A recent personal experience may explain one of the reasons for the high cost of health care and, more specifically, prescription medication.
I was picking up a prescription at a compounding pharmacy when the pharmacist told me he could no longer fill it for me. He said there is a 30-year-old law that prohibits him from blending that compound if that medication is commercially available elsewhere. He also noted that the government is now stringently enforcing that law.
I knew the cost of this medication was less when mixed and purchased at the compounding pharmacy than when I bought it pre-made, so I did a little research to find what I was going to face for pricing in the future.
The following are the retail prices:
• Compounding pharmacy with no insurance (an option now unavailable to me): $45.
• Commercial pharmacy with no insurance: $372.
• Commercial pharmacy with my insurance: $290.
I also learned through my research that the cost of the materials sold is $25.
Why are our lawmakers not focusing on controlling costs? Why are our lawmakers leaving laws on the books allowing Big Pharma to prevent healthy competition? Why are we not looking at the root causes of health care expense?
Our protectionist laws are helping rich corporations reap bountiful profits on the backs of the public.
Ann Kaplan
Cape Elizabeth
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.