Generic Prescript. costs = Name Brand...huh? (Read 1195 times)

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

    No kidding.  Schedule II controlled substance.  Expensive and a total PITA to get.

     

    Uh huh.  Especially when there have been widespread shortage issues of all stimulant-based ADHD meds.  That's how my kid got switched to Concerta--we couldn't get his previous med at all...not name brand, not generic, not a different dosage.

    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

         ~ Sarah Kay

      Uh huh.  Especially when there have been widespread shortage issues of all stimulant-based ADHD meds.  That's how my kid got switched to Concerta--we couldn't get his previous med at all...not name brand, not generic, not a different dosage.

       

      Yes, big international problem. As prices get squeezed, raw material manufactures consolidate, leaving 1-2 suppliers. Any hiccup in the supply chain and it is impossible to get. Just because it says Johnson and Johnson as the manufacturer, doesn't mean that they actually make the drug. It is curious that this drug shortage "appears" to be having the effect of switching patients to patentable medicines.

      Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

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      rectumdamnnearkilledem

        It is curious that this drug shortage "appears" to be having the effect of switching patients to patentable medicines.

         

        Yep...though Concerta was shorted in some areas, too, from what I'd heard.  In the end it worked out OK, since Concerta is working better for him than the Ritalin SR that he'd been on.  That wasn't long-acting enough and he'd always need a short "homework" med for after school.

        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

             ~ Sarah Kay

        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          I do with my Qvar, but I've not with my Pro-Air inhaler, since the product already seems so heavy and sticky that I've assumed it would end up lining the inside of the spacer and never actually making it into my lungs.

           

          ass/u/me

           

          Wink

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          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay

              Yes, big international problem. As prices get squeezed, raw material manufactures consolidate, leaving 1-2 suppliers. Any hiccup in the supply chain and it is impossible to get. Just because it says Johnson and Johnson as the manufacturer, doesn't mean that they actually make the drug. It is curious that this drug shortage "appears" to be having the effect of switching patients to patentable medicines.

               

              Stim med shortages aren't caused by supply-chain issues, they are caused by exceptionally tight government regulations on the amounts that can produced and stocked beyond current levels of prescriptions.  If there's even a small uptick in new prescriptions there's an instant nationwide shortage.

               

              About half the time I drop of the RX (which, btw, occurs every 30 days, no refills allowed by law, no fax/email/phone RX allowed by law, only 3x Rx can be physically given per MD visit so quarterly visits to Md, I'm occasionally asked for ID, etc) the pharmacy is out of stock and pending a shipment.  The unfortunate side-effect of needing something that is exceedingly similar to meth...

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              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                About half the time I drop of the RX (which, btw, occurs every 30 days, no refills allowed by law, no fax/email/phone RX allowed by law, only 3x Rx can be physically given per MD visit so quarterly visits to Md, I'm occasionally asked for ID, etc) the pharmacy is out of stock and pending a shipment.  The unfortunate side-effect of needing something that is exceedingly similar to meth...

                 

                We can't even do that.  We have to get a paper script EVERY month.  Dane's ped is 30 minutes away.  Insurance won't allow it to be refilled before a certain date each time...so it can definitely get pretty hairy when there are only a few doses left and we find out that no one has the refill.

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay


                Former runner

                  The puffer squirts the stuff such that the best aerosol is about 3-4 inches from the nozzle.  That is, somewhere behind your palate.  The spacer allows the aerosol to form as it should, but then let you inhale easily and get the medicine into your lungs.

                   

                  I couldn't find my spacer so I decided to stop at the pharmacy today to get a new one. Apparently you need a prescription to buy one. Confused

                  Ross

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                  rectumdamnnearkilledem

                    I couldn't find my spacer so I decided to stop at the pharmacy today to get a new one. Apparently you need a prescription to buy one. Confused

                     

                    Not a racket, huh?  I got mine off of Amazon.com...no script.  Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark.

