It’s the New Year, and pharma companies are already hiking prices for popular drugs
With a New Year comes new drug price hikes for drugs like AbbVie's Humira, a decades-old treatment used by millions of people.
Drug Prices up close to 5%
- Thread starter NYShoreGuy
- Start date
Uggh, yes let’s all pile on and demonize all Pharma companies like all political parties do. Its easy.
The companies that create life saving drugs from scratch, the group (besides maybe the cvs-Walgreens pharmacies) that performed well during this COVID disaster, that every politician is somehow taking create for with its vaccine success.
Lets not go after the billions of waste and corruption involved with politicians, fast food companies, Sugar manufacturers, cigarette companies making us all unhealthy, the gun makers create a more violent world, polluters and energy companies killing our world, Google and facebooks stealing our info, etc...many of these industries and companies within are doing much charging us and killing us. That would be too easy.
But no let’s blanket all Pharma companies bc a few bad actors and lazy reporting and not trying to understand the US healthcare system dynamics.
Yes some generic makers (that monopolize key ingredient or are the only makers of niche drug) and biologic makers (like insulin with a longer patent life)) can be bad actors but the perception of the entire industry being bad is clouded by this lazy narrative and not understanding the system in place.
Most Pharma companies that create a new product and manufacturer them for the overall benefit of many patients isn’t the problem. Prices of drugs have gone way down overall, 95% of all scripts are generic (which are typically cheaper). 10% price increase a year used to be normal while on patent (remember patent life is not long except for biologics which will get shorter with biosimilars coming on the market). The 4.7 on average increase of the listed price, it isn’t what the Pharma company gets.
Pharma companies never get list price (so they aren’t get list plus 4.7%), they would be lucky to get half of it. And patients would hardly pay list price unless the insurance plan creates an artificially high deductible or donut hole to control what docs prescribe for you, again insurance plan does it even though the drug company never gets close to that amount. So you pay let $104.70 list price, the Pharma company get $37 instead of $36.25 after negotiated rate and all the middle men involved take their cuts.
Prices are listed that way bc Medicare automatically gets big discounts off,the list price, distributors get huge discounts, also pharmacies and insurance companies cut deals, Medicaid reimbursement (that drug companies can price) are like 70% off, hospitals get negotiated rates. If someone did pay list price, the Pharma companies wouldn't be getting that amount. But they have to have a high list price to counter the automatic discounts and middle parties. I’m not even going go into recouping the billions spent in R&D for that product, future products or failed products that never got to market.
Its become a thing to paint the Pharma industry as bad but there are other players within the healthcare system, the system itself and other industries that are way more of a net bad for us that don’t get a fraction of the public wrath Pharma industry receives. Companies that dedicate their missions to save, sustain improve lives are constantly demonized, it’s nuts to me.
The companies that create life saving drugs from scratch, the group (besides maybe the cvs-Walgreens pharmacies) that performed well during this COVID disaster, that every politician is somehow taking create for with its vaccine success.
Lets not go after the billions of waste and corruption involved with politicians, fast food companies, Sugar manufacturers, cigarette companies making us all unhealthy, the gun makers create a more violent world, polluters and energy companies killing our world, Google and facebooks stealing our info, etc...many of these industries and companies within are doing much charging us and killing us. That would be too easy.
But no let’s blanket all Pharma companies bc a few bad actors and lazy reporting and not trying to understand the US healthcare system dynamics.
Yes some generic makers (that monopolize key ingredient or are the only makers of niche drug) and biologic makers (like insulin with a longer patent life)) can be bad actors but the perception of the entire industry being bad is clouded by this lazy narrative and not understanding the system in place.
Most Pharma companies that create a new product and manufacturer them for the overall benefit of many patients isn’t the problem. Prices of drugs have gone way down overall, 95% of all scripts are generic (which are typically cheaper). 10% price increase a year used to be normal while on patent (remember patent life is not long except for biologics which will get shorter with biosimilars coming on the market). The 4.7 on average increase of the listed price, it isn’t what the Pharma company gets.
