Finally, someone is doing something about the high cost of medicine!

https://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...r4Dollars.aspx

nightowl

I know this is probably "Politcally Incorrect" with some
posters on this forum, but Walmart is a great place to
buy your supplements.

They do not have everything, but they have a lot of the
most used vits, minerals.

When we decide that we are going to add a vit, mineral,
we check Walmart to see if it is offered by them.

If it is, usually it is offered at a more competitive price.

We're seniors, we always shop!

I cringe when I see an M.D. or pulmonary specialist for fear that they'll try to prescribe a drug for me. With COPD at the severe stage, inhalers are a necessity, but I try to avoid steroid ones. I get my generic inhalers for $3.00, but I'm fortunate to have good insurance.

I posted this for the people who have no other choice but to use drugs. I will try herbal supplements before going to any drug, but my insurance doesn't cover anything prescribed by a naturopathic physician, tests or prescriptions, and I think it's wrong, if they've been researched and proven to be as good or better at treating a specific condition. Natural medicine is very expensive. N.D.'s charge way too much for office visits and they are driving people away who need them.

I've also heard good things about Wal-Mart supplements. I don't happen to live near one, but one is being built close by and I will go there often.


nightowl

Walmart is just starting it in Florida presently. I
assume if it goes well, they will do it in other states too.

As usual, it's" follow the money." and there's more
seniors in Florida than any other state. :wink:

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Target Stores, Walmart's biggest competitor, has announced
that they will match the offer. It is starting in only one town
in Florida.

According to the article in the link, the test area is where I live. Not only do we have a lot of seniors, but we also have a lot of illegal immigrants with no insurance. This is also the most densely populated area in Florida. That combination may be why they are starting it here.

I agree, I always try nautural first, but often I find they are just not strong enough for serious problems, and I want to function at as high a level as I can, even if I am only covering up symptoms to do it. I hate/fear being dependent far more than I fear death.

This will not help me at all, unless they include controlled substances, since I have a Medicare drug card now, and get 3 of my 4 prescriptions completely free. My 4th drug is a controlled substance, so Medicare does not cover it at all, though I cannot walk unaided without it. But, it is an old drug, and very cheap already.

If I hear anything interesting about this program from people I know here who try it, I will post it here.

I have encouraged my DH to try it, since he also takes 4 drugs, and his insurance is awful. He has to pay 100% up front, and then I file the paperwork for 60% reimbursement. He'd be better off not even having me file for reimbursement, and just going to Walmart. Both Walmart and Target are on the other side of town, but since just one of his drugs costs more than all 4 of mine, you can bet I am going to nag him into going there!

Roxie

This is a chart that I ran across some time back. Wonder if it might have something to do with the testing of this new low cost drug plan?
The drug companies tell us that they are only interested in providing the most reliable highest quality drugs at affordable prices. Here are the results of an independent investigation revealing the price of the active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs as compared to the sale price.




Now in all fairness to the pharmaceutical companies we must also add to these costs, the cost of manufacturing, marketing, shipping, research and development, and oh yes the litigation costs from adverse side effects, etc.

Still thought it does appear that there is an off chance that they just might possibly have a little wiggle room when trying to figure out their lowest price.

It's almost as good as the casino business, and the
profit skimming is about the same!

At the risk of sounding like someone who is defending big pharma, please let you assure you I am not.

But Come on. You know that the price of drugs cannot be evaluated simply by the cost of materials and labor to manufacture them. Two of the largest cost factors are the research and government approval burdens. Those costs make the cost of materials and labor to build a capsule or pill look like nothing at all. Knowing that, I do find it difficult to justify why the drugs are sold to foreign countires for much less than right here at home, but it may simply have something to do with bulk sales.

Yes, I may be biased. At age 86 I still don't use any of those expensive drugs. But I do know how product costs come about in any business. I have run those and disolved my last corporation 16 years ago, so I do have some experience.

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I to have some business experience so yes I am aware that is more to the cost of a product then just the raw material cost.


You got the cost of a building plus its real estate taxes, you then have the cost of maintaining the building which requires local building permits, fees, and licenses, of course you need to pay people to do the assembly work and pay their federal and state unemployment taxes, you probably want to be incorporated which requires a yearly franchise tax but only after you have first paid the filling fee, you need to figure out the most cost efficient way to make your product, you will need advertising, plus liability insurance, and to keep up the competition you need R & D. Obviously you also need to deal with the ever present local building inspector fines for not replacing a burned out exit light lamp or for someone not replacing a fire extinguisher to it correct place after cleaning, etc. After considering all of this you can now try figuring out much to charge for your product. Oh by the way did I mention taxes? If you plan to making a profit do not forget to figure in federal, state, and local income taxes.



[Income tax withholding a temporary wartime measure since 1943.]

All true +, for big pharma, getting government approval for each new drug, which is a huge cost!!!

Even without the FDA approval phase, I am amazed that there are still those who will start a new venture. I wouldn't do it again for all the tea in China.

__________________
Imagined knowledge kills learning . . .
The cure for boredom is curiosity...there is no cure for curiosity..

It makes me wonder why, rhetorically speaking,
BigPharma and the gov't. are hell bent on taking
over the natural supplement industry?

Maybe they see easier profits, less hassle and
complete domination of the industry through gov't.
regulation and kick-backs.

Methinks the monkey has seen his reflection and
doesn't like it. Time to change mirrors.

I have been somewhat surprised. I have been buying supplements for over 50 years with 'seemingly' little government influence and I didn't expect that. Their biggest influence seems to have been in making 'real' foods unavailable. For example, quality milk. 'seems to me that 'big brother' has mainly been doing things to the food supply that seems to be of questionable benefit, if not downright harmful. And, of course, those things that increase shelflife.

Threats of a crack down on supplements do seem to be more frequent these days and I have heard that it has already happened in some countries because of the WHO and the like. And, in my view--to get back to the main topic--the careful use of supplements as well as proper food selection is the best way to reduce the cost of 'prescription' drugs, regardless of their price: Use fewer of them!

__________________
Imagined knowledge kills learning . . .
The cure for boredom is curiosity...there is no cure for curiosity..

Hi Donee,

I think you've got the best answer: "Use fewer of them!"
Even $4 for a very few generic drug refills doesn't sound very enticing. This is for refills only. This deal does not count the initial cost of the first prescription. I can buy a nice supply of apples for $4. It helps to keep the Doctor away.