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What's behind the huge price jump for some generic drugs? [from $20 to $1,849]
Los Angeles Times ^ | October 20, 2014 | David Lazarus

Posted on 12/17/2014 7:48:23 PM PST by grundle

click here to read article


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To: grundle

I found this when hubby’s blood pressure meds weren’t available....

http://www.ashp.org/menu/DrugShortages/CurrentShortages


41 posted on 12/18/2014 1:33:33 AM PST by Grumpybutt
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To: piasa

Last January (when I needed doxy) Foster and Smith were on backorder for it. It was in short supply everywhere (including Canadian pharmacies online). I ended up paying $2 per capsule from the vet (doxy is the drug of choice for treating Lyme and Heartworm so the demand is still there.)


42 posted on 12/18/2014 2:28:35 AM PST by Abby4116
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To: grundle

This is just my guess here, but they are doing one of two possible things:

1) Pre-emptively increasing prices to buffer against almost-certain punitive tax hikes, fees and penalties coming under the full implementation of ObamaCare, or

2) Raising prices because of greed knowing that Government’s job 1 will be to get that subsidized patient’s medicine to him, damn the cost - let the insurer pay for it.

No matter the reason; each is good to the government because it will create anxiety, strife, lack of confidence, etc. and lay the foundation for single-payer (aka, Government Health Care).


43 posted on 12/18/2014 2:47:44 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: grundle

Obama lied, Americans died.


44 posted on 12/18/2014 3:17:09 AM PST by iowamark (I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy)
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bmfl


45 posted on 12/18/2014 4:01:34 AM PST by Pan_Yan
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To: grundle

There are several factors at play here. First and foremost, we must all realize that the stage is set for “Nationalized Health Care”...one size fits all, one payor, one source, one way in and one way out. As the Pharmaceutical Companies were at lavish retreats, reviewing long term strategies, budgets etc, it became clear that expensive drugs were not going to be paid for under a single payor scheme.

Exhaustive analysis determined which product lines were looking viable and what was a loser. Long story short, the emergence of ObamaCare prompted sell offs of loser drugs to third world manufacturers. This means new drug applications, FDA plant closures for various infractions, raw material scarcity and import and export issues and delays.

We now have unprecedented shortages of old time drugs. Normal Saline is in a short situation.( We do realize that 70% of this planet is salt water right?) Rahm “the Ballerina” Emmanuel once stated “Never let a crisis go to waste”. What we are seeing here, now, is a perfect storm of Government hand tooled crisis and Cloward-Piven rolled into one. The administration is just waiting it out for the masses to scream for “government assistance”. It’s all part of the plan. Sadly, I’m probably not even scratching the surface of the complete depravity of the plan.


46 posted on 12/18/2014 4:07:49 AM PST by Artie (We are surrounded by MORONS)
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To: grundle

Generic Lipitor has gone up to ~$20 for 30 pills. Was around $2.00 a year ago.

It’s Obamacare. Someone has to pay for all the meds going to people who aren’t paying.


47 posted on 12/18/2014 4:09:39 AM PST by IamConservative (If fighting fire with fire is a good idea, why do the pros use water?)
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To: grundle

If there are only two or three generic competitors and they are all jacking up prices obscenely, there is market collusion—in this case, price fixing.

Without knowing any specific pharma-related law, it looks to me that not only Obama’s administration, but individual states (and even individuals) have standing to file against it:

In the United States, price fixing can be prosecuted as a criminal federal offense under section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[2]

Criminal prosecutions may only be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice, but the Federal Trade Commission also has jurisdiction for civil antitrust violations. Many state attorneys general also bring antitrust cases and have antitrust offices, such as Virginia, New York, and California.