                    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                         ~ Sarah Kay

                      Drug reps may not be able to give pens and notepads anymore, but I have had more free lunches this past year than I can count. Big grin

                      LedLincoln


                      not bad for mile 25

                        Drug reps may not be able to give pens and notepads anymore, but I have had more free lunches this past year than I can count. Big grin

                         

                        My wife used to work for a gut doc clinic (technical lingo) and they had catered lunches for the whole staff every day.  Pharma companies do it out of the goodness of their little hearts, 'cause influencing the docs isn't possible. Wink

                        Trent


                        Good Bad & The Monkey

                          Drug reps may not be able to give pens and notepads anymore, but I have had more free lunches this past year than I can count. Big grin

                           

                          They are not free.  Your patients are paying for them.

                           

                          We don't get those either.

                            Can someone explain this to me?  A medication my son takes recently went generic.  We thought "yay, $5/month, vs. $35!"  Nope, still $35.  Color me confused.  So why not just fill it as name brand if the price to the patient is the same?  And why are some generics in the same class of drugs priced at $5, but not all?  I assume this is an issue with our lame-o drug coverage program...correct?

                             

                            Hey there! Looks like there's been a million responses aready (including Dr. Trent) but since I'm a pharmacist, I'll throw in my two cents.

                             

                            Riddle me this -- does the pill look exactly the same as it did before? I'm willing to put money down that it does.

                             

                            And here is my answer...

                             

                            1. Yes, it may partly be your drug program, who contracts with pharmacies and agrees on the prices they will pay for any and every drug imaginable.

                             

                            But, and this is the more likely reason,

                             

                            2. It is a result of the manufacturer of the drug you're receiving and patent laws / agreements made between brand name manufacturers and generic manufacturers.

                             

                            Believe it or not, many brand name manufacturers actually own or are partnered with certain generic manufacturers so that literally, when the drug comes down the conveyer belt, it splits -- one way into a brand name bottle and the other way into a generic bottle. This is the case for many drugs, especially when they first "go generic".

                             

                            Another scernario is that the generic company may not actually own or be affiliated with the brand company, however, the brand company (in a moment of genius foresight) entered into a legal agreement with a specific generic manufacturer BEFORE their brand name drug went generic which states that they will provide the drug to the generic company for a period of x months and that they still get a cut of the profits for that time frame.

                             

                            And yet another scenario is that there may actually only be one generic manufacturer that has applied for and been approved by the FDA to actually manufacture the drug, in which case, there is no resulting generic competition on the market, which translates to the drug not being any cheaper and your co-pays staying the same.

                             

                            This conundrum explains why you're co-pay did not decrease -- because, even though that drug is coming out of a "generic" bottle it was either still manufactured by the brand name company or there are no other generic makers on the market, which in either case, does not infer any decrease in cost to the pharmacy, your insurance company, and ultimately, you.

                             

                            Give it a few months, more generic manufacturers will enter the market and then your co-pay will go down (and your pills will look different too).

                            2012: Just run.

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                            rectumdamnnearkilledem

                              Riddle me this -- does the pill look exactly the same as it did before? I'm willing to put money down that it does.

                               

                              Give it a few months, more generic manufacturers will enter the market and then your co-pay will go down (and your pills will look different too).

                               

                              Yep, it is the identical pill, only the label was different (name brand mfg. is Janssen, generic is Watson)...which really added to the confusion.

                              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                   ~ Sarah Kay

                                And since this seems to be about Conerta, then yes, absolutely, your co-pay is the same because -- SURPISE! Ortho-McNeil still makes your "generic" Concerta and the cost to the pharmacy is exactly the same. So the bill to insurance is exactly the same. And the co-pay to you is exactly the same. That is why your son's pill looks exactly the same too.

                                 

                                If your pharmacist is nice enough, and you ask her, she might pull out the two bottles from her safe and show you that:

                                 

                                1. The stock bottles are identical in shape and size.

                                2. The labeling clearly states the drug was manufactured by Ortho McNeil for Watson Pharmaceuticals.

                                3. The labeling clearly states thet drugs were distributed from the same place.

                                4. The pills are idential in color, shape, size and marking.

                                5. Your co-pay is the same. Oh, wait, you already knew that!

                                 

                                At least for now...it took over 2 years for another steady generic manufacturer to hit the market with Protonix, so don't hold your breath!

                                2012: Just run.