Prohibitively expensive medication

[kiwi]

I have asthma. It's moderate, but bad enough that I always take my preventer and carry my "attack" inhaler with me. For people without asthma, you usually take two medications. One every single day called a preventor that is supposed to prevent an attack. You also usually carry an inhaler in case you have an attack and it acts immediately to stop the attack.

A few years ago, my doctor in NZ switched me to a brand new prevention medication that did wonders for me! I rarely have an attack nowadays and when I do, it is much more mild. In NZ the medication costs me $3 an inhaler each of which last me about a month. Growing up I would have 4 or more attacks a week in NZ, with this new medication I have 1 maybe 2.

My first time getting it in Canada, for the EXACT same medication... is $100 an inhaler....WTF!!!
I can't afford that, I couldn't afford half of that!

I have to go back to the doctor next week to ask for a different (read cheaper and less efficient) prevention medication because there is no way I can continue to take my amazing, life changing medication anymore. My mum is able to bring me some over from NZ but that will only last another 3 months if I'm lucky. Thank god that will get me through winter when my asthma is at its worst.

So now I'm faced with paying for medication I can not afford, or having to live with not being able to breathe as well as I have been for the last few years. Thank god I don't need this to live, I can get by with a crappier version of this medication until it comes down in price, the generic becomes available or we can stretch our budget another $100 a month. This medication is like the google version of search engines for asmtha. The other ones are crap.

I am f*^%ing livid. Im 26, I have very little chance of "growing out" of my asthma, it has gotten worse as I have become older. :mad:

[Greenday]

Is it just me or does anyone else see the irony in a thread about Canada NOT having cheap meds?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Is it just me or does anyone else see the irony in a thread about Canada NOT having cheap meds?

Oh, man, You're right. That is rich.

You're right, Kiwi, it pretty much makes my head explode, too. I am lucky enough not to be on meds, but a lot of my friends and family are, and the idea that they have to choose between their quality of life or not eating or having heat in their house is just beyond wrong.

[Boozy]

The New Zealand government heavily subsidizes many drugs, while the Canadian government only subsidizes life-saving drugs for those who are in financial need.

One of the many differences you will find having moved to another country, no doubt. Hopefully you find that Canada is good to you, overall.

[joe hx]

I'm on a bunch of psychological medicines that used to be ridiculously expensive. Thankfully three of them now are $4/mo or $10/3mo generics, one is about $60/mo generic, and the last is free (but not generic) from the company that manufactures it.

kiwi, you might check out the manufacturer's website if they have a free/reduced price program you might be able to use to get your medicine cheaper.

[Mr Slugger]

My wife last year had a blood clot from a surgery she had. The blood clot luckily wasn't bad, but they put her on a medicine that she was was supposed to take until her blood levels came down. A 4 day supply with insurance paying for half was $975. Now if she didn't take this medicine the clot could have very well killed her. And the kicker is they wanted her to take it for another 4 days. We ended up having her go in for office visits every day because we couldn't afford another $975.

And this cause me to go into nuke mode on the insurance company. Because this life saving medicine was so damn expensive, yet the oxy's that drug dealers make tons of money off of cost us $20 for a bottle. Which I'll be honest was sold to pay for the expensive drugs. But that's another thread.

But yes I mean my brother is supposed to be on some kind of stomach medicine because his digestive system is shot. It costs him $350 a month if he's on it. So instead he takes it here and there bumming free samples when he can.

But like I said it sucks because these drugs are "lifesaving" yet they're so expensive, and it really pisses me off. Because I mean like in my wife's case. She ended up being out of work for about a month because of this which cost us a couple thousand in pay. Then it costs us about a thousand in office visits, and then it would have cost us about $3000 in meds. And yes one could say it saved her life, but it shouldn't ruin your life to save it.

[MaggieTheCat]

I often wonder about people who have severe diabetes. A friend of mine who has diabetes has to take insulin shots 3 times a day. He used to be covered under his parents' insurance, but I'm sure he's not now, he's at least 27 so even though he's going to school full-time, I think his insurance is done. And he doesn't work full-time since he's going to school. I've never asked him but have often wondered how his insulin gets paid for. If he doesn't take it, he could easily go into diabetic shock and die. His diabetes is very severe and he needs to monitor it closely several times a day.

[Skunkle]

Like or hate the new Obama plan... I do wonder how those who don't like it would recommend, instead, to alleviate this issue. Deregulation has already been shown to not work, as companies usually don't lower their prices even when they're deregulated. Deregulatiuon is, still, spoken of as a big cure.

I'm not sayng Obama's plan IS the big cure. I'm asking: For those who don't like his plan, what would you like to see happen instead to ensure that all people are able to access affordable healthcare and affordable medications?

