Drugs have never been so expensive — or so cheap
News reports and anecdotal evidence indicate that the recession is prompting many people to skimp on prescription drugs, putting their health at risk now and setting them up for higher medical expenses in the long term. So now is a good time to take a hard look at what you spend on prescriptions and figure out how you can make that money go farther.
The average brand-name prescription cost an eye-popping $120 in 2007, according to the most recent data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. That was up from $111 the year before. The average generic in 2007 was a mere $34, according to Kaiser. These days you can buy many generic drugs for as little as $4 for a 30-day supply at WalMart or Target, and many other retailers are offering steep discounts.
Switching to generics is obviously one of the best options, if your doctor approves. But generics aren’t the answer in every case. So before you go to the pharmacy, or your drug Web site, consider these strategies for lowering your prescription bills.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Showing posts with label prescription costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prescription costs. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
More Americans Skipping Necessary Prescriptions, Survey Finds
One in seven Americans under age 65 went without prescribed medicines in 2007 as drug costs spiraled upward in the United States, a nonprofit research group said on Thursday.
That figure is up substantially since 2003, when one in 10 people under 65 went without a prescription drug because they couldn’t afford it, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C.
The current figure may be even higher because of the recent economic downturn, said Laurie E. Felland, a senior health researcher at the center and lead author of the study.
“Our findings are particularly troublesome given the increased reliance on prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions,” she added. “People who go without their prescriptions experience worsening health and complications.”
The people who were least able to afford medicine were often those who needed it most, Ms. Felland said: uninsured, working-age adults suffering from at least one chronic medical condition. Almost two-thirds of them in the survey said they had gone without filling a prescription.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
That figure is up substantially since 2003, when one in 10 people under 65 went without a prescription drug because they couldn’t afford it, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C.
The current figure may be even higher because of the recent economic downturn, said Laurie E. Felland, a senior health researcher at the center and lead author of the study.
“Our findings are particularly troublesome given the increased reliance on prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions,” she added. “People who go without their prescriptions experience worsening health and complications.”
The people who were least able to afford medicine were often those who needed it most, Ms. Felland said: uninsured, working-age adults suffering from at least one chronic medical condition. Almost two-thirds of them in the survey said they had gone without filling a prescription.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Generics Capture 65% of U.S. Market as Costs Rise (Update1)
Two-thirds of prescriptions filled in the U.S., the most ever, are cheap copies of brand names made by generic-drug companies.
Generics accounted for 65 percent of the U.S. market last year, up from 63 percent in 2006, according to data released today at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association's annual industry meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. Costlier brand-name drugs made up about 80 percent of dollars spent on prescriptions in each year.
The figures, compiled by the research firm IMS Health Inc., show generic drugmakers are capitalizing on expiring patents and efforts by insurers to rein in health-care costs. The companies seek further gains this year as drugs with $20 billion in annual sales lose patent protection and the presidential candidates promise to make generic drugs more widely available.
``We're poised to do very well,'' said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Arlington, Virginia-based Generic Pharmaceutical Association, in an interview yesterday. ``All the candidates believe that generics are part of the answer.''
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG
Generics accounted for 65 percent of the U.S. market last year, up from 63 percent in 2006, according to data released today at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association's annual industry meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. Costlier brand-name drugs made up about 80 percent of dollars spent on prescriptions in each year.
The figures, compiled by the research firm IMS Health Inc., show generic drugmakers are capitalizing on expiring patents and efforts by insurers to rein in health-care costs. The companies seek further gains this year as drugs with $20 billion in annual sales lose patent protection and the presidential candidates promise to make generic drugs more widely available.
``We're poised to do very well,'' said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Arlington, Virginia-based Generic Pharmaceutical Association, in an interview yesterday. ``All the candidates believe that generics are part of the answer.''
