Medical Question for the non-Americans here
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Frankly, this sort of thing should be criminal. $300 for a single EpiPen is just ridiculous. I get that drug companies pay billions in research costs, and that they need to recoup that somehow. But the EpiPen has been around more than long enough to have paid itself off. They should be sold practically at cost now. The FDA and FTC need to start regulating these prices. Drug companies should be required to submit all of their budget documentation for R&D, and the cost of the drug should then be calculated based upon projected market size and a standard number of years (say 5 or 10) to recoup the costs. Past that, there should be a cap on profitability, say 10-15% above material and production/distribution costs. No-one should be getting rich from helping people...
Kyle Moyer wrote:
No-one should be getting rich from helping people...
So are you saying that only bad people should be allowed to get rich?
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Recently the news outlets here have been running stories on the increasing prices of life saving drugs, like the EpiPen[^]. Here in US they are charging $600 for a pack of two. I am curious to what the rest of the world pays for EpiPens.
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Cost of getting someone to look down at you wearing a hockey mask and theatrically brandishing a chainsaw: $0 In fact, that sounds like so much fun that I'd probably pay you a buck or two to let me do it (+ air fare + hotel costs).
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The yacht?
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
I wonder if they make pill-shaped yachts. :~
Jeremy Falcon
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That's what we pay taxes for.
This space for rent
What a concept.
Jeremy Falcon
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Kyle Moyer wrote:
No-one should be getting rich from helping people...
So are you saying that only bad people should be allowed to get rich?
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Haha, I'm not saying they shouldn't get to live comfortably, but when you see how much the executives get paid... That's just crazy. There's an old saying I can't remember precisely, but it basically says that helping people should be its own reward (ie, feeling good about doing good.) Of course, everyone's gotta eat, but being able to eat Filet Mignon and Lobster for dinner every night just because you run a company that helps people with heart disease live longer lives is ridiculous.
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What's sad is that epinephrine itself is not expensive at all. It's the patent on the epipen design that drives up the cost. No other vendor can legally duplicate it.
Regards, Nish
Website: www.voidnish.com Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com
Which is the problem with most medications; since one as a patient has no alternative, one is forced to pay, even if those amounts are rediculous. It is a section that could do well without patents.
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Recently the news outlets here have been running stories on the increasing prices of life saving drugs, like the EpiPen[^]. Here in US they are charging $600 for a pack of two. I am curious to what the rest of the world pays for EpiPens.
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); } Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016
Effectively no cost in Australia. As Pete said, that's what we pay taxes for.
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That's what we pay taxes for.
This space for rent
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
That's what we pay taxes for.
Exactly.
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Recently the news outlets here have been running stories on the increasing prices of life saving drugs, like the EpiPen[^]. Here in US they are charging $600 for a pack of two. I am curious to what the rest of the world pays for EpiPens.
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); } Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016
I also heard today on the news that it only costs approx. $1 US, to produce the chemical in the pen, which adds to the controversy.
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Effectively no cost in Australia. As Pete said, that's what we pay taxes for.
Depends what you call no-cost. Your post is misleading. The current over the counter price in Australia is about $120 per pen. As it is included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme[^] the cost to an Australian resident is $38.30 or $6.20 if you are entitled to a health care card PBS Epipen[^]. The PBS costs taxpayers $10 billion per year in total. Now that isn't all. To get a PBS entitlement a prescription is required which entails a visit to the doctor. This will cost nothing for a pensioner but about $70-$37 = $33 for the average person (Medicare rebate). This means the cost of the Epipen is $38.30 + $33 = $71.30 for the normal taxpayer. The pen lasts for a year as does a prescription so this will require an annual renewal even if the pen is unused.
Peter Wasser "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
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Also, they expire every 12 months, which I think is a scam. Surely it would be effective for longer than that? :|
Regards, Nish
Website: www.voidnish.com Blog: voidnish.wordpress.com
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It may be. My reply was based on the price I found at a Canadian distributor on the web. /ravi
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
It may be.
It would be if prescribed by a Dr., minus of course the fees the pharmacy charge for dispensing a boxed product. I have a few friends that have them for their kids for peanuts, seafood, bees, etc. Ken
Thanks! /ravi
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Depends what you call no-cost. Your post is misleading. The current over the counter price in Australia is about $120 per pen. As it is included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme[^] the cost to an Australian resident is $38.30 or $6.20 if you are entitled to a health care card PBS Epipen[^]. The PBS costs taxpayers $10 billion per year in total. Now that isn't all. To get a PBS entitlement a prescription is required which entails a visit to the doctor. This will cost nothing for a pensioner but about $70-$37 = $33 for the average person (Medicare rebate). This means the cost of the Epipen is $38.30 + $33 = $71.30 for the normal taxpayer. The pen lasts for a year as does a prescription so this will require an annual renewal even if the pen is unused.
Peter Wasser "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
Wow, I stand corrected. I was told recently that most life-saving drugs are to be given at no cost, but it appears that it's applicable only if it were administered in a public hospital while an eligible (medicare) patient is admitted.
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Forogar wrote:
In the UK, effectively zero.
:omg:
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); } Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016
Not really true if you include the taxes and premiums they have to pay to fund their medical system.
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Wow, I stand corrected. I was told recently that most life-saving drugs are to be given at no cost, but it appears that it's applicable only if it were administered in a public hospital while an eligible (medicare) patient is admitted.
Indeed, most patients (who are covered by Medicare only) admitted to a public hospital do not pay anything for their entire stay. In fact they are not even allowed to bring their own medications or self administer while in hospital. It is all provided by the public health system.
Peter Wasser "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
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Recently the news outlets here have been running stories on the increasing prices of life saving drugs, like the EpiPen[^]. Here in US they are charging $600 for a pack of two. I am curious to what the rest of the world pays for EpiPens.
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); } Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016
In Hobbitland, NZ$120 per pen. But if it's used by a patient as treatment for an anaphylactic reaction caused by an injury covered by ACC (our taxpayer funded universal accident insurance scheme) they'll cover the cost. And if you have private health cover your provider may reimburse the cost. So varies from sort-of-free to not-free-at-all...
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I also heard today on the news that it only costs approx. $1 US, to produce the chemical in the pen, which adds to the controversy.
I don't think there is any relationship between the cost of manufacture and the retail price of drugs, seems to be whatever they can get away with. There is an astonishingly large variation between countries for some drugs.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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In the UK, effectively zero.
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Twood be interesting to know what the NHS actually pays. We have the PBS system in Oz that is similar, the cost to the PBS is not transparent.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Recently the news outlets here have been running stories on the increasing prices of life saving drugs, like the EpiPen[^]. Here in US they are charging $600 for a pack of two. I am curious to what the rest of the world pays for EpiPens.
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); } Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016
I wonder why it is so cheap? Since drug company in the US can charge whatever price they want and some have no competition and the US health department is forbidden by law to bargain...
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