Tag: big pharma

A new idea by the Trump administration to reduce drug prices by eliminating middlemen.

Posted on by bill
A new idea by the Trump administration to reduce drug prices by eliminating middlemen Recently, both my daughter and my spouse needed to purchase medications that their doctors recommended for them. Our high deductible HSA plan includes drugs, but we need to reach the deductible first before the plan pays anything. One drug was an antibiotic and was quoted in generic form at over 200 dollars for the dose.   When I asked about the price, I was told that the brand name drug was even more expensive.  The other medication was more expensive for the generic than it was Read More »

Doctors want big pharma to advertise the retail prices of drugs; will this force them to lower prices?

Posted on by bill
Doctors want big pharma to advertise the retail prices of drugs; will this force them to lower prices? Drug prices year over year continue to increase at rates that are much higher than inflation.  Whatever the reason, the current prices are unacceptable and are partly responsible for the high prices for healthcare in the USA. The American Medical Association (AMA) is suggesting that part of the problem is a lack of transparency.  The AMA, citing an unnamed study says that price increases on drugs advertised to patients directly are over 34% higher than those that were not directly marketed 5.1%. Read More »

Curing cancer; are these new therapies the cure we have been waiting for?

Posted on by bill
Curing cancer; are these new therapies the cure we have been waiting for? Everyone knows someone who has had a cancer of some sort.  It is almost like we have an epidemic of cancer in this country and possibly throughout the world.   Is it because we are living longer, toxins in the environment and what causes the cells in our body to go nuts, which causes life threatening growths, tumors and diseases all called cancer. In a blog a couple of years ago, I reported on some of the advances in immunotherapy, and even 60 minutes has reported on how Read More »

Prescription medication safety; Some disturbing news from Dr. David Eifrig.

Posted on by bill
Prescription medication safety; Some disturbing news from Dr. David Eifrig. Prescription medications require a prescription because of they are potentially dangerous. On an average day, 11 deaths are reported to pharmaceutical companies caused by drug interactions. That is a huge death toll caused by the medications many of us believe are safe. While some medications can be lifesaving and helpful, it is a fact that in the USA, we take and are prescribed more medications than in any other country, yet, other developed western countries seem to have better healthcare systems than we do and overall, their citizens are healthier Read More »

Big Pharma gets skewered by John Oliver; you need to see this hilarious take on the industry

Posted on by bill
Big Pharma gets skewered by John Oliver; you need to see this hilarious take on the industry John Oliver, formerly of the Daily Show has been making waves on his HBO show Last Week Tonight. Its no secret that we as Americans take more drugs than anyone else and the drug industry has a huge amount of influence on what your doctor prescribes, because of the way they market. The drug companies spend more money on marketing and paying off doctors to convince them to recommend their medications than they do on research. Is it no wonder we spend so Read More »