Pharma companies never get list price (so they aren’t get list plus 4.7%), they would be lucky to get half of it. And patients would hardly pay list price unless the insurance plan creates an artificially high deductible or donut hole to control what docs prescribe for you, again insurance plan does it even though the drug company never gets close to that amount. So you pay let $104.70 list price, the Pharma company get $37 instead of $36.25 after negotiated rate and all the middle men involved take their cuts.
Prices are listed that way bc Medicare automatically gets big discounts off,the list price, distributors get huge discounts, also pharmacies and insurance companies cut deals, Medicaid reimbursement (that drug companies can price) are like 70% off, hospitals get negotiated rates. If someone did pay list price, the Pharma companies wouldn't be getting that amount. But they have to have a high list price to counter the automatic discounts and middle parties. I’m not even going go into recouping the billions spent in R&D for that product, future products or failed products that never got to market.
Its become a thing to paint the Pharma industry as bad but there are other players within the healthcare system, the system itself and other industries that are way more of a net bad for us that don’t get a fraction of the public wrath Pharma industry receives. Companies that dedicate their missions to save, sustain improve lives are constantly demonized, it’s nuts to me.
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It’s always easy and lazy to pick one villain. There are certainly bad actors in Pharma like any industry but to lay the high cost of our healthcare in their labs is pretty disingenuous. They certainly contribute their fair share but think about where we would be today without the expertise and ability to get a vaccine to market so quickly.
I’ll see what I tell everyone. It’s a personal decision and everyone has to take their own situation into account.
If I had comorbidities or taking care of a high-risk individual I would probably opt to take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine now.
At this point my plan is to wait for the AstraZeneca or J&J vaccine. Much more comfortable with proven technology and it’s not fair for me to jump ahead of the line in front of somebody that needs it more than me.
It’s a risk benefit at the individual level. We are doing a live clinical trial on the mRNA Technology. I’m a science guy and would prefer to wait and see more data on it.
I’m 63, in general good health and can get access to quality healthcare if and when I need it. Also doing those other things like eating right, sleeping and limiting stress.
Mita not a matter of not trusting, but rather feeling More comfortable with more data.
If I had comorbidities or taking care of a high-risk individual I would probably opt to take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine now.
At this point my plan is to wait for the AstraZeneca or J&J vaccine. Much more comfortable with proven technology and it’s not fair for me to jump ahead of the line in front of somebody that needs it more than me.
It’s a risk benefit at the individual level. We are doing a live clinical trial on the mRNA Technology. I’m a science guy and would prefer to wait and see more data on it.
I’m 63, in general good health and can get access to quality healthcare if and when I need it. Also doing those other things like eating right, sleeping and limiting stress.
Mita not a matter of not trusting, but rather feeling More comfortable with more data.
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Pregnant, very soon to be pregnant, extreme allergies, for young kids, I can see waiting a little longer for data. Otherwise I feel very safe taking the new mRNA vaccines. I actually prefer the new technology (which they have been researching for years (not for COVID but for other viruses) over the AstraZeneca and others that may not be as effective.
Bottom line, the more people get any of the vaccines, the safer we all are. When I’m eligible in my state or neighboring states, I’m not hesitating. I have 3 young kids though so they have to wait on more data for them, hopefully data will be available and FDA approved for kids by March.
Bottom line, the more people get any of the vaccines, the safer we all are. When I’m eligible in my state or neighboring states, I’m not hesitating. I have 3 young kids though so they have to wait on more data for them, hopefully data will be available and FDA approved for kids by March.
a live in clinical trial where all of the guinea pigs are healthcare and frontline workers. lol. hopefully it works and we avoid the zombie apocalypse.
plus from what im hearing the roll out of the mrna vaccines are taking so long that you might not even have a choice but to wait for the others.
