Get a load of this drug price.

[MOMFUDSKI]

I am on Medicare so have no co-pay for my insulin. But the dollar amount DOES go against the donut hole, of course. So today I picked up 4 vials of Novolog U-100 at Walmart Pharmacy. Humana saw fit to only supply me with 67 days' worth instead of a 90-day supply. I am over calling them and arguing and all that so I will just have to drive to Walmart more often to refill. The bottom line here is the cash cost listed on my receipt. A whopping $1378.28. Really. For 4 vials. A vial only lasts 28 days even if it still has some insulin left in it. It loses its potency after 28 days out of the fridge. And how many Senators are having their pockets stuffed by big pharma? The corruption is so bad now that I do believe it is time to just blow up the entire system and start over. Thanks for hearing me out. Love you guys.

[flying_wahini]

1. That's outrageous.If you haven't heard at thought I would mention about Mark Cubans online pharmacy.

I heard he was carrying insulin but didn’t check it.

https://costplusdrugs.com/

[William769]

2. I also take Novolog U-100 3 times a day.

I take tresiba insulin once a night.

I feel your pain.

[Stainless]

3. Discount Insulin through Medicare Program

When I found out Humana wanted a $1200 co-pay for a 90 day supply of Lantus Solostar pens, I found another insurance provider that gave me a maximum co-pay of only $75 with a special Insulin discount program they belong to.

[AllyCat]

11. There should be NO freaking copay.

I know, I know… not how it works. But there should not be a copay on drugs people need to live.

[MOMFUDSKI]

23. This is just ONE of the reasons

we need to toss it all out and begin again. I don't believe it is possible to fix all the graft out there.

[grantcart]

61. I pay only $ 35 a month for Lantus with Humana. Explanation below.

[AngryOldDem]

4. I hear you, and I'm sorry.

It’s unconscionable.

[Bev54]

5. Why do the insurance companies accept this?? I would just like to know, it is costing them

I am Canadian so we don't have those worries but I often wondered how come the insurance companies don't go after big pharma?

[Chainfire]

16. Because the same people that own insurance companies own pharmacies and hospitals.

It is a copesetic relationship where everyone makes the big bucks. We probably have the most ass-backwards medical system of any developed nation. Unregulated greed, brought by unregulated Capitalism.

My wife is also insulin dependent. The cost of her test strips also add to the out-of-pocket cost.

[Bev54]

17. TY

[MOMFUDSKI]

24. Don't even get me started on test strips

I could write 2 books but I will spare you guys. lol

[I_UndergroundPanther]

55. I hate capitalism.

Exploitation,extraction predatory bullshit.

[MOMFUDSKI]

18. I have to assume

they are ALL making out just terrific so why upset the apple cart? If that weren't the case then you would hear howling from one or both.

[Corgigal]

6. I'm sorry.

We had a weird thing happen with my hubby’s meds. Not the same prices, but..

He picks up 3 medications at the same every month. Been that way for over ten years.
For some reason, last month, one medication is no longer allowed to be refilled within a 30 days of the other medication. Which is at least confusing. Called all the medical people, including RX coverage. They were also confused. Claimed FDA changed something on something, blah blah.

So every month he must pay complete out of pocket for a certain medication. I guess forever.
It’s not as pricey as what happened to you, but that it happened at all still surprised us.

[Rebl2]

8. Sometimes

your insurance makes changes to your formulary and will only cover so many pills a year. When you meet their limit, you have to pay the rest out of pocket for the rest of the year. Don’t think it’s fair myself. Have had it happen to me.

[Corgigal]

9. Maybe..

However the year just started. Never been a problem before, an they are kicking it up to FDA changing guidelines. Hell. If we ever know.

Still small beans next to you. We’re just getting squeezed , and some politicians are earning their wings.

[MOMFUDSKI]

19. Anymore

it is generic or die.

[Rebl2]

26. Yep

I have always asked my doctors for generics for years. I do take one drug that isn’t generic and it is a biologic drug for RA. I have insurance that pays for part of it and I also qualify for help from the company that makes the drug.

