<p>I was stunned to hear a friend experience: Recently she bought some medication for skin treatment; her deductible was no more than $100.00. However, her statement showed the medical plan paid $1100.00 to the pharmacy for no more than five medications. I thought it was a lot of money for some simple skin treatment…</p>
<p>When you buy your medications:</p>
<p>-How much is your deductible or co-payments?
-Do you get a statement of how much your plan paid for your medications.</p>
<p>I always get a statement.</p>
<p>And most insurers have a website where you can find out beforehand how much you’ll pay and how much the plan will pay.</p>
<p>VeryHappy: share your experience concerning the price of medications.</p>
<p>Well . . . I take a lot of drugs, as does DH. We’re not particularly sick, just – needy when it comes to medications!</p>
<p>As one example: I take Synthroid for a low thyroid. It’s generic, so I think I pay $10 and my plan pays – maybe – $20, for a 90-day supply.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I also use Restasis, the eye drops for dry eyes. I pay something like $100 and the plan pays something like $500, also for a 90-day supply.</p>
<p>About 15 years ago, I had a major major eye infection, and between the drops and the oral meds, the plan paid about $1500 over six weeks, for everything I took. Don’t remember what I paid.</p>
<p>Our medical switched to a deductible/OOP max plan this year, so we are seeing statements for the first time. My son’s acne medications are a fortune … up to $500 for a three-month supply of topical. He just started Accutane. $600 for a month’s supply of 40/mg per day. My H’s Niaspan is $117/month - but his generic Pravachol is only $10/month because it is on a special “maintenance drug” list. My synthroid hasn’t been filled yet this year, but it should be relatively inexpensive.</p>
<p>Our deductible is $3200/family. After meeting the deductible, we have a 20% copay up to the $5200 maximum OOP for the family.</p>
<p>FYI- Synthroid is now one of the $4 drugs for Target and Walmart- you may save money buying it locally, depending on your dose, etc. Have your primary care physician check on where your prescriptions are cheapest. There are many drugs- some generics- on the lists.</p>
<p>My pharmacy statements list a “cash price”, but I don’t believe the insurance company pays that price. I’m sure they have negotiated a lower cost, just as they don’t pay the doctors what they would bill. Our co-pays are $15 or $30, depending on the specific drug. For instance, my kids all use a sulfur wash for acne, I pay $15 a tube, the receipt says it would cost me $170.99. Retin A cream, I pay $15, “cash price” says $122.99!</p>
<p>“He just started Accutane. $600 for a month’s supply”</p>
<p>-This is what I’m talking about, before I saw her pharmacy statements I had no idea how expensive are those skin pills.</p>
<p>I still cannot believe the cost of certain medications…
Who else buys pills for acne or skin problems? Are your acne and skin prescriptions expensive too?</p>
<p>Some of the brand name dermatolgics can cost upwards of $200 per tube or “prescription” each. Some have no generic substitute, but if cost in the nature of a deductible is a concern, you could ask your doctor for lower cost generics that are quasi equivalent in efficacy. For example some of the name brand sulfur washes are very pricey, but there are some other washes that cost quite a bit less. It is too complicated to explain why the name brand may be better than the generic on this message board, but each of these medications will have efficacy studies that have been done, and submitted to the FDA with their new drug application. However, as to any one person, it may not make a difference. </p>
<p>We do not get a statement of what the insurance co paid for our plan that just has a copay. However, we are not all insured under the same plan, and for those of us with a deductible, we get a statement (and we have to pay for the negotiated price since the deductible is high).</p>
<p>Welcome to the 21st century, Greenery. The pharmaceutical companies get to charge any damn thing they want to. There are no controls, no regulations. If they’ve got a unique drug, why should they make it affordable? Most of us don’t pay the “real” price; our insurance plans do.</p>
<p>Uh oh – maybe we should move this to the political forum.</p>