(The Hill) – A key cost-saving provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) goes into effect in the new year, limiting annual out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs to $2,000 for Medicare beneficiaries.
Out of pocket only $2000 and Medicare paying the rest for overprized medicine and kickbacks for Congress. Gotit. I know, $180,000 per year is keeping me alive, but does my medicine REALLY need to be this expensive? WOULD it be this expensive if Big Pharma didn't know that Congress, after loads of fat (re)election 'contributions' will happily pay it even if the medicine maybe should only cost $1000 per year?
For the most part, the US takes it in the shorts when it comes to paying for medicine. The US develops most of the drugs -- and tries to recoup the cost of R&D from the American market. That would be fine, if we were only being charged for the successful drugs. But for every successful drug, there are 9 or so that fail to come to market -- and the American consumer pays for those failures as well as the successes.
Not only does the rest of the world not pay for the failures, they only have to pay for the incremental cost of the drug. That's why most of the world has much cheaper drugs that the US.
This is a classic example of when you get Gov involved in the real world. Yes the out of pocket got lowered - BUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!! They didn't increase the funding for the med's - just pasted on the cost to the insurance companies - So guess what, co-pay's jump, more and more drugs moved from the lower tiers to the upper = higher cost and they didn't do ANYTHING about the congressional mandate forcing most insurance companies to buy their meds thru middle men
Back when I was working in a traveling position my blood pressure and cholesterol meds cost $95 a month with insurance in the states. In Qatar I could get them filled for $9 a month but could get a 90 day supply that was discounted to $21 with no insurance involved.
FJB. All meds are cheaper else where. Athena gives you 45 dollars a quarter and puts it on a debit card. Only place you can use it is one the internal site. No where else. Pretty much legalized theft.
Just one of my Rx's went from a co-pay of $45.00 to $163.50 2 days ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks FJB
Out of pocket only $2000 and Medicare paying the rest for overprized medicine and kickbacks for Congress.
ReplyDeleteGotit.
I know, $180,000 per year is keeping me alive, but does my medicine REALLY need to be this expensive? WOULD it be this expensive if Big Pharma didn't know that Congress, after loads of fat (re)election 'contributions' will happily pay it even if the medicine maybe should only cost $1000 per year?
For the most part, the US takes it in the shorts when it comes to paying for medicine. The US develops most of the drugs -- and tries to recoup the cost of R&D from the American market. That would be fine, if we were only being charged for the successful drugs. But for every successful drug, there are 9 or so that fail to come to market -- and the American consumer pays for those failures as well as the successes.
DeleteNot only does the rest of the world not pay for the failures, they only have to pay for the incremental cost of the drug. That's why most of the world has much cheaper drugs that the US.
Yeah and my drug plan doubled in cost this year. Still waiting to see what I spend for insurance and meds. Your gov at work!
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic example of when you get Gov involved in the real world. Yes the out of pocket got lowered - BUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey didn't increase the funding for the med's - just pasted on the cost to the insurance companies - So guess what, co-pay's jump, more and more drugs moved from the lower tiers to the upper = higher cost and they didn't do ANYTHING about the congressional mandate forcing most insurance companies to buy their meds thru middle men
Back when I was working in a traveling position my blood pressure and cholesterol meds cost $95 a month with insurance in the states. In Qatar I could get them filled for $9 a month but could get a 90 day supply that was discounted to $21 with no insurance involved.
ReplyDeleteFJB. All meds are cheaper else where. Athena gives you 45 dollars a quarter and puts it on a debit card. Only place you can use it is one the internal site. No where else. Pretty much legalized theft.
ReplyDelete