Thursday, September 16, 2004

About "Comparing drug pricing"

Thanks to Dr. Bob, who cites a NYT article about a new federal website that offers guidance about drug prices and the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
I tried to crunch some numbers on the site. A person in my zip code who takes Prozac 20 mg daily: no savings. A person taking Prozac, Seroquel, and Zantac: no savings with any of the drug cards in my area.
Who is helped by this program? I'm going to look at some other combinations of meds. I note that certain meds are excluded from the benefit (like non-prescription meds, benzodiazepines, and treatments for baldness, among others).
Looks like we will still rely on "patient assistance programs" and free samples for lots of our patients. We still haven't found a comprehensive solution to the crisis of med affordability.

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