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 ...
I found this when hubby’s blood pressure meds weren’t available....
http://www.ashp.org/menu/DrugShortages/CurrentShortages
Last January (when I needed doxy) Foster and Smith were on backorder for it. It was in short supply everywhere (including Canadian pharmacies online). I ended up paying $2 per capsule from the vet (doxy is the drug of choice for treating Lyme and Heartworm so the demand is still there.)
This is just my guess here, but they are doing one of two possible things:
1) Pre-emptively increasing prices to buffer against almost-certain punitive tax hikes, fees and penalties coming under the full implementation of ObamaCare, or
2) Raising prices because of greed knowing that Government’s job 1 will be to get that subsidized patient’s medicine to him, damn the cost - let the insurer pay for it.
No matter the reason; each is good to the government because it will create anxiety, strife, lack of confidence, etc. and lay the foundation for single-payer (aka, Government Health Care).
Obama lied, Americans died.
bmfl
There are several factors at play here. First and foremost, we must all realize that the stage is set for “Nationalized Health Care”...one size fits all, one payor, one source, one way in and one way out. As the Pharmaceutical Companies were at lavish retreats, reviewing long term strategies, budgets etc, it became clear that expensive drugs were not going to be paid for under a single payor scheme.
Exhaustive analysis determined which product lines were looking viable and what was a loser. Long story short, the emergence of ObamaCare prompted sell offs of loser drugs to third world manufacturers. This means new drug applications, FDA plant closures for various infractions, raw material scarcity and import and export issues and delays.
We now have unprecedented shortages of old time drugs. Normal Saline is in a short situation.( We do realize that 70% of this planet is salt water right?) Rahm “the Ballerina” Emmanuel once stated “Never let a crisis go to waste”. What we are seeing here, now, is a perfect storm of Government hand tooled crisis and Cloward-Piven rolled into one. The administration is just waiting it out for the masses to scream for “government assistance”. It’s all part of the plan. Sadly, I’m probably not even scratching the surface of the complete depravity of the plan.
Generic Lipitor has gone up to ~$20 for 30 pills. Was around $2.00 a year ago.
It’s Obamacare. Someone has to pay for all the meds going to people who aren’t paying.
If there are only two or three generic competitors and they are all jacking up prices obscenely, there is market collusion—in this case, price fixing.
Without knowing any specific pharma-related law, it looks to me that not only Obama’s administration, but individual states (and even individuals) have standing to file against it:
In the United States, price fixing can be prosecuted as a criminal federal offense under section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[2]
Criminal prosecutions may only be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice, but the Federal Trade Commission also has jurisdiction for civil antitrust violations. Many state attorneys general also bring antitrust cases and have antitrust offices, such as Virginia, New York, and California.
Private individuals or organizations may file lawsuits for triple damages for antitrust violations, and depending on the law, recover attorneys fees and costs expended on prosecution of a case.[3][4][5]
Under American law, exchanging prices among competitors can also violate the antitrust laws. This includes exchanging prices with either the intent to fix prices or if the exchange affects the prices individual competitors set. Proof that competitors have shared prices can be used as part of the evidence of an illegal price fixing agreement.[6] Experts generally advise that competitors avoid even the appearance of agreeing on price.[7]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing#Legal_status_in_the_United_States_and_Canada
Abbott and Mylan should not have been allowed to merge without divesting their thyroid business—not sure what happened, but the generic prices have been jacked up there.
Here’s where Mylan was granted the right to make a generic version of Synthroid only a decade ago:
Also, it sounds like some of those profs quoted are in the pockets of the pharma industry.
Indeed.
Enjoy your socialized medicine. Freeloaders thought somebody else was going to pay for their fair share. LOL
The solution needs to be more permanent than exile.
Think Napolean
From the article: “Shortages of raw materials frequently are cited as a reason for higher drug prices. Joyce said the difficulty of knowing what’s actually happening throughout a drug’s supply chain, which often begins in China or India, makes it hard to know whether a shortage is the result of deliberate moves.”
This is a wonderful example of how meddling by politicians who have little understanding about what they are making policy about, and who have no courage in defending American intellectual property, can damage an entire industry - and hurt the American consumer.
Our R&D, taxpayer funded and within the American pharmaceutical industry, has led to a vast number of the drugs that are now therapeutic mainstays.
While these are still under US patent, foreign countries (Canada included) extort American pharmaceutical companies, telling them that if they don’t sell them the drug at a low enough price they will just make it themselves and ignore the US patent. So the companies capitulate (it’s cheaper to do so than to fight), and to make up for the lost potential revenue they increase the prices in the US.
When these drugs come off patent, generic pharmaceutical firms - with either their headquarters, manufacturing, or both located in other countries - begin making the drugs abroad and thus the American pharmaceutical industry and the American taxpayers and economy are again screwed.
Heh, there are quite a few very slender people who still have high blood pressure. My wife is one.
I just called in refills I won’t need for months. But get it done now.
Deal with the current administration of thieves to keep the drug companies on board.
I have had Synthroid script since 1975 when it was 3 dollars for 30 days. Now it is a couple of hundred dollars for 90 days.
Synthroid and its generic levothyroxine are the most widely prescribed medication in the US.
Easy to produce and with little liability issues. Almost all who stop smoking need it because of thyroid issues that occur after stopping.
Heh, there are quite a few very slender people who still have high blood pressure. My wife is one.
_____________
High BP and tiny women are a health standard issue.
Thanks. Just another day in the Most Regulated Profession.
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