[DENVERPOPS]

67. Perhaps it is the place you buy the drugs

dictating that to get you to come into their store more often??????

These days, corporations are running free, doing pretty much whatever they wish. Capitalism at it's finest.
And we have the absolute best politicians money can buy..........

[Brainfodder]

7. One of my uncles has Parkinson's, he's had it about a decade now, his monthly meds.....

In 2022:

16k/month out of pocket....

There is no substitute med a/v, I don't know the deep details, and don't want to know, but clearly absurd+ a RIPTHEFUCKOFF!

[Dave says]

40. One of my meds, necessary to keep me alive, is $25k a month

I think it's the third most expensive drug on the market.

I had great coverage, now have just good coverage. For now, I pay about $5k out of pocket per year, but things change.

Under Medicare Part D I'd have to pay $1100 per month after deductible and donut hole. BBB had a change that included capping OOP for meds at $2500 per year (or thereabouts). I was sorry to see it fail.

[Ligyron]

53. WHAT!!!

Who the hell can afford that?@

Ridiculous, you’d think even the Trumper’s would be against that. Probably unaware.

[Paper Roses]

10. I'm not taking the RX that cost me $979 for 30 days. It was causing me problems, called the MD.

He prescribed a different RX, it was only $800 for 30 days.

I asked for a paper prescription so I could take it with me and shop around. All about the same.
Guess what, I did not fill it and am not taking any meds now. I am too old for this baloney. Not wise but I'm doing OK without. Not up to snuff but I have no choice. My RX is not something as critical as one for Insulin. I feel for anyone who has to face prices like these. Always ask for a paper copy and shop around. If the doc's office knows you use a certain pharmacy, the RX will be sent there directly and the shock comes when you go to pick it up.
The whole system is a mess!

[MOMFUDSKI]

20. When you have just had a facefull

it is easy to just say fuck it. I get that. One more thing - Walmart has been waiting since DECEMBER for Losartan pills. They can't get any and don't know when they will. I have enuf left for now but will have to shop around when I get low. Anybody else out there having the Losartan problem?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

56. Here in Harford co. Maryland no.

I get my losartan fine.

[Desert_Leslie]

12. $2,122 Last Year

I've had Type 1 for 50 years -- 68 years old now and on Medicare.

Last year, 2021, I spent $2,122 on prescriptions.

Yikes!

[MOMFUDSKI]

21. You should have a max out-of-pocket

per year? But I am not sure if that would apply to drug costs for you. Donut hole helps after you cough up more than you care to. It is a mess but somebody is making a big buck.

[Ms. Toad]

48. Not on regular medicare. n/t

[KPN]

13. Sorry to hear. We are one fucked up country.

[Nululu]

14. More than a hundred thousand die who can't afford their meds

It's shameful.

[Quakerfriend]

15. Ugh! Bernie seems to be the only person who ever brings this up.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard but, Mark Cuban has created an online pharmacy with dirt cheep prices- You may want to check it out.

Here’s his site: https://costplusdrugs.com/

He’s just started it so, new meds should be added soon.

[Johnny Noshoes]

25. Thanks

I just checked the cost of one of my meds and the site would save me $100 on a 90day prescription.

[SergeStorms]

38. Then you have to rely....

on Dejoy's postal service to get it to you on time.

My Mom used to get her prescriptions by mail, and they were always late. She lived in a retirement village so they started a club for people who took the same medications. They borrowed from each other until their medications showed up, then they'd pay the pills back to whoever they borrowed from.

I recall their system working out very well until the inevitable deaths started popping up.

[OldBaldy1701E]

22. "...time to blow up the system and start over."

I have been yelling this for some time now, and everyone gets mad at me when I do. Glad I am not the only one who sees this. You can slap all the paint and wood trim on a house all you like, but if the foundation is gone, then you just have to tear it down and start over. And, the foundation has been gone on the 'house' that is American healthcare for a long time.

[MOMFUDSKI]

33. Thanks for the echo.

I thought the mods might even erase me on that. HMMM . . . .

