I Am Flabbergasted!!!!!!!!! Prescription Cost....

[joebryant]

Quote:
WOW! It pays to ask around! Good for Anne to ask for the cheaper alternative!

...
Yep, it really leaves you wondering how many pills are still so expensive because the pharmaceutical companies after they lose their patents are combining the resulting generics to make a "NEW brand name" super-expensive pill.

 

[texasgal]

I still can't get past them discharging him from the hospital without treating him for C-dif ..

 

[cluckcluck42]

There must be another way. I would have tried every other thing before paying that much for a prescription!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
The OP said, "...They would not give him the antibiotic in the hospital for this type of infection that he needed, probably because they knew that our insurance only pays for generic..they wrote him a prescription for it..."
The law is that the hospital is only required to get them past the emergency need before putting the people without adequate insurance out the door. That's why tens of thousands of citizens are suffering at home now while waiting to die. Usually by the time that they can be admitted to the hospital again as an emergency, it's too late to save their lives.

 

[Orchid]

It pains me to say this, but there are many doctors who do not know as much as they should about the medications they prescribe. Your absolute best bet is it find a kind and knowledgeable pharmacist (like the one Joe's wife found) who will be your advocate in the area of prescriptions.

 

[hoppy]

my understanding of why this medication is so expensive is that it is only made by one place- cornell university. I wish I had something I could add, I hope this guy gets better soon.

 

[WriterofWords]

If there is no generic available the company is required to cover the medication at the generic price. I just went through that with my Maxalt.

 

[annageckos]

Quote:
They do not always have samples of all the drugs, but I would call and ask. As far as drug reps go, I really do not like them, I think it is BS. I too take two types of insulin plus a few other meds as well. There is no way I could pay for my meds. The insulin along is around $400 a month, with all the meds I get coming to over $1500 a month. And I do not get them all, I only get the ones I NEED.

Have your co worker call the company that makes the meds or check online, some times you can get the meds free or cheap. Worst comes to worst go to the hospital daily for the meds.

 

[HeatherLynn]

He should talk with his doctor. My cost was not that high but I did have a doctor prescribe a different antibiotic so my copays for it went from 60 down to 15. Yes I know not as bad as what that guy is going through but there probably is a cheaper one he can take. Actually the prescription for the more expensive one was from the ER. I called my doc the next day and she had me come in and then gave me a totally different prescription that I could get as generic and that would not have the same " harsh side effects". I was thankful I asked.

 

[moonlyghtegirl]

C. Diff is now the leading infection that you pick up in hospitals (called nosocomial infections). MRSA used to be the leading nosocomial infection until this past year. You can still treat MRSA, but antibiotic resistance is rampant and we are running out of options.

As far as treatment for C. Diff, well, there are practically no antibiotic options due to the nature of the bacteria and antibiotic resistance. Treatment in many cases is supportive, IV fluids, managing other co-morbidities. If you are lucky, and relatively healthy you can get past it. However, many people don't.

It takes a pharmaceutical company approximately 12-17 years to bring truely new product to market, at the cost of upwards to 25 million dollars in research and testing. For each drug that makes it to market, hundreds do not.