I can't believe some people!

[Teysa]

One of the meds my mom is on for Parkinson's costs around $150 a month after insurance. And, of course. she has to take it to function.

[Food Lady]

One of the diabetics in my family pays $600 a month to basically stay alive. I think she'd rather the $3.

[EricKei]

wolfie : Same way as an existing medicine can "return to patent" -- Make a slight change to the formulation (or mechanism, in this case), patent the new version, then stop making the old one as soon as the new version hits the market (if any remain of the old one, have them recalled and destroy them).(edit:) Also, they likely renewed the old patent somehow; intentionally avoiding starting a brand-new one, specifically so that they could continue to make money off of something whose time had formally passed.

Legal? Very probably. Ethical? That's for Fratching to decide

[NecessaryCatharsis]

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

That's insane. I'm paying 95$ per without a prescription (with, it's covered by my insurance) or the multi pack, syringe type are about $80 for a three dose kit. If you ever make it to Canada stock up.

[WoodenSunshine]

I'm starting to see a lot of this since I started in the pharmacy. I had a patient have to pay almost a grand for a very, very necessary med and that was WITH insurance. I also have patients that have to break up their insulin scripts into single bottles, because three bottles would be over $250.00. I just want to hug half the people I see at work :\

[Teefies2]

I see this all the time. "$3 ????? But WWHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????? I have INSURANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEE"

Lady be glad you HAVE insurance .... otherwise your so-called "life or death medicine" (read... oxycotin) would be $300 !!!

Sorry, don't mean to imply that some medications aren't life or death, but last I checked, oxycotin was for pain ... I can't think of many types of pain that could actually KILL you.

Well, okay, maybe I can - paying $3 for your prescription LOL

[Catwoman2965]

I'm very lucky in that I have great insurance, and my prescription co-pays aren't really that much, in the whole scheme of things. My prescriptions, in a retail pharmacy are $12, $35 and $60 for generic, preferred and non-preferred. By mail, for a 90 day supply its $25/$85/$150 for the same. And my out of pocket max is $1850. Thankfully I don't really take anything on a regular basis, aside from allergy stuff and inhalers, which I only use every now and again.

Yet I still here people here complain about the cost of meds; Um, how about you look at what you'd pay if you had NO insurance?

[Aria]

I see this all the time. "$3 ????? But WWHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????? I have INSURANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEE"

If they can bitch about 3 dollars for a pain med, they are clearly not in enough pain to justify having it. I know the one time I was in agonizing pain, I would have paid ANYTHING to make it go away. I did pay roughly 200... and it WENT AWAY! Money well spent.

[ladyjaneinmd]

I'm very lucky in that I have great insurance, and my prescription co-pays aren't really that much, in the whole scheme of things. My prescriptions, in a retail pharmacy are $12, $35 and $60 for generic, preferred and non-preferred. By mail, for a 90 day supply its $25/$85/$150 for the same. And my out of pocket max is $1850. Thankfully I don't really take anything on a regular basis, aside from allergy stuff and inhalers, which I only use every now and again.

Yet I still here people here complain about the cost of meds; Um, how about you look at what you'd pay if you had NO insurance?

One of my best medications would cost me more than $600 a month without insurance. I pay $80 for 3 months - and cheerfully. It's a small price to pay to feel this good.

[AccountingDrone]

I'm starting to see a lot of this since I started in the pharmacy. I had a patient have to pay almost a grand for a very, very necessary med and that was WITH insurance. I also have patients that have to break up their insulin scripts into single bottles, because three bottles would be over $250.00. I just want to hug half the people I see at work :\

One reason I draw my medications from the military pharmacy, I get my meds free. If I were to pay out civilian side, I would be screwed - our family is a one income family that lives in one of the most expensive states in the US ... Rob put in a full 20 year career in a pretty much shitty pay, shitty condition 'job' that got me told on one memorable occasion that they wished he would get killed because he was in the military.

[taxguykarl]

My prescriptions, in a retail pharmacy are $12, $35 and $60 for generic, preferred and non-preferred. By mail, for a 90 day supply its $25/$85/$150

When a generic for one of Mrs. TGK's scrips became available, her co-pay fell 90%.

[WishfulSpirit]

Most drug companies have a free meds program. If anyone is struggling to pay for meds that could be a good resource. Pparx.com lists names of most programs. Otherwise just google your drug manufacturer with the search term "assistance program."

[Sapphire Silk]

Most drug companies have a free meds program. If anyone is struggling to pay for meds that could be a good resource. Pparx.com lists names of most programs. Otherwise just google your drug manufacturer with the search term "assistance program."

These programs are part of why drugs cost so much. They are an excuse to keep prices high for everyone else.

[Aria]

These programs are part of why drugs cost so much. They are an excuse to keep prices high for everyone else.

This is exactly why Doctors Without Borders refused a million 'free' vaccines recently. Because they don't want donations, they want a low price that they can afford...

[BeeMused]

WOW, reading this makes me really happy about healthcare here in Germany, co-pay is max. 10€, even if the meds cost 10,000 or more. The co-pay is capped at 2% of your yearly income, 1% if you have chronic illnesses. That makes it very affordable. There are many problems with healthcare in Germany, but all in all, it's a good thing.