking drugs because they cannot afford them.
What to do.
In educational seminars on boosting glutathione, one of the most often asked questions about the two products that do this, “Is it covered by insurance?” Depending on the state and often age and use, for a very few it is covered by insurance.
Remember, nothing is free. We will pay in one way or another. We could pay in lost days of work. We could pay in higher insurance premiums.
The benefits however are priceless. One leukemia survivor who did not like the odds the doctors gave him put his leukemia in remission buy boosting his glutathione. The cost, it was close to $600 per month. This was paid out of pocket for several months. He is not taking chances and is on a maintenance dose of about $150 per month.
This is out of pocket. This is off label. But it works.
Remember, we will pay in one way or another. And you get what you pay for.
Learn more about Glutathione and how you can take charge of your health.