Yeah, but in the US I can buy pseudoephedrine over the counter and the sky doesn't fall. Believe it or not French regulations, but there's no epidemic of strokes among sufferers of the common cold. Yes, the US system is broken in places, but at least it's a lot less boneheadedly paternalistic about availability of obviously safe drugs.
A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
191–200 of 274 posts
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
Free market is the $20 over the counter in Europe, not the USA way.
I know, the problem with drugs in USA is the control a few corporations have over the politicians and the market, that's the reason health care and all related things are so expensive there compared to Europe.
I doubt it. The company probably would make more money selling it at 20 bucks at CVS to anyone who wants it than $800 per prescription.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#193If a drug isn't one of the following it should be available over the counter. 1. heinously addictive 2. incredibly dangerous when not used exactly correctly 3. an antibiotic (due to the resistance externality) And for drugs that do meet one of these conditions, doctors should be able to write lifetime prescriptions for cases where the medication is used to treat a permanent condition. This probably covers 95% of non-…
We'd have to grant some form of blanket immunity to drug companies the way we currently do with vaccines. Also, aren't most mostly benign drugs dangerous when combined with the wrong other mostly benign drugs? The gatekeeping protects against that.
Maybe sometimes, but a 5 second google search also protects against that 100% of the time. https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html So I'd rather skip the gatekeepers.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was on a blood thinner and the medication was very pricey. Didn't have insurance and the "savings card" covered fuck all unless you had insurance. There are three blood thinners on the US market and they all cost a lot.
If you don’t have insurance, you’re essentially fucked in the US but this thread is not referencing that situation. My CAT scan was billed for $10,000 but what I paid was about $200 with insurance. Without insurance I would owe $10k.
Was $10k before or after the insurance negotiated discount? Pre-discount prices mean nothing: I had the same tests ordered twice (needed the results urgently), once through my PCP/HMO and once paid to a walk-in doctor's office in cash. The cash price was $700. My PCP claimed a price of insurance $3500, who then negotiated it down to a "discounted" $710. So the worst of both worlds would have been a high deductible plan.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#195It’s very simple. In the US your pharmacy has a contract with the drug supplier that prevents the pharmacist from telling you that you could buy the drug without insurance for $10 while he charges you the $20 copay. As long as this is legal and your pharmacist’s duty isn’t to you the patient, don’t waste time worrying about the details.
This has been illegal since 2018. I think you'll find that pharmacies have a book to show you every price if you ask.
See S. 2554, the "Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act"
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don’t have insurance, you’re essentially fucked in the US but this thread is not referencing that situation. My CAT scan was billed for $10,000 but what I paid was about $200 with insurance. Without insurance I would owe $10k.
The insurance company is not a charity. You will (or already have) pay the full price.
Nobody in my family has any kind of crazy chronic conditions. A few surgeries, a couple of c-sections, a week in the NICU, a few short stays in some hospitals. We've experienced nearly half a million in healthcare benefits from our insurance companies over the years. I don't think I'm ever going to pay enough in premiums to cover these costs.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don’t have insurance, you’re essentially fucked in the US but this thread is not referencing that situation. My CAT scan was billed for $10,000 but what I paid was about $200 with insurance. Without insurance I would owe $10k.
Was $10k before or after the insurance negotiated discount? Pre-discount prices mean nothing: I had the same tests ordered twice (needed the results urgently), once through my PCP/HMO and once paid to a walk-in doctor's office in cash. The cash price was $700. My PCP claimed a price of insurance $3500, who then negotiated it down to a "discounted" $710. So the worst of both worlds would have been a high deductible pl…
The way you have those loopholes and you have to watch out for them else you're on the hook for thousands of dollars is nuts. I mean, sure, you _might_ get a good deal or you might get completely screwed. This is absolutely not normal or fair. A society of gotcha's induces a lot of inefficiency. And as much as the US sometimes rails against inefficiency, it seems it's only a problem when you're not used to it.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
The insurance company is not a charity. You will (or already have) pay the full price.
Nobody in my family has any kind of crazy chronic conditions. A few surgeries, a couple of c-sections, a week in the NICU, a few short stays in some hospitals. We've experienced nearly half a million in healthcare benefits from our insurance companies over the years. I don't think I'm ever going to pay enough in premiums to cover these costs.
Lucky them... Having the privilege to... checks notes be sick.
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#199This ear drops solution, which is a general purpose ear drop for ear pain and irritation, can be bought over the counter in any medical shop and costs Rs. 15 in India (0.17USD). 7 years ago, when I last bought it, it was under Rs. 10 in India.
https://www.1mg.com/drugs/ciplox-eye-ear-drops-197483?srslti...
The equivalent of the same in the US, I was told 200USD in the US using Insurance, and I bought it for 40USD via GoodRx App without Insurance. https://www.goodrx.com/ciprofloxacin
Re: A $20 drug in Europe requires a prescription and $800 in the U.S.
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is no free market at play here. This is the result of FDA regulations not allowing anyone to sell it unless they did a New Drug Application first, which could cost a billion or more. Therefore nobody in the free market was allowed to sell it without putting up the capital first, which they have to collect back now. You could actually order this from amazon.de up until recently and have it shipped to you. That s…
Drugs and healthcare products should definitely be regulated so people get quality products with provable efficacy. Saying that, how the hell does an application for a new drug with the FDA cost $1Bn?! Clearly something is wrong there.
I costs $1 billion because the FDA requires an enormously expensive 3 phase trial program before you are even allowed to submit the application. There is no way to make this cheaper without relaxing the requirements.