[OldBaldy1701E]

57. You're welcome. (n/t)

[TurboDem]

27. I just looked on GoodRX.

It appears if you use GoodRX with your prescription you can get 4 vials at WalMart for $587.47.

https://www.goodrx.com/novolog-70-30?dosage=10ml-of-100-units-ml&form=vial&label_override=insulin%20aspart%2070%2F30&quantity=4&sort_type=popularity

[rogerballard]

28. I am starting Orgovyx this week

Anywhere from $2200 - $2300 per month, ridiculous.

[evilhime]

29. GoodRX

I don't know how much you need but Good RX has good prices and then bypass the insurance. I do it all the time. You can use the coupons or for $5.99 a month you can join gold and save even more. Just checked here: https://www.goodrx.com/novolog-70-30.

[erronis]

30. Check out the 340B Drug Pricing Program

I'm using it in Vermont through a contract pharmacy. I don't even bother with my required Medicare part D pharmacy - the 340 program is much cheaper for the drugs I'm taking.

Not sure how this works in other states, but Bernie (I think) has made it work in VT.

https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/index.html
https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/research/the-340b-drug-pricing-program-background-ongoing-challenges-and-recent-developments/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/340B_Drug_Pricing_Program

[NewEnglandAutumn]

31. Please Know

Many People are not aware how Good RX works it is INSTEAD of your insurance not with. IF you use it the money you pay does not count toward your deductible. If you use when in the doughnut hole you will never get out.

Some insurances only pay for 'brand' so if your insurance requires brand (for example ventolin) it may bee less expensive for the purchaser than a generic. But it drives me crazy because I don't see how this in in the best interest of the buyer. The insurer must be getting a deal.

Pharmacies are being squeezed regarding many drugs particularly insulin. We must calculate days supply exactly and if it is a wee bit more than 90 days then we need to round down to keep the days supply under whatever max # of days the plan will pay for.

Pharmacies don't set drug prices insurers do.

[MOMFUDSKI]

34. Like Carlin said -

It is one big country club and YOU aren't in it. That culture is what has to be destroyed in our country.

[Ms. Toad]

49. Frequently it is still a lot cheaper to use Medicare Part D sparingly.

We buy more than half our meds throgh Costco without insurance. We priced our meds out for the entire year, using the tools which take into account deductibles and the donut hole.

Buying more than half of our drugs off-plan saves me 35% and my spouse 41%.

[kacekwl]

32. One of the arguments for Medicare for all , single payer or

whatever you want to call it was that the poor insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies would be hurt so bad and all their employees would lose their jobs. Sorry but too freaking bad. I remember being told while they were shipped jobs overseas and to Mexico that we needed to adapt and find new careers and go back to school to train for some low paying shit jobs. No tears would be shed by me.

[MOMFUDSKI]

36. Harkening back to the fifties, sixties

I don't recall my parents, aunts, uncles, etc. ever griping and moaning about how they were being screwed on an hourly basis. Life was pretty OK paycheck to paycheck back in the day. All people wanted was the ability to buy groceries, a week's vacation per year, a driveable car, and the ability to pay the doc if someone got sick. That was in the realm of most regular folks back then. Look at today. It is a shitshow.

[MOMFUDSKI]

42. Harkening back to the fifties, sixties

I don't recall my parents, aunts, uncles, etc. ever griping and moaning about how they were being screwed on an hourly basis. Life was pretty OK paycheck to paycheck back in the day. All people wanted was the ability to buy groceries, a week's vacation per year, a driveable car, and the ability to pay the doc if someone got sick. That was in the realm of most regular folks back then. Look at today. It is a shitshow.

[MOMFUDSKI]

45. Harkening back to the fifties, sixties

I don't recall my parents, aunts, uncles, etc. ever griping and moaning about how they were being screwed on an hourly basis. Life was pretty OK paycheck to paycheck back in the day. All people wanted was the ability to buy groceries, a week's vacation per year, a driveable car, and the ability to pay the doc if someone got sick. That was in the realm of most regular folks back then. Look at today. It is a shitshow.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

62. Harkening back to the fifties and sixties,

Medicare didn't even exist. Social Security had no COLA, so once you started collecting it was truly a fixed income. People either worked until they died, or if lucky were able to live with grown children at the end of their lives. Probably 90% of the drugs people take didn't exist. No organ transplants.