Private individuals or organizations may file lawsuits for triple damages for antitrust violations, and depending on the law, recover attorneys fees and costs expended on prosecution of a case.[3][4][5]

Under American law, exchanging prices among competitors can also violate the antitrust laws. This includes exchanging prices with either the intent to fix prices or if the exchange affects the prices individual competitors set. Proof that competitors have shared prices can be used as part of the evidence of an illegal price fixing agreement.[6] Experts generally advise that competitors avoid even the appearance of agreeing on price.[7]”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing#Legal_status_in_the_United_States_and_Canada


48 posted on 12/18/2014 4:17:52 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: grundle

Abbott and Mylan should not have been allowed to merge without divesting their thyroid business—not sure what happened, but the generic prices have been jacked up there.

Here’s where Mylan was granted the right to make a generic version of Synthroid only a decade ago:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-06-25/business/0406250332_1_thyroid-drug-generic-version-levothyroxine

Also, it sounds like some of those profs quoted are in the pockets of the pharma industry.


49 posted on 12/18/2014 4:24:10 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: 9YearLurker
"If there are only two or three generic competitors and they are all jacking up prices obscenely, there is market collusion—in this case, price fixing."

“Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists."

~G.K. Chesterton

50 posted on 12/18/2014 4:25:48 AM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: Joe 6-pack

Indeed.


51 posted on 12/18/2014 4:33:09 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: grundle

Enjoy your socialized medicine. Freeloaders thought somebody else was going to pay for their fair share. LOL


52 posted on 12/18/2014 5:10:36 AM PST by sagar
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To: ogen hal

The solution needs to be more permanent than exile.

Think Napolean


53 posted on 12/18/2014 5:24:57 AM PST by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc.;+12, 73, ..... Obama is public enemy #1)
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To: grundle

From the article: “Shortages of raw materials frequently are cited as a reason for higher drug prices. Joyce said the difficulty of knowing what’s actually happening throughout a drug’s supply chain, which often begins in China or India, makes it hard to know whether a shortage is the result of deliberate moves.”

This is a wonderful example of how meddling by politicians who have little understanding about what they are making policy about, and who have no courage in defending American intellectual property, can damage an entire industry - and hurt the American consumer.

Our R&D, taxpayer funded and within the American pharmaceutical industry, has led to a vast number of the drugs that are now therapeutic mainstays.

While these are still under US patent, foreign countries (Canada included) extort American pharmaceutical companies, telling them that if they don’t sell them the drug at a low enough price they will just make it themselves and ignore the US patent. So the companies capitulate (it’s cheaper to do so than to fight), and to make up for the lost potential revenue they increase the prices in the US.

When these drugs come off patent, generic pharmaceutical firms - with either their headquarters, manufacturing, or both located in other countries - begin making the drugs abroad and thus the American pharmaceutical industry and the American taxpayers and economy are again screwed.


54 posted on 12/18/2014 5:43:48 AM PST by pieceofthepuzzle
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To: kiryandil

Heh, there are quite a few very slender people who still have high blood pressure. My wife is one.


55 posted on 12/18/2014 6:13:50 AM PST by Paul R. (Leftists desire to control everything; In the end they invariably control nothing worth a damn.)
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To: TomGuy

I just called in refills I won’t need for months. But get it done now.


56 posted on 12/18/2014 6:18:48 AM PST by George from New England (escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: grundle

Deal with the current administration of thieves to keep the drug companies on board.


57 posted on 12/18/2014 6:22:32 AM PST by Chickensoup (Leftist totalitarian fascism is on the move.)
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To: Sheapdog

I have had Synthroid script since 1975 when it was 3 dollars for 30 days. Now it is a couple of hundred dollars for 90 days.

Synthroid and its generic levothyroxine are the most widely prescribed medication in the US.

Easy to produce and with little liability issues. Almost all who stop smoking need it because of thyroid issues that occur after stopping.


58 posted on 12/18/2014 6:27:54 AM PST by Chickensoup (Leftist totalitarian fascism is on the move.)
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To: Paul R.

Heh, there are quite a few very slender people who still have high blood pressure. My wife is one.

_____________

High BP and tiny women are a health standard issue.


59 posted on 12/18/2014 6:40:04 AM PST by Chickensoup (Leftist totalitarian fascism is on the move.)
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To: Gefn

Thanks. Just another day in the Most Regulated Profession.


60 posted on 12/18/2014 10:41:43 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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