And "Just work harder like we do" isn't a satisfactory answer, as I know personally plenty of people who work their asses off but still can't pay. Those who can't needn't always be assumed to be lazy types. Sometimes you can work hard and still make little progress, just as some who have everything they need worked hard for it and others who have everything they need just happened to inherit it.

[LewisLegion]

I have adult onset asthma due in part to a bout of chemical pnuemonia I had when I was 17, and exposure to mold allergens a couple years ago that basiclly pulled the trigger of the loaded gun.

Even with insurance my inhalers are about 50 bucks each. Yeah, it's insane. I need this crap to live, y'know? $1000 is simply inSANE.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Like or hate the new Obama plan... I do wonder how those who don't like it would recommend, instead, to alleviate this issue. Deregulation has already been shown to not work, as companies usually don't lower their prices even when they're deregulated. Deregulatiuon is, still, spoken of as a big cure.

I'm not sayng Obama's plan IS the big cure. I'm asking: For those who don't like his plan, what would you like to see happen instead to ensure that all people are able to access affordable healthcare and affordable medications?

And "Just work harder like we do" isn't a satisfactory answer, as I know personally plenty of people who work their asses off but still can't pay. Those who can't needn't always be assumed to be lazy types. Sometimes you can work hard and still make little progress, just as some who have everything they need worked hard for it and others who have everything they need just happened to inherit it.

I don't mind the government option part of Obama's plan so much as the other stupid stuff in it like the "Throw your ass in jail if you don't have insurance" nonsense.

[Android Kaeli]

I'm glad that the only medicine I need to take is when I get anything evasive done (teeth cleaning, surgery, tattoos, etc) for a heart murmur and that stuff is a bit pricey too.

I can't imagine having to pay a large sum of money on a month's supply of medicine, I know the cost of some of my mother's own medicine could very easily pay for rent, food, dinner/lunches out, and other bills for several months. It's stupid to think that a person has to decide paying the bills or paying for medicine that they need.

[muses_nightmare]

My friend is diabetic and has at times had to decide between food and insulin, both of which are things she needs. She's been taking home the throw outs from her work to have food (she works at a convenience store). And yes, we are in Canada. She's had times where she's had to skip one dose of insulin a day because she had to make it last longer.

My boyfriend may have to go on a medication that is $5000 a pop, something he'll have to get every 3 or 4 months. We're lucky that it may be covered by fair Pharmacare, like the rest of his drugs. The first time we saw what it would have cost for one of his medications we almost had a heartattack, it would have been around $500 for 2 months worth (I think that was the amount).

I never did understand the idea that Canada has cheap prescription drugs, we don't. There is better coverage perhaps, but not all the time. Hell even my birth control while not being super expensive are $55 for 3 months, not covered by anything, and while that may not be much per month it adds up for a year, and when you're broke well it's even harder.

[KellyHabersham]

I'm in that same position when it comes to expensive medication - my asthma's gotten worse as I've gotten older, and while the stuff I'm taking right now works well, it's also expensive......nearly $200 a month (even with a prescription discount card). Unfortunately I don't have access to health insurance, so it makes things really tough trying to pay for both medication and rent on what I'm making per month.

[powerboy]

That is one thing that I will never understand. If something is life saving. Why charge an arm and leg for it? Why should it be the difference between food/rent and buying the needed medication?

[Mr Slugger]

That is one thing that I will never understand. If something is life saving. Why charge an arm and leg for it? Why should it be the difference between food/rent and buying the needed medication?

Honestly I think the fact that it's life saving is the reason. I mean you're life kinda depends on it so you'll do everything you can to take it.

[Boozy]

Some medications are expensive because they cost millions of dollars in R&D costs to produce them. Then their manufacturers are protected by the patent system for a certain length of time, so no generics can compete with them on the market.

Once the patent protection wears off, generics flood the market and prices come down. The longer the drug is available, the cheaper it becomes. I can now buy 50 aspirin for $2.99.

It's not really a vast conspiracy to rip off consumers. The pharmaceutical lobby causes a lot of problems, no doubt, but the patent system itself is necessary if we want ground-breaking and life-saving drugs to be developed. Without it, no pharmaceutical company would ever make a profit on their inventions.

[joe hx]

Without it, no pharmaceutical company would ever make a profit on their inventions.

And hence those life-saving prescriptions wouldn't exist.

[EmiOfBrie]

And hence those life-saving prescriptions wouldn't exist.

And thus is a major failing of human society.

"if we can't make millions off this live-saving research, we simply won't do it!"

Not everything has to be about profit!!! It never occurs to them to simply do the research just to save lives. assholes... -.-

[Boozy]

Not everything has to be about profit!!! It never occurs to them to simply do the research just to save lives. assholes... -.-

I'm sure a number of scientists would love to devote their lives to developing new drugs free of charge, but they have to support themselves and their families.

I would love to donate 100% of my work time to charity too, but I have to eat.