Yes, I agree that some things are worse now, but others truly are better.

[c-rational]

35. The drug price issue needs to be fixed. What upsets me lately are the ads/emails from AARP

to sign a petition to Joe Biden to do something about drug prices during his State of the Union. He does not control this policy and AARP knows this. They should be leading the charge against specific Senators. The fact they are not is telling. On a final rant note, we do not have a healthcare industry, we have a sickness industry. And on a final final note, I suggest you watch "What the Health."

[MOMFUDSKI]

37. Good Stuff

C-rat. Thanks.

[DENVERPOPS]

68. For some reason

I have always looked at AARP as basically being a massive insurance company at it's core.
I would love to know more about this from someone who knows.........

It seems that ALL politicians talk about lowering drug prices in their pre election campaign rhetoric, and yet, once elected, ALL politicians turn the other way.......

AND YES, I do mean, ALL politicians..................

[lonely bird]

39. First order of Xarelto in January...

$500.00

Prices for my Januvia and Jardiance also bounce around.

As previously posted GoodRX does not count against your deductible.

[Pathwalker]

52. Merck has a Patient Assistance Program that offers discount or free medications,

including Januvia, based on financial need. They ask for documentation to prove it, but if you qualify, they will provide it. OTHER pharma companies also offer this assistance, but,alas, not the makers of Jardiance. I use these programs for my insulin and an inhaler. It takes work, but it saves me over $1200.00 a month. Check your phama's company's website.

[monkeyman1]

41. Humana suck's large ! me & wife had them & ditch'd them big time !

[MOMFUDSKI]

43. I think they are all bad.

We had Optimum until they were bought out by a bigger fish. And then things just went totally sideways. Had to get out so that left Humana and they were OK but their Mail Order Pharmacy is one big cluster thingy as is the website so I went to local pharmacies as to avoid all the aggravation dealing with a fucked-up pharmacy in Arizona while I am in Florida. Did you ever get spoiled, warm insulin that rode around in a UPS truck all day in Florida in summer and was delivered to my house at suppertime? Well, then, you just haven't lived. That was a multiple phone call circus that took days and days to unwind and fix. Thanks all for a fun and maddening discussion.

[monkeyman1]

54. ya' nailed it ! I worked in an out of floriduh for 30 yrs ! cost of living is ridiculously high !

[DEbluedude]

44. Ms. Dudes meds are $9000.00 a month.

Great Britian $1400.00. I don't know what I'd do if we didn't have great insurance. Fuckin crooks. All of them.

[MOMFUDSKI]

46. And we have about 9, on a good day,

pols that are actually trying to fix things. Blow it up; start over.

[Ms. Toad]

47. Try GoodRX

I tlooks like you can get it for quite a bit cheaper. ($58.83/vial at Walgreens)

You'll need to set it to your location, the stores may not be the same, and the prices will vary by the stores available. But GoodRx and Costco are generally pretty cheap.

You don't have to buy all of your drugs through your part D (or Medicare Advantage) plan. More than half of my drugs are cheaper off-plan.

[SouthernLiberal]

50. I have Rheumatoid Disease and rely on very expensive drugs

Things are actually better now that I am on Medicare. The last full year that I was working, and on the best plan they had, I still had to pay in full at least once a year. The medication I was taking at the time cost me just over $4,600 for that first month. Four doses over a thousand dollars each. I am sure that there are medications that cost more than that. I doubt if there is any reason good enough to make that price reasonable, though.

At least the excuse is that the medications I take are newly developed, and have limited use. I can find no excuse for the price of insulin other than "We can charge what we want"

[demigoddess]

51. our daughter has been taking a medicine since the mid 70s. Since the 80s we paid

out of our pockets for it because we did not want to miss a dose for her. When insurance kicked in with our medical people all of a sudden it went up from 20 or 30 dollars a month to hundreds of dollars a month.so we had to use the insurance to pay for it. We are on medicare essentially and we are prescribed cholesterol drugs and I think they prescribe it not because you need it, but because it sends money from medicare down through their system of medical service.

