On $30 Aspirin

[Jade Tigress]

I didn't want to take the other thread off topic but maunakumu's post here made me think of an incident that happened this weekend.

My niece pulled a tendon (or ligament, not sure which) in her shoulder late last week. She went to the doc. He told her she needed an anti-inflammatory and could NOT take anything over the counter. Why? I have no idea. After all, 4 OTC ibuprofen = 1 prescription inbuprofen.

Anyway, her mom is out and has her prescription so she stops at Osco pharmacy to fill it. The charge comes to $117 dollars for like 10 pills! She says forget it, she'll go somewhere else. They ask if she has her insurance card. She replies that she does not have her daughters insurance card with her.

They say, "one moment" and come back and tell her the cost will be $39.99.

WTF???

 

[Ken Morgan]

Pam you already know the answer. Insurance gouging at its best!

And I’m sure if she went over to the pain relief section of the store she could pick up a bottle of ibuprofen for well less then $10.

 

[Jade Tigress]

Pam you already know the answer. Insurance gouging at its best!

And I’m sure if she went over to the pain relief section of the store she could pick up a bottle of ibuprofen for well less then $10.

I know. Right you are. I guess I was just floored to see it in action.

Some years ago I had to have a gum graft done. (Apparently I grind my teeth in my sleep). I was told by the doctor that he could either write me a prescription or I could just take 4 Advil, it was the same, 800mg. Obviously I said I didn't need the script.

I have never had a doctor not try to get my scripts the cheapest way possible and I have always appreciated that. I have been given samples, been given a generic when possible, and have had the doc suggest and work to get any follow up appts. in before the new year when the deductible resets. I can now see I've been lucky and took it for granted.

I think it's time she found both a new doc and a new pharmacy. That's just BS.

 

[Cryozombie]

I hear you Pam. I went to the hospital last summer after an accident and they gave me a vicoden in the E.R. and a prescription for 14 more.

The Summary of costs on my bill showed that single Vicoden cost me 225 bucks. The 14 vicoden I picked up from Walgreens cost me under 20 bucks.

WTF?

 

[Jade Tigress]

I hear you Pam. I went to the hospital last summer after an accident and they gave me a vicoden in the E.R. and a prescription for 14 more.

The Summary of costs on my bill showed that single Vicoden cost me 225 bucks. The 14 vicoden I picked up from Walgreens cost me under 20 bucks.

WTF?

Yep. Incredible BS right? As you probably know, I broke my collar bone about a month ago, they gave me a script for Vicoden, filled it at Target, cost was $2.50 for 14 tabs. A SINGLE Vicoden in the ER for $225? How the hell can they justify a charge like that?

I never thought about it, but I denied a Vicoden in the ER when I went, probably a good thing for my wallet.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Well, we all know that the solution to this problem is to spread the cost around more and not fixing the gouging.

 

[Grenadier]

My niece pulled a tendon (or ligament, not sure which) in her shoulder late last week. She went to the doc. He told her she needed an anti-inflammatory and could NOT take anything over the counter. Why? I have no idea. After all, 4 OTC ibuprofen = 1 prescription inbuprofen.

It depends on the person as well. Some people have sensitive stomachs, and can't take in aspirin or ibuprofen, or in some cases, even naproxen sodium. In those cases, you can't just use a COX-1 inhibitor, and have to resort to using a COX-2 inhibitor (that has no effect on the stomach lining).

Anyway, her mom is out and has her prescription so she stops at Osco pharmacy to fill it. The charge comes to $117 dollars for like 10 pills! She says forget it, she'll go somewhere else. They ask if she has her insurance card. She replies that she does not have her daughters insurance card with her.

They say, "one moment" and come back and tell her the cost will be $39.99.

WTF???

That's actually about the norm for a COX-2 drug.

 

[Jade Tigress]

It depends on the person as well. Some people have sensitive stomachs, and can't take in aspirin or ibuprofen, or in some cases, even naproxen sodium. In those cases, you can't just use a COX-1 inhibitor, and have to resort to using a COX-2 inhibitor (that has no effect on the stomach lining).



That's actually about the norm for a COX-2 drug.

