Posted on 04/22/2014 9:55:34 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
In 2013 some Americans will start choosing health insurance plans offered by the new state-run health insurance exchanges. Designed to lower prices and increase competition, the exchanges will surely help millions of people access affordable care. However, health insurance plans often do not adequately cover prescription medications, and we are eager to follow the effectiveness of the exchanges as applied to prescription drug pricing.
While we hope (and believe) that increased coverage will enable more Americans to take needed medications, we believe that many will not benefit from the increased coverage. The Obama administration’s loose guidelines pertaining to prescription drugs and essential health benefits mandate that they require only one drug per class – in other words one statin (to treat high cholesterol), one proton pump inhibitors (to treat GERD), one inhaled steroid (to treat asthma), and so on, must be covered.
For many this will not be a problem. If there is only one prescription you plan on taking, you should be able to find a plan that covers it. If, however, you are taking multiple medications, things could get a bit hairy. Just because two drugs are in the same class doesn’t mean they work with the same efficacy for a given person. For example, atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) may work better for cholesterol treatment than simvastatin (generic Zocor) for one person, and vice versa for another. Imagine how difficult it would be to find an insurance plan that covers all your drugs if you are on three or four medications!
Some states plan to address this potential problem by requiring that plans offer more extensive drug coverage. As of October, 2012, an analysis of eight benchmark plans shows that they cover about 62% of drugs available in different classes.
While the health insurance exchanges are meant to provide a competitive marketplace that lowers costs, it isn’t as simple as just choosing a plan that covers the most drugs. You need to make sure it covers your drugs (in addition to other specific health benefits). We hope that the insurance exchanges will help end America’s $317 billion prescription non-adherence problem, but we fear that the pharmacy coverage under Obamacare won’t be nearly enough.
Freepers note, your Rx prices are going up in costs..
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/31/Why-Are-Costs-For-Generic-Medications-Soaring
< snip >
The pervasive use of generic over brand-name medications was anticipated to be a money-saver, but recently prices are soaring, even up 6,000 percent for some common drugs that were once fairly low-cost.
As National Journal reports, pharmacists are perplexed about the huge price hikes in many drugs and are asking Congress to hold a hearing to look into the matter.
Generic drugs such as Pravastatin, which treats high cholesterol, and the antibiotic Doxycycline spiked upwards of 1,000 percent in 2013, according to a survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association.
According to the survey, 77 percent of pharmacists said they experienced 26 or more instances of a large increase in the acquisition price of a generic drug within the last six months of 2013.
The survey found an additional 84 percent of pharmacists said price fluctuations prevented them from providing care and remaining in business due to the fact that filling prescriptions resulted in losses when some patients refused their prescriptions because of costs.
In other words, the IPAB board is going to offer a convenient one-stop shopping center for Big Pharma corruption.
I think the writer meant 'allow'
And that's the problem, Not everyone can take the same drug for the same condition. Add in multiple prescriptions and you have issues with the drugs interacting with one another. Also for those on longterm prescriptions there are those that develop issues and the Doctor changes the prescription.
So in the wisdom of the non-doctors who run ObamaCare, these details were not and will not be taken into consideration!
In November we received a letter from our insurance company telling us that our two-year-old’s asthma preventer is subject to “quantity limitations” as specified by the ACA. Don’t worry, she can get “free” birth control pills and unlimited access to Plan B.
Since I no longer have health insurance, I won’t worry one little bit about this. Frankly, there’s a LOT I don’t worry about any more. It was oddly freeing.
When the Lord wants me, He’ll take me. And He’ll provide until then.
Ran into a gal last night who sells Medicare Insurance.
Didn’t know there was such a thing.
Anyway, she swears ObamaCare® resolves the New”Don’t Hole”. for Medicare subscribers and will eventually cover all medication universally.
Thus will lower costs for almost everyone
I think she is wishful thinking myself.
Hasn't been fun watching my country die. Won't mind it AT ALL when it is checkout time.
Hasn’t been fun watching my country die. Won’t mind it AT ALL when it is checkout time.
That said, my place in central KY can become a 32 acre “compound” if necessary.
And if you need medicine, which will be limited under ObamaCare®, you can always take a vacation to another country and obtain the medicines you require and the amount necessary.
The necessary shouldn’t be a government definition or bureaucratic standard
I recently change blood pressure medicine from the I had taken for 14 years.
It put me in the hospital a week after starting the New med.
Solution?
3 Emergency doctors, a friend who is a doctor and my personal physician recommended returning to the original med.
I waited a week and returned to my original prescription.
No problem....
The “one drug per class” stuff pertained to Medicare — and was repealed recently.
My drug formulary did not change one iota. It is exactly the same before and after Obamacare (Express Scripts), except for new generic drugs being added as they came off patent.
Shut up. LOL
You are way too young to even ponder death.
Party on....with his highness HG....
She is correct that the donut hole is, by law, gradually going away. She is incorrect that all medication will be covered. One has to buy a drug plan for Medicare and those companies keep or change which drugs are covered every year.
Also, just because there is a law gradually eliminating the donut hole, that was before Obama, so I expect that law to go away by either congress but most likely by executive order and we seniors will be limited to ——aspirin over the counter, plus given a marijuana plant. What the government gives, the government can take away. Seniors will be doing good if we aren't turned into soylent green by a mandatory age.
your Rx prices are going up in costs..”
No kidding. Had eye surgery last month which resulted in having to fill two prescriptions. Had I had false teeth when I went to pay they would surely have popped right out.
Real shock to those of us who don’t normally take meds. Fortunately I was able to find some coupons on line and a pharmacy that would take them which saved me almost half of the $369.
I had high blood pressure (~164/102) for quite a while (years). Solution (gleaned from the internet): I stopped drinking, completely. In two months it was dead center normal.
I went to the doctore for a broken toe, though I don’t remember breaking it. He took x-rays and said he didn’t know what was wrong (no break) but to be careful with it. I got home and, after ten minutes on the internet realized I had gout and black cherry juice would fix it. It did.
I now get a flare up every 9 months or so. I take black cherry capsules and it’s gone the next day. A three year supply of these little marvels was $21.
And heart disease and cancer? Look up the gerson treatment. An acquaintence was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Her only treatment, and against her doctors wishes, was the gerson treatment. She’s been cancer free over two years now.
We grow our own food as much as possible and watch our diets and exercise. I need doctors for stuff like broken bones. And that can usually be fixed for less than a single months health insurance premium, with a deductible so high it wouldn’t cover it anyway.
As I said, very freeing.
Highly over rated.
I party with that guy every weekend and it gets old.
Quick.
I order this generic from Jan Drugs in Canada. I order the 300 mg & split the tablet to 150 mg. My total cost for 100 tablets (200 day supply) cost me $119.
When I partied with HG, I became very self-conscious. I realized I was fat, and unattractive, and greasy, because HG makes Brad Pitt envious. DO NOT PARTY WITH HG, you will never think of yourself the same way again.
Take somebody we all hate with you when you go!
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