Posted on 12/17/2014 7:48:23 PM PST by grundle
They cited the example of the asthma drug albuterol sulfate. The average cost for a bottle of 100 pills was $11 last October, the pair said. The average charge by this April was up to $434.
The antibiotic doxycycline hyclate cost $20 last October for a bottle of 500 tablets, the congressmen observed. By April, the price was $1,849.
Experts say generics are growing more expensive because of reduced competition among manufacturers and shortages of raw materials. However, that might not explain triple-digit price hikes for some drugs.
"Most generics are increasing in price by an average 10% a year," said Bryan Birch, chief executive of Truveris, a New York company that monitors prescription drug costs. "But we've seen some popular drugs increase by more than 650% in the last year."
He cited simvastatin, the generic equivalent of cholesterol drug Zocor, and clomipramine hydrochloride, the generic version of antidepressant Anafranil. Prices for each rose more than 650% from June 2013 to this June, Birch said.
Geoffrey Joyce, a professor of pharmaceutical economics at USC, said he's seen the cost of some generic meds rise as much as 1,000% in recent months. He called these increases "obscene."
"The question is why," Joyce said.
Each of the experts I spoke with cited industry consolidation as a key reason for rising prices. Rather than the half-dozen or so competitors that many economists believe are necessary to lead to lower prices, only two or three manufacturers now make some generic meds.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Funny how this happened right after Obamacare took effect.
One word: the feckless fool on the hill. Sorry, that was more than one word.
But I thought Obamacare was going to solve all problems. /s
obie and ObieCare>
the poor jerk OBIE....is already the least loved President in History ..but by the time we FINALLY learn of the utterly insane evil mess stuck in that ONE BILL....he will be forced to walk the streets yelling out UNCLEAN..UNCLEAN!!
Obamacare’s fault.
He blames it 100% on Obamacare, which allowed big pharma to increase prices to consumers in order to lower costs to Medicare and some insurance plans.
Add in increases in copay and deductibles, and consumers that play by the rules get whacked again by the Obama team.
The easiest way to make anything ridiculously expensive is to tell Congress to make it free.
Get millions of people whose drug costs are being subsidized by the government ... You’re going to get some VERY expensive drugs!
Probably some clause in the massive Obamacare bill that was read and understood only by the generic drug industry and the congresscritters they paid to put it there.
One word —
Yeah, I know the one word you wanted to say...
I’d prefer the criminal be exiled.
“Hopefully these high prices will encourage new competition to enter the market and bring the prices back down.
Funny how this happened right after Obamacare took effect.”
Passing the FDA inspections takes a long time and a lot of money. If it were easy, Walter White would have made antidepressants and hypertension drugs instead of meth-amphetamine.
Looks like another success for Barry’s Marxist plan. Bankrupt the middle-class with high premiums, high taxes, high prescription costs.
I wonder if the french would be interested in giving us a good deal on Devils Island?....
Just after the Medicare Prescription Drug passed in 2003, my generic prescription cost almost doubled.
In 2006, Walmart introduced the $4 generics. That shook up the pharmacy industry.
And generics are exempted from product liability lawsuits (even though technically they are selling “similar” knockoffs to the name brands) and insurance companies are insisting that enrollees use generics where available.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3040748/posts
U.S. justices block generic drug liability lawsuits (Supreme Court)
Reuters ^ | June 24, 2013 | Lawrence Hurley and Bill Berkrot
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that generic drugmakers cannot be sued under state law for adverse reactions to their products, a decision that consumer advocates called a blow to patient safety...
Something strange is going on with drug prices. I just started on Medicare. Fortunately, I am very healthy and only have one prescription, HCTZ for slightly elevated blood pressure. Normally I paid through BCBS of Massachusetts $15 for 90 days of a generic. With Medicare I just paid $3 for 90 days at CVS. While I pay $3, Medicare (and us taxpayers) pays via my Part D provider, Aetna, $50. More bemusing is that at Costco HCTZ costs $11 for 90 days. This stuff drives me nuts and I plan on pushing the issue with my new Congressman.
“Obamacare, which allowed big pharma to increase prices to consumers in order to lower costs to Medicare and some insurance plans.”
:::::::::::::
The medical industry takeover plan, Obamacare, was designed for this purpose -— not really for optimization of medical care, as we now know without any doubt. This piece of the deceitful plan is to help pay for it and is just the tip of the iceberg to this horror story. Obama and his ilk are doing a complex plan to keep attention off of it.
There is something wrong here and I smell a democrap universal “health” plan.
When I was a wee lad in 1976 I used to order brand name Vibramycin (doxycycline) made by Pfizer at my clinic for about $500 for 500 capsules.
Now the generic version made in some bathtub in Mumbai is $1830/500.
This makes no sense which means that fedgov is involved somehow.
“Funny how this happened right after Obamacare took effect.”
Funny how drug companies found the perfect smokescreen.
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