[appleannie1]

58. Xarelto costs even more than that.

I have been in intensive care on heparin drips 3 times. I will have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I take Xarelto and a baby aspirin everyday. If I did not have insurance, my cost would be over $600 a month. As is, my co-pay with the lowest insurance I could find is almost $70.00 for a 90 day supply. I went to 90 day on all my prescriptions so I don't have to go into Wal Mart every week, sometimes more than once when COVID first started. I live in a red, unmasked, unvaccinated area so do not go out much.

[malthaussen]

59. Yeah, I actually buy my insulin OTC

I use Novalin 30/70. 25 bucks OTC, or $160 when bought by prescription and paid for with insurance.

-- Mal

[grantcart]

60. I have Humana and only pay $ 35 a month for insulin

First question is Humana your Medicare advantage plan?

Humana has a $ 35 a month insulin cap on Medicare Advantage (which I am guessing is for all advantage plans).

I was paying $ 70 a month and when I investigated found the reason was that my doctors prescription meant that I had to get two boxes of Lantus pens as they couldn't break the 5 pen box.

I got the doctor to talk with Sam's Club Pharmacy and adjust the quantity so I only pay $35 a month.

I was on Novolog but went to Lantus (which I believe is more expensive). I buy Novolog for short term spikes without prescription and pay about $ 50 a vial with no insurance.

Also I get Trulicity free from Lilly by going through Lilly care program, it was very simple.

Humana has been great for me.

[Joinfortmill]

63. It's a mess, for sure.

[cbabe]

64. US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, Medicare For All

Act of 2021, H. R. 1976.

She introduced the bill. Lots of co-signers. Not just Bernie.

[Jilly_in_VA]

65. That is inhumane

and just WRONG! Fcuk Big Pharma and all their sons and daughters, even unto the 90th generation!

I have migraine and out of curiosity looked up the price of Nurtec the other day. It's heavily advertised on TV. Why, you can even get it via a telehealth appointment. Yeah, sure. The lowest price I could find for a month's supply, even with GoodRx, was $898.00. I don't want to know what my Part D would charge, because it's probably more. This is one of those drugs that Medicare likely won't pay for. I'll stick with my gabapentin/topiramate combo and adjust as necessary, TYVM, and endure the occasional migraine.

[Evolve Dammit]

66. I share your frustration and anger. Only country that doesn't negotiate. It's a lousy system.

Keeps getting worse too. Wasn't that bad even ten years ago. Every year the deductibles, co-pay go up and when you see the actual costs as you pointed out, it's piracy. And it's across the board for procedures, visits, etc.

[Grasswire2]

69. Reading all this makes me realize how fortunate I am, as a type 2 diabetic.

Diagnosed 2008, never have needed insulin or any of the proprietary meds.

I just take two tablets of glipizide daily, and the cost of that for me is just a couple of bucks per month.

I feel very sad for those who must wade through the process you describe. I'm sorry.

Let's work to get drug prices under control. It's insane.

[Handler]

70. I use Novalin 70/30

OTC at Costco is around 30.00 per vial.

[Otto_Harper]

71. For those on insulin, 2 things which may help:

1) Just because they say it can only be open and refrigerated for 31 days doesn't mean jack diddly squat. Try it yourself. On day 32, if there is still left over, track your BG with a glucometer a few times during the day. Still under control? Then 31 days was BS. Use this to learn how long your insulin variety and your fridge can be trusted. (In my case, it is farrrrr longerrrrr than 31 days).

2) If you use a pen, take note that when the plunger reaches the end of travel, there is still perfectly good insulin trapped in the taper between the plunger end and the pen end. It is usually about 12 - 15 units. Draw it down (not up) with a regular syringe. Don't inject air first, as that won't be needed in a pen to get the last out. In a box of 5 pens, that is 60 - 80 units you have been throwing away needlessly.