Obscene drug markups

I know we are overcharged for drugs in US. I know that prices vary from drug store to drug store. I did not know the extent of the outrage. Take a look at these examples"

Celebrex 100 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60 Percen t markup: 21,712%
Claritin 10 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71 Percent markup: 30,306%
Keflex 250 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88 Percent markup: 8,372%
Lipitor 20 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37 Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80 Percent markup: 4,696%
Norvasec 10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14 Percent markup: 134,493%
Paxil 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60 Percent markup: 2,898%
Prevacid 30 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01 Percent markup: 34,136%
Prilosec 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97 Cost of general active ingredients $0.52 Percent markup: 69,417%
Prozac 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $247.47 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11 Percent markup: 224,973%
Tenormin 50 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13 Percent markup: 80,362%
Vasotec 10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $10237 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20 Percent markup: 51,185%
Xanax 1 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024 Percent markup: 569,958%
Zestril 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89 Cost of general active ingredients $3.20 Percent markup: 2,809%
Zithromax 600 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19 Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78 Percent markup: 7,892%
Zocor 40 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63 Percent markup: 4,059%
Zoloft 50 mg Consumer price: $206.87 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75 Percent markup: 11 ,821%

health report UK

Why aren't the insurance companies complaining about this? we are being so ripped off. Isn't there any kind of oversight on how ripped off we can be for drugs?

The drug companies have a notorious reputation for ripping off customers. They give the insurance companies a break on the obscene mark-up which means they both make money, while we, the consumers get ripped off.
Meidcations in Canada, Great Britian, France and other countries with national health care are cheap for the patient, and I'm sure the drug companies give the comptrollers great breaks on prices.
Then they come to the US and make all their money.
(It is illegal for US citizens to order their drugs from Canada. We can go to Mexico, but we don't know about the purity of the drugs.)

I always just put it down to the amount of man hours and research going into the drugs.

I agree that the price is definately to monopolize the market, and also, people tend to believe that the more you pay, the higher the quality of the end product.

Oh this so doesnt surprise me. I was on seroquel for my bi-polar and it was about 1200 bucks a month! I looked online at pharmacies in Canada and I could get a 3 month supply for about 300 bucks which makes it a hundred a month! How in the world are they allowed to get away with this. It's like price gouging IMO! I am now on lithium which thank God is only 4 bucks at Wal-Mart. These companies are sick and greedy. Every time I go to the doctor and they prescribe me something 9/10 I go to the herbal store and find something I can afford and something that is less dangerous for me to take.

They mark up drugs here so they can sell them cheaper or give away for free in third world countrys.

The price difference between brand and generic can be huge. My wife had a $110 month supply of a brand name that we got for $3.50 in the generic form.

It's a double edge sword. If drug companies can't reap huge rewards from new drugs, then where is the incentive for them to develop new drugs? We would have to let the government handle new drug research......doesn't that sound good to you?

reply to post by pavil


Yeah my doctor explained why there was no generic available in the US right now of seroquel and it's just greed!! She agreed with me and said it saddens her that so many cant get the meds they need because of the mark-up on them. However there are many assistance programs and she did help me get my meds for free for a bit but then later I didnt qualify and had to switch. She also told me, whether its true or not, that the generic has to be the same ingredients legally and the only difference is the manufacturer. Does anyone know if this is true?

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
reply to post by pavil

 

She also told me, whether its true or not, that the generic has to be the same ingredients legally and the only difference is the manufacturer. Does anyone know if this is true?

They have to have the same active ingredients, however, other parts of generics can be different. Coumadin's generic use's something that many patients find has more or greater side effects than the brand name. Some generics are identical clones of the brand name, some have different secondary ingredients. Hope that helps.

reply to post by pavil


Yes it helped! Thank You. I always wondered that after she told me this.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


No only what Pavil is saying but also generic uses fillers that are cheap and low grade that is why they are cheaper, in many instances they can cause serious side effects and allergic reactions.

You can go in the internet and check on generics side effects, I was one of those that got the worst side effects of one of the generic blood pressure medications.

Generics no always means they are better just cheaper.

I have certainly benefited from some of the new drugs, and I agree that the companies should be rewarded for developing these wonderful new drugs, and that is expensive and risky. In fact the majority of the small companies that try to do that go broke. But these markups are really way beyond rewards.

Insurance companies do not buy drugs directly from drug companies so they do not get the chance to get deals. There's always a pharmacy involved. Big ones can get volume discounts but still this situation seem to be really rotten. The involvement of the insurance companies, and Medicare and Medicaid, are the reason these prices are possible. Not because they are doing anything wrong, but they have deep pockets. how many people could afford these prices if they had to pay them every month?