Pharm Co.'s "find" another 80 billion: More Scanner paranoia

[disneysteve]

The problem with the American system isn't the life-saving treatments. It's the fact that so many people need them because they can't find or afford basic, preventative care.

That's partially true, but a bigger factor is that Americans, for the most part, don't PRACTICE preventative care. It costs nothing to exercise daily. It costs nothing extra to eat a healthier diet and smaller portions. It saves money to stop smoking and stop drinking in excess.

Even most patients with insurance and access to care often don't use it. They don't get annual physicals. They don't get mammograms and colonoscopies and PAP smears and other early detection tests as they should. They don't always keep their kids vaccinations up to date. Those patients with illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, etc. often don't take their medicines as prescribed or do other things to keep their conditions from progressing, even when they have good coverage allowing them to do it at minimal cost.

As a result of lifestyle choices and poor compliance, billions of dollars are wasted each year. 75% of all healthcare spending in this country is for PREVENTABLE conditions. That's what we really need to be working on.

[GREENBACK]

The problem with the American system isn't the life-saving treatments. It's the fact that so many people need them because they can't find or afford basic, preventative care.

I was about to write the same thing that is in Disney Steves post.

[EEinNJ]

I agree that this is a big problem, but you are blaming the wrong party here. If one pharmacy charges $16 and another charges $160 for the same drug, it isn't the fault of the pharmaceutical company but rather the fault of the pharmacy. The wholesale price is the same to both. It is the retail price that changes. That's why WalMart and Target and others are offering certain generics for $4 while other pharmacies are charging 2 or 3 or 6 times as much for the same pills.

Steve, I cited that example to show that the problem exists all across the supply chain, from sales, manufacturing, wholesale pricing, all the way to the unsuspecting retail consumer. The wholesale pricing is NOT the same to all customers, either. This is why drugs are cheaper in Canada than the US- J&J or Merck does not have a separate plant in Canada that produces drugs at lower cost. The drug companies negotiate different prices to different customers, and they charge US more because they can get away with it. Markups then vary down the line.

[disneysteve]

The wholesale pricing is NOT the same to all customers, either.

That's true. I didn't mean to say that all pharmacies pay the same price for the same drug. Certainly, when WalMart orders 100,000 pills of a drug, they get a better price than when Joe's Pharmacy orders 200 pills. Volume discounts are perfectly normal in all retail environments. But I do not believe that the wholesale price difference is nearly enough to explain what you were illustrating, the same drug costing 10 times as much at one pharmacy than at another. That discrepancy comes mainly from the pharmacy itself.

[snafu]

It seems odd that so many are convinced that healthcare in other countries is a failure when they haven't lived in those countries or participated in their health system.

Drugs are cheaper in Canada because generics can be introduced years earlier than the lobbyist negotiated for Pharmas in the USA. Generics introduce the concept of competition. Will you pay $ 160. per pill for the brand name or $ 22. ea. for the generic? Why do you believe the brand name is better when they both must meet the same standard? How much will your private insurer pay per pill? Do they have a platform?

2nd pharmacies set their own 'filling' fee. Places like W/Mart count on volume so charge low or no 'filling' fee. Some pharmacies offer extra services like information clinics on diabetes or BP and re-coop that cost with $25. + fee added to the actual cost of the Rx. Others have a nurse on staff who rotates thru outlets taking your BP, weighing infants, lecturing on healthy diets, giving hand-outs and encouraging customers to buy OTC products that are not contra to existing RX. Their set of skillful questions prime purpose is to ensure the pharmacy has captured all your medications, DH, DKs and D Gparents.

BTW, according to the World Health Org., USA ranks 37 of 191 nations reviewed for care provided. When compared to Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, UK, the USA comes last.

[geojen]

It seems odd that so many are convinced that healthcare in other countries is a failure when they haven't lived in those countries or participated in their health system.

.

I agree, it is very odd. The statement that nationalized health care doesn't work anywhere is a ridiculous blanket statement. I guess if you definition of "works" is a 100% perfect system with no flaws and no downsides than, yes, nationalized heath care is a disaster. If you would be satified with a system that is pretty da*n good, however, (where everyone is covered, nobody goes bankrupt from medical bills, and we aren't spending upwards of 25% of our GDP on healthcare when 50 million of us don't even have insurance, etc.) we should take a few notes from France, Germany, and Taiwan.