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Lilly’s Zypreza, Pfizer’s Geodon could see reimbursement restrictions next year
Psychiatric drugs like Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa could be next on the list for reimbursement restrictions based on comparative effectiveness data, experts in the field told Pharmawire.
The move would also spell trouble for AstraZeneca’s Seroquel and Pfizer’s Geodon, two commonly prescribed and costly antipsychotics. Cost pressures will be felt most acutely starting in June, when the patent expires on Johnson & Johnson’s competing product Risperdal.
Public and private payers have been fueling the growing interest in compiling data that allows them to compare different drugs within the same therapeutic category. The information then helps shape reimbursement programs - like step therapy, where patients are required to try a cheaper drug before a more expensive one will be covered.
Tanisha Carino, a director at research firm Avalere Health and former policy analyst at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noted that mental health is a prime target for using comparative effectiveness data to make coverage decisions.
The National Institute of Mental Health is already sponsoring the large-scale Clinical Antipsychotics Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (also known as CATIE), which have shown that older, less expensive drugs can be as effective as newer ones. The data is rife with cost effectiveness comparisons.
READ MORE @ FINANCIAL TIMES
The move would also spell trouble for AstraZeneca’s Seroquel and Pfizer’s Geodon, two commonly prescribed and costly antipsychotics. Cost pressures will be felt most acutely starting in June, when the patent expires on Johnson & Johnson’s competing product Risperdal.
Public and private payers have been fueling the growing interest in compiling data that allows them to compare different drugs within the same therapeutic category. The information then helps shape reimbursement programs - like step therapy, where patients are required to try a cheaper drug before a more expensive one will be covered.
Tanisha Carino, a director at research firm Avalere Health and former policy analyst at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noted that mental health is a prime target for using comparative effectiveness data to make coverage decisions.
The National Institute of Mental Health is already sponsoring the large-scale Clinical Antipsychotics Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (also known as CATIE), which have shown that older, less expensive drugs can be as effective as newer ones. The data is rife with cost effectiveness comparisons.
READ MORE @ FINANCIAL TIMES
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Patients Use Less Medicine When They Must Pay More, Study Finds
Patients use fewer prescription drugs when they have to pay more for the medicines, according to research that suggests shifting health-care costs to consumers may lead to more serious illness over time.
Consumers spend 2 to 6 percent less on the drugs for every 10 percent increase in out-of-pocket costs, according to a review of 132 studies released today by the Rand Corp., a Santa Monica, California-based public policy institute.
Companies seeking to hold the line on health-care spending are requiring employees to pay higher deductibles for insurance or offering co-insurance plans that split costs. A study this year in the journal Health Affairs found consumers may spend $440.8 billion out of pocket in 2016, 76 percent more than in 2006. More study is needed to determine if such increases will cause consumers to skip necessary treatment, researchers said.
``For patients with certain chronic illnesses, when you increase cost sharing on the pharmacy side, you end up with more hospitalizations and more use of emergency departments,'' said Dana Goldman, the study's lead author and Rand's director of health economics, in a telephone interview yesterday. The research was presented today in the Journal of the American Medical Association
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG NEWS
Consumers spend 2 to 6 percent less on the drugs for every 10 percent increase in out-of-pocket costs, according to a review of 132 studies released today by the Rand Corp., a Santa Monica, California-based public policy institute.
Companies seeking to hold the line on health-care spending are requiring employees to pay higher deductibles for insurance or offering co-insurance plans that split costs. A study this year in the journal Health Affairs found consumers may spend $440.8 billion out of pocket in 2016, 76 percent more than in 2006. More study is needed to determine if such increases will cause consumers to skip necessary treatment, researchers said.
``For patients with certain chronic illnesses, when you increase cost sharing on the pharmacy side, you end up with more hospitalizations and more use of emergency departments,'' said Dana Goldman, the study's lead author and Rand's director of health economics, in a telephone interview yesterday. The research was presented today in the Journal of the American Medical Association
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG NEWS
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