Cigna and Express Scripts say consumers with drug benefits managed by the company could see their out-of-pocket costs for insulin limited to $25 a month. Healthcare experts say that's not good enough. It has a shame-based economy.
Just wondering, though: Considering that insulin has been around for about a century, and that costs have skyrocketed for no good reason except that the worldwide market is controlled by just three pharmaceutical companies, why has it taken until now to suddenly worry about the welfare of people with diabetes?The public and, more importantly, lawmakers have grown increasingly fed up with indefensibly high drug costs, and there’s a feeling among some policymakers that price controls should be on...
That means, he told me, that the only way drug prices will be reduced is through a price war with a competitor , or by attracting the attention of lawmakers and regulators through “public outrage and corporate shaming.” But James Robinson, director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Health Technology, told me that what’s more likely here is that the companies are merely shifting their revenue sources.
He said it’s a near-certainty that as copays and coinsurance are reduced for people with diabetes, which is basically what Cigna and Express Scripts are doing, the losses for insurers will be offset by higher premiums for everyone. When drug maker Eli Lilly introduced its Humalog insulin in 1996, it cost $21 a vial, which is about a month’s supply. Everyone involved made a handsome profit.off the chronically ill.
Davidlaz You are absolutely correct David and people are dying because they can't afford the meds!!!
Davidlaz
Davidlaz Until the shortages come from Govt control price fixing
Davidlaz All of a sudden someone is bringing up the idea of free markets? Where have you been for the last 50 years? Especially anything in the medical or pharmaceutical realm is highly regulated, which has skyrocketed costs.
Davidlaz There’s always Mexico 🇲🇽
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Source: TheEconomist - 🏆 6. / 92 Read more »