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| Muerta wrote:
> "Wanderer" <unlikely@nowhere.net> wrote in message
> news:0001HW.C006A7D70023170BF0284550@news.verizon.net...
I think the Plavix is probably an imitation rather than a formulated
generic. Since I tend to be a bleeder, I'd like to have a very precise
75 mg each day. Will stick with the proprietary unless I'm forced into
Part D. Then, I might snug up my seat belt and look at the imitation.
Note--for this particular drug, the more expensive option is for
Medicare to pay for Coumadin administration in a hospital setting--much
more expensive. ... LMac
[vbcol=seagreen]
>
> I did some serious browsing there recently, Wanderer. I am soon faced with
> retirement and a serious shift in income (125k to 30 k). The wife and I have
> quickly decided it far more prudent to buy drugs there than get them here
> utilizing the Health savings Account/ insurance.
>
> They've certainly got everything we use except the T-cypionate.
>
> Everybody here that has used them seemed pleased.
>
>
Heads up -- here's what's happened and what's coming. Executive
Summary: The shaft is now being prepared in the next room.
Muerta's savings may be short lived. With the admission of India into
the WTC, their Pharma licensing laws will conform with U.S. & European
licensing laws (and, for sale in this country, they will be jawboned
into U.S. pricing conventions--plan on seeing Cipra products in the
corner pharmacy and that may include Silagra -- price? I'll bet on $
7.75 per pill). In the past, I've not been overly sympathetic to the
demonstrators that congregate outside each meeting of the WTC and big 7
or 8 Finance Ministers. I'm now gaining some appreciation of how they
view the WTC and the global corporate entities (for this discussion,
Bayer, GSK, & Schering.) I have no doubt that we are getting whipsawed
by the lobbyists and our elected politicians who crave their money.
Paying off a Duke Cunningham or Tom Delay is just a cost of doing
business. And, when those guys are bought off by a foreign outfit like
Roche or Bayer, I tend to get steamed.
The word "cartel" isn't technically correct but describes what the
customer is up against. Since I switched to Levitra, I've had
prescriptions that were made in Germany and imported from there, others
were branded "Bayer" but made by Glaxo-Smith-Kline and yet a third
marked "Bayer" but those came out of a Schering bottle. I don't know
the country of origin on either the GSK or Schering stuff but the
imprint is slightly "blurred" when compared to the original German
pills. I think the FDA and the Administration is blowing smoke up our
collective "arses" when they say that pharmaceuticals sold in the U.S.
are subjected to higher standards of inspection etc. etc. (I noticed
that my last Plavix was packaged for sale in Canada (Canada requires a
broader range of storage temperature on their labels) but came from a
pharmacy in this country. Was this bootleg at the wholesale level? -- I
think not.
My HMO is assessing it's drug option situation in light of Medicare Part
D. Rumor has it they might opt to farm out the whole drug module of
their coverage to one or two of the other Medicare contractors. So I
took a look at my prescription list & spent last Sunday on the web to
see how I'd fare:
I can't accurately break out my current prescription coverage since it's
rolled into other "extended" HMO services (like podiatry). It appears
to be around $ 2,450 a year if I add in my co-pays, deductibles and a
handful of extra Levitra that is beyond the HMO limit of 6 per month.
There may or may not be some "leakage" of government money into that
drug benefit since my Medicare Part A and B are diverted to the HMO. My
HMO is a "for profit" operation and while good, they do take "cost
containment" measures.
Next, I looked at the prices of my prescription drugs (only four --
Plavix, Niaspan, Terazosin & Levitra) at Costco's Retail Pharmacy. The
annual bill would be $ 2,690 (including 8 Levitra each month).
<<www.costco.com>>. Please remember that COSTCO is run for a profit and
pays taxes.
Next, I worked the <<www.medicare.gov>> website for the three lowest
cost Medicare Part D contractors. For my mix of drugs, these came in at
$ 2,940, $ 3,260 & $ 3,310 but some of each formulary is on "step"
control or "quantity limit." (Both schemes force drug consumption
downward.) Toss in few extra Levitra and a handful of baby aspirin that
the HMO includes but isn't available through Part D. Tentative bottom
line shows the Government SUPPPORTED plans as being $250 to $650 more
costly than COSTCO's for-profit (tax paying) pharmacy. We won't argue
my current HMO here since that cost was estimated.
I'm clearly in the "donut hole" and any additional prescriptions will be
out of pocket until I fall into the catastrophic category (somewhere
around $ 5K). The more significant danger here is risk that a future
drug might be prescribed that isn't on the contractor's formulary and
I'll have to go out of pocket for that until I could change contractors
(oh joy! more searching on Medicare's web site.) In comparison to
other seniors I know, my use of prescription drugs is minimal. Others
will be hit severely and their money will flow into the coffers of gents
who are higher priced than COSTCO. (sorry for shouting) THIS IS MICKEY
MOUSE!!!
Bottom line is that Medicsre Part D put a bunch of bucks into the
pockets of large Pharma Houses and government contractors who run the
formularies and dispensing operations. If COSTCO can make a profit
(without government support) and pay taxes and charge less than a
subsidized contractor, the taxpayer (regardless of age) seems to be
getting hosed.
Three years ago I was given a tax cut--when all was said and done it
amounted to about $ 375 each year. Last year I was told, "no new
taxes." I view these potential payments to government contractors as a
new tax -- looks like about $ 300 per year -- add in the increases in
Part B. And, since I still work, the increases in Part A and it amounts
to more tax than I paid in 2000.
I don't object to paying them--we live in a damn fine country. I do
object to being targeted with B.S. that my government is giving me a tax
break and a "low cost" prescription benefit. I fear for those in
"retirement" that don't have the opportunity to work for income. Or,
for those who can't make to to COSTCO.
These folks, incidentally, are the same critters who sent me a post card
when Customs confiscated a shipment of Cipra's Silagra early last year.
They are the same folk who are considering boarding busses at the
Canadian border to count Grandma's blood pressure medication pills to
see if she's "importing for resale." Gawd, I love this Patriot Act!
It's still a great country guys but were I younger I might be tempted to
become a Medicare Contractor and hire someone like Randy Cunningham or
Tom Delay to advise me on finding a lobbyist! Me thinks we're on the
wrong path.
--
LMac
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