I can't believe some people!

[OneMoreTime]

Actually this doesn't surprise, but it does amaze me. I had a guy from an insurance company, or so he said, call about one of his customers. She had called him complaining that she had to pay a $3.00 co pay on a medication. She paid $3.00 for a medication that cost OVER $1,000.00!!!

[Food Lady]

Wow. $3 is nothing, even if you're poor. My prescription pain pills are only $11, but I'd be willing to pay much more because a) they last a year b) I am so grateful to have something that makes me functional when it's really bad.

[Kogarashi]

Ugh. We recently spent $150 for a teeny-tiny bottle of prescription eye drops for my oldest to clear up some pinkeye. I'd much rather have a $3 copay.

[Sapphire Silk]

SMH Some people.

[fma_fanatic]

Ugh. We recently spent $150 for a teeny-tiny bottle of prescription eye drops for my oldest to clear up some pinkeye. I'd much rather have a $3 copay.

I'm on DaDairyDruid's insurance for the time being until my job goes permanent. I have eye drops for my eye allergies and when I went to get a refill, they wanted $40 for a tiny bottle. If I were getting two or more, I'd understand, but just that much for a 2oz bottle was a bit much.

Luckily my doctor suggested an over the counter alternative, that cost 1/4th that much, and it does have a generic store brand alternative in several stores. It also appears to be something I can get inexpensively on Amazon as well.

[Food Lady]

Luckily my doctor suggested an over the counter alternative, that cost 1/4th that much, and it does have a generic store brand alternative in several stores. It also appears to be something I can get inexpensively on Amazon as well.

Yay for that! I might know what it is. The one I've used is around $13, which is bad enough, but better than $40. And I don't need it all the time, thankfully.

[mathnerd]

My epi-pens are $400 for a two pack.

[MoonCat]

Oy.

My aunt's health insurance used to charge her 50 cents for her scrips. Yep, fifty cents. Then it went up to a dollar, so she would say that her costs had doubled

[EricKei]

I actually avoided a "pay way too much" situation last year, thanks to my doc taking the time to do some research. I had a couple of meds which work in concert, and so she had me on a pill that combined them into one tablet. She wanted to increase one but not the other -- Her initial scrip was for the corresponding hybrid form...which, for some reason, is not available in generic, and cost an extra $40/month. I asked her to double check, and it turned out that I could just keep taking my old "A+B" tablet, plus another "A only" tablet -- both of which are generic -- and have the same net dosage for $4 a month more than what I was paying before. A bit more reasonable. Glad I asked her about it

[Miss Maple Leaf]

I have to take Humira to treat my Crohn's, and a box of two pens costs almost $1800. Luckily, I only have to take one every other week, and my health insurance at work plus Pharmacare take care of the cost for me. Otherwise I'd be absolutely screwed.

[Shangri-laschild]

My prescription is at least $200 a month till I hit my deductible which is high enough that I will probably almost hit it but not quite by the end of the fiscal year. I'd love to pay only $3.

[Nunavut Pants]

My epi-pens are $400 for a two pack.

And they have an expiration date...

(Wife has allergies that require her to have one.)

[Sapphire Silk]

It's the pen mechanism you're paying for. It's "proprietary." And under patent

My inhaler went from $10 to $150 because they changed the formula to make it more environmentally friendly . . . which put it back under patent.

My migraine medication costs over $500 for nine tablets if I have to pay cash. Obviously, I can't do that. Made for a miserable couple of months when I was between insurance plans, plus my new plan doesn't cover my old med so I had to go on a different one once I finally DID get back on insurance.

[wolfie]

It's the pen mechanism you're paying for. It's "proprietary." And under patent

How can it still be under patent? I recall reading a murder mystery where a key plot point was sabotaging someone's epi-pen over 20 years ago, and the military has had auto-injectors for chemical warfare antidotes for at least that long. Even if the current generation is still under patent, why can't a manufacturer of generics use an older, patent-expired design?

My inhaler went from $10 to $150 because they changed the formula to make it more environmentally friendly . . . which put it back under patent.

Other than Primateem Mist (OTC, banned due to having flourocarbon propellant - not a danger to patients, but how much ozone depletion would asthma patients cause?), I can't recall any inhaler formulas being banned. If it's not that one, why can't a manufacturer of generics still make the older formula?

[Iris Kojiro]

Other than Primateem Mist (OTC, banned due to having flourocarbon propellant - not a danger to patients, but how much ozone depletion would asthma patients cause?), I can't recall any inhaler formulas being banned. If it's not that one, why can't a manufacturer of generics still make the older formula?

Albuterol inhalers used to be generic until they banned chlorofluorocarbons in the inhalers, replacing them with hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) based inhalers. Now we have ProAir, Ventolin, and Proventil, all of which are considered brand by insurances.