Being previously healthy, I never needed to take medicine everyday. Thank goodness.
When I went to the local pharmacy after my hospitalization, here was the bill:
Advair Diskus $193
Ventolin Albuterol Inhaler $36
Prednisone 30 tabs $3.72
My jaw dropped. The bill was over $200 for one month of meds. Luckily, I have insurance, but the first thought in my head was, "Is there a different option than Advair?" Even with insurance, a 30 day supply of Advair, a designer medication, is expensive. How can people without insurance afford this? Today, I'm going to the doctor. Let's see what they have to say.
Clearly, this is why America as a country needs to re-evaluate the underlying values that drive up costs of healthcare. The overwhelming costs of pharmaceuticals is one huge part of the problem. Pharmaceuticals spend lots of time on R+D and the FDA have rigorous processes for clinical trials, and then ongoing investigation. Safety has become such a huge burden that we are missing the forest for the trees. We spend so much time and money ensuring safety that we are driving up the cost of "safe" drugs.
Why? Because the drug company doesn't want to get sued.
At the end of the day, Americans need to stop looking to make a quick buck by suing somebody. All drugs have a monetary cost, and they all have risks and benefits. As a consumer and a patient, we should be very well aware of the risks and the benefits of these drugs. You need to understand the effects of the drug, when the maximum effect it will be, and what the risks are.
We also need to accept the fact that chronic disease is something to be managed, not cured.
Modern medicine is very good at certain things. Curing chronic disease is not one of them. Drugs are intended to help and alleviate symptoms. We need to accept our fragility.
No comments:
Post a Comment