Wellness

[Kachina624]

On 2/6/2015 terrier3 said:

On 2/6/2015 CouponQueen said:

On 2/6/2015 terrier3 said:

If Part D legislation included the ability to negotiate prices...we wouldn't be in this situation.

This was PRIOR to ACA...it was baked into Part D - the benefit that came with NO funding source.

Terrier now you know nobody wants to hear that..they want to blame ACA..no matter WHAT!

It's my solemn duty to remind people that Part D was a Medicare addition - passed about 10 years ago or so.

And it was condoned by AARP, which is why I don't belong to the organization to this day.

[60sgirl]

wow, now I know who has the power to remove posts around here. Very interesting to remove my post.

[springers]

My retin a doubled in price at walmart. Someone replied to my post to use Goodrx, I did and my refill went from $200 to $50. Prices differ for stores and cities. I showed the discount text to the pharmacy and it worked.

[glorybe]

I also got some helpful info from GoodRx, thanks!

[febe1]

On 2/6/2015 hyacinth003 said:

On 2/6/2015 taja123 said:

What I don't understand is all the meds the docs prescribe. It's way too much, and they don't give you a chance to take care of it naturally with good eating, exercise, diet. Not all doctors of course, but many. I know how to keep my cholesterol low, my blood pressure low, b/c at one time I was sent to a nutritionist for cholesterol and told about weight and blood pressure. If you're a couch potato, hanging out fat and happy and expect meds to take care of what you can take care of, it doesn't work.

Yes, I know there are meds necessary to live and those that can't be taken care of naturally, but they are much fewer than docs are giving scripts at the drop of a blood test.

Realistically, many people really WON'T make the necessary changes in diet or lifestyle.

So, doctors do what they have to do to control the issue. IF someone is really motivated to make the changes, they should talk it out with their doctor.

Sometimes, an issue needs a quicker solution until the person shows they are going to make the changes. If your blood sugar or blood pressure are out of control, it is more than reasonable to prescribe medication to lower them quickly. Then, it can all be modified in time.

Hyacinth

Sure, I understand when it's necessary and needed immed. and some people may not be able to control serious things, like needed insulin. And if it's going to be modified in time, Hyacinth, the patient will have to pursue it. You really know and take care of your own body best. For instance, I take supplements. I'd rather spend my money on supplements than Big Pharma. if I can.

[scotnovel]

On 2/6/2015 aprildreams said:

Go to goodrx dot com and put in the name of the drug and your zip code and it will give you the best prices in your area. I just put in this med and my zip code and it was anywhere from $28 to $50.

I just did that and for my zip it was $11-$85. The $85 was an online source. Too many people just go to the same pharmacy over and over without ever thinking about or checking out the prices. I realize the OP thought they would get the same price again. However, this is a good lesson that shows that you should always check with the pharmacy and with a site like goodrx.com BEFORE refilling or taking a new prescription in to be filled. The price can vary significantly between pharmacies, even those on the same block, so it is well worth checking. I had a special eye drop prescription good for refills for a year and the pharmacist told me the price would increase significantly after the first three refills because of some promotion by the drug company on the first three refills only.

[gardenman]

On 2/7/2015 GoodStuff said:

I don't know why this particular drug suddenly went up so much -- but this is where your Mom, the consumer, and her doctor are free to make some choices. There are other, less expensive drugs in the same class, and she can also price-shop different pharmacies, check out generic alternatives, and look into aid from the drug company or other programs. It's always worthwhile to look at what medicines cost and what cheaper alternatives may be available. Nobody can afford to be a passive medical consumer any more -- and the newest, most expensive drug isn't always significantly better.

This is a generic drug now and is far from the newest and most expensive. It's been around since 1979. She was in the hospital for five or six days before they found a drug combination that controlled her high blood pressure without dangerous side effects, so I'm not enthusiastic about changing drugs just to save money. It's just a bit of a surprise when it goes from being a penny to $280 with no warning. The last time it was filled was in early November and to go up that much in that short a period of time is a shocker. The good news is I can get it through her online pharmacy for $114 for three months which is much better than $280. The bad news is her online pharmacy (Rightsource) has horrible reviews. We'll give it a shot and see what happens though.

[Toppers]

On 2/7/2015 Kachina624 said:

On 2/6/2015 hyacinth003 said:

On 2/6/2015 namealreadytaken said:

ACA promised Big Pharma they would be in the tank with ACA if they help them pass it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That's true.

There are so MANY people who REFUSE to believe the ACA is awful for this country.

In SO MANY ways.

Hyacinth

What's so awful about insurance that's available to everyone at an affordable price? For once even the poor have a chance of being cured of chronic conditions. It's a heck of a lot better than what others have come up with...nothing. Annabelle, with all due respect, I think we're missing certain details about the case you cite. I think over-all our citizens are better off than they were before the ACA. Sure there are things that aren't perfect, as always happens with a new program, but our health care has been such a mess, it's vital something had to be done.

Kachina, in my personal opinion, the ACA is not affordable for low-income people.

If it were, we would see many more uninsured people signing up for it.

How the plans work is that if you (I mean "anyone" when I say "you") take a low monthly premium plan (after the tax credit or subsidy is applied) you will still have to meet a really high yearly deductible of several thousand dollars, plus you also have to meet an additional pharmacy deductible on top of that, too.

If you decide that you want to pay a more moderate monthly premium of say a couple of hundred dollars a month (also after the tax credit or subsidy is applied), then you will have a lesser yearly deductible, but many families find that they cannot afford to pay this monthly premium, either.

They couldn't afford to take their employer's health insurance plan for the same reason, if they were offered health insurance through their employer, so they find that they are basically "back to where they started"-being unable to afford any kind of health insurance, because it is too expensive for them, because they don't qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, so they decide to go without any kind of coverage, instead.

[scruffsmom]

My DH finally got his MD to give his script to a Canadian Pharmacy. The price went from 258$ for 60 pills to 130$ for 100 pills. It's the only diuretic he can take for his CHF. The drug which has no generic equivalent is manufactured in Canada.

[kcladyz]

Try www.goodrx.com its a pretty good prescription drug discount card. Now the cost estimate on the website is not 100% accurate but pretty darn cloe if you fill out the information correctly