Prescription Medications...

In the midst of all this health care reform chaos, I am wondering how most Americans, even those with insurance, are managing the costs of their prescriptions.  Kyle and I have decent health insurance through the state, but our copays for prescriptions are adding up these days, and I imagine the average household still struggles to pay for their medications, even if they do have a good insurance.  My doctor prescribed a new medication today and I was shocked at the checkout to find out that my portion after insurance was $100!  I've never had a copay so high.  Usually they are $20 at most.  It lead me to want to do some research when I got home.  

I looked up the prescriptions I take on a daily basis on three online pharmacies:  Walgreens, Drugstore.com and King Soopers (Kroger).  I averaged the cost of my medications based on the cheapest price listed for the medication, and using generic when possible. I currently use four medications to control my bipolar disorder symptoms and anxiety.  Here's what I would pay out of pocket if I had no insurance and ordered from one of these companies:

Depression/Anxiety Med #1 - $425/month (extended release)
Depression/Anxiety Med #2 - $70/month (generic)
Mood Stabilizer #3 - $823/month (extended release)
Anxiety Med #4 - $150/month  


Grand Total:  $1468 each month
Total with Insurance:  $150 approximately

Yikes.  Even with insurance I am paying out of pocket $150 a month in medications.  And that is only for my mental health.  I am on a variety of supplements that are necessary post gastric bypass as well.  I would average the cost of those at about $65.  Double that because Kyle takes the same ones, and add his own cocktail of diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure meds and we are probably in the ballpark of $500 per month in medications. 


How do Americans do it?  No wonder people are ordering meds from other countries.  And how scary is that to know that no FDA checked your drugstore order before it shipped?  A great deal of Americans aren't doing it.  They simply can't.  Been there, too.


Since the overhaul of the health insurance system started, I have been a believer that before we look at health insurance we need to look at the root of the problem - the outrageous costs for treatment and prescriptions.  If I'm having trouble paying for meds with insurance, I can't imagine what families without insurance are going through.  Actually, I can.  I was without insurance most of my life until I got married.  Many people, both those with and those without insurance are going without or adjusting the amount of medication they take so that the prescription lasts longer.  Before we can make adequate health insurance coverage, shouldn't we look at what that coverage is paying for  to begin with?


A mother shouldn't have to choose between her needed prescription and milk for her kids.

Fortunately, many of the pharmaceutical companies are providing programs for low income families to help them afford prescription medications. This is a great help to many people, myself included when I was in college and couldn't afford my prescriptions and was not covered by insurance.  

It's dismaying how reliant we've become on chemicals to change our lives.  And don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the medications that improve my life.  But I find it overwhelming to experience the constant changes in medications.  Each week there is a brand new medication on the market approved for this, that and the other thing.  Watch television for an hour or two and note how many commercials you see for various medications.  

As consumers we are often placed on and taken off medications without the proper amount of time passing to even determine what they can do for us.  Many providers are handing out samples like candy on Halloween night, because they are pressured by the big companies to write those scripts. 

It's all a bit alarming to me.  And anyone who has taken medication for depression or mania knows that there is no rhyme or reason to figuring out what works and what doesn't.  Unlike many conditions, there is no blood test to determine which meds are right for which patient.  It is all trial and error.  And it can take up to six to eight weeks for some medications to work to their full potential.  So many of us are on this med for six weeks, pulled off it slowly when it isn't working and starting on the next one.  The cycle can go on for years while doctor and patient work together to determine the perfect mix.  


It's an issue that affects nearly every person in America.  Who doesn't need a prescription at some point in the year?  Whether it's an antibiotic or treatment for a chronic condition, all of us visit our pharmacy sometime. 

I don't know what the answer is, but I know that the current system for cost of prescribed medications just isn't realistic for the average consumer.  Everyone deserves to feel his or her best.