| Mr. Softy 2006-02-08, 1:30 am |
|
"LMac" <LMac5491@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:43E249EC.7080903@yahoo.com...
> Muerta wrote:
I[vbcol=seagreen]
> 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
>
with[vbcol=seagreen]
have[vbcol=seagreen]
here[vbcol=seagreen]
> 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.
>
I couldn't agree more with all your points. You have figured out all the
angles. The only silver lining in what this administration is doing to the
health care system is that at the present rate the system will be so
hopelessly broken that a single payer system will be the only choice.
Despite what you hear, there are some things that the government can do well
if they put the public's interest before special interests. It isn't a
matter of IF there will be universal, single payer healthcare, but when. I
was reading recently that the UK pays 60% less than we do per capita on
healthcare and there is a higher patient satisfaction rate in the UK.
If you want to know how to milk the system, you need only hire Bill Frist.
His family's business, HCA, defrauded the government of hundreds of millions
of dollars and not a single person went to jail. I shake my head every time
they have one of their "justice Sundays." I guess that I am out of touch
with modern organized religion. When I was growing up, I don't think our
church would feature the likes of Frist and Santorum. But things have
obviously changed. It seems that it easy to get a large segment of the
population to vote against their own best interest if you promise to
eliminate abortions or put the gays in their place.
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