Yeah, but she does not have a sensitive stomach and can easily take aspirin or ibuprofen. Still interesting how the price suddenly changed from 117 to 40 on the request of returning the script so she could go somewhere else.

 

[arnisador]

What's the solution--have the govt. force these private companies to do business on their terms?

You're either for the free market, or for govt. interference.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

As long as insurance says "people only pay X, we will pick up the difference upto Y" you'll have problems.

It's not the governments job to regulate costs. As much as I'd like to see them intercede, it's not Constitutional.

However, if a legal national health plan was introduced, and companies could opt in on accepting it, then as a condition of acceptance they can require the vendors to accept their terms. For example "By accepting this insurance you agree that customer will pay no more than X (copay) for any drug issued. You accept our payment for the balance up to the approved amount as per schedule X and furthermore agree to eat/absorb/forget any amount over that.". Language similar is in all current policies.

Drug stores that don't agree to that can opt not to accept that plan, and people on that plan can either pay the drug stores price or go to a store that accepts their insurance.

 

[Marginal]

Yep. Incredible BS right? As you probably know, I broke my collar bone about a month ago, they gave me a script for Vicoden, filled it at Target, cost was $2.50 for 14 tabs. A SINGLE Vicoden in the ER for $225? How the hell can they justify a charge like that?

I never thought about it, but I denied a Vicoden in the ER when I went, probably a good thing for my wallet.

I wonder if it has something to do with discouraging folks who are simply going to ER's to get Vicodin. (Seems unlikely that's a huge motivator, but it might be a factor.)

 

[Cryozombie]

I wonder if it has something to do with discouraging folks who are simply going to ER's to get Vicodin. (Seems unlikely that's a huge motivator, but it might be a factor.)

Its plausable, however, I work at the hospital I was admitted at, and its not standard practice to issue tabs... but rather to issue prescriptions. I think its done more to offset other costs than anything else.

 

[Jade Tigress]

As long as insurance says "people only pay X, we will pick up the difference upto Y" you'll have problems.

It's not the governments job to regulate costs. As much as I'd like to see them intercede, it's not Constitutional.

However, if a legal national health plan was introduced, and companies could opt in on accepting it, then as a condition of acceptance they can require the vendors to accept their terms. For example "By accepting this insurance you agree that customer will pay no more than X (copay) for any drug issued. You accept our payment for the balance up to the approved amount as per schedule X and furthermore agree to eat/absorb/forget any amount over that.". Language similar is in all current policies.

Drug stores that don't agree to that can opt not to accept that plan, and people on that plan can either pay the drug stores price or go to a store that accepts their insurance.

I could understand if she presented an insurance card, the thing that kills me, besides the outrageous cost for an anti-inflammatory, is that the price was lowered drastically without an insurance card.

I'm also curious why her doc insisted she not take something OTC, as I know my niece does not have any issues that would make it necessary. (Oh wait, pharm company kick back...heh). I'll have to ask what the script was written for and see if a generic was available.

I wish I would have seen the script. I wonder if the "may substitute" box was checked and the pharmacy decided to fill it with name brand, and when she balked at the price, switched to generic. But if that were the case, why wouldn't the doc allow an OTC? Just speculating.

I actually do understand why name brand meds are so expensive. There are years of R&D costs for the company to recover and then make their profit. The med gets patented for 10 years I believe, then the patent expires and it can be produced by other companies generically.

 

[CanuckMA]

It may also be because the doc does not want the patient to ingest all the filler. While 4 regular tabs may equal 1 prescription tab, they also contain a lot more of the filler ingredients.

 

[arnisador]

Is it clear they offered her exactly the same thing at the lower price? Could they have switched to a cheaper generic when they found she was not using insurance?

 

[Jade Tigress]

Is it clear they offered her exactly the same thing at the lower price? Could they have switched to a cheaper generic when they found she was not using insurance?

I didn't see the script which is why I wondered if the "ok to substitute" box was checked. It's illegal to substitute without the docs permission, and typically if the box is checked it means to fill with the generic.

 

[Ping898]

I like the way my allergist scripts are done, he has two places to sign, one for no substitute and one for substitute and he signs on one side or the other....this way he never forgets to make the decision....