I, too, am very grateful to have good insurance. The billed cost for my recent cardiac stent totaled well over $100,000, and my share was $0.00. I pay (at most) $10 for a 90-day supply of prescription meds, as long as it's a generic. If it's a brand name, the cost could vary. Less than a 90-day supply is, at most, $5 and often generic meds are less. For example, I paid $0.21 for a 90-day supply of generic Lasix.

After getting the stent, I was put on Effient. When I have to get a generic, I always try my best to get the authorized generic rather than a regular generic. But, Prasco is no longer marketing the authorized generic for Effient after June 30, and Eli Lilly & Co told me they have not yet entered into an agreement with another pharmaceutical company to sell the authorized generic. So, when I need a refill in August, I'll get the brand name Effient and pay $100. Of course, that's better than the cash price that's over $1,000 per month!

I am SO grateful that my husband stayed the extra 14 years in the Navy Reserve after 6 yrs active duty. If my drug is on the Ft Knox formulary (it usually is), I can drive to Ft Knox and get my prescriptions at no cost. I pay a very low co-pay for others via Express Scripts. It saves me thousands of dollars a year.

Gregsmom, good for him! What kind of form did he get? Amazing!

Does everyone have Triwest medical insurance? If not what insurance do you have?

Blue Care Plus Medicare

Georgysmom, Eloquis is a cheap drug. I don't understand how your pharmacies charge so much for it. I do the receiving for the pharmacy at our drugstore. A full bottle is dirt cheap. All we charge extra is the dispensing fee and maybe 50 cents. I only know that because a friend of mine has a husband who is on it, so when I was sorting the rx drugs one day, I scanned the bottle to see how expensive it was, and it wasn't at all. Your drug stores really mark up the prices of drugs, whereas ours don't.

Does everyone have Triwest medical insurance? If not what insurance do you have?

I have BlueCross BlueShield, or, more accurately, they have me...over a barrel!

I live in Pennsylvania and have a Medicare advantage plan from United Healthcare. It is through Verizon retiree benefits because that is where my husband worked. He passed away 5 years ago but the benefits are continued for me.

Lindsey what is your policy? We need to find the best for my husband now that he retired.

I have UPMC. It cost $20 a month and my doctor visit is $5.00. My high blood pressure and my DH cholesterol medicine is $0 for 30 days.

Raven, my husband and I are both on Medicare, Parts A & B, and we have a Medicare Supplement (also referred to as Medigap) policy through Blue Cross, called PERSCare. The supplement policy is through the State of California Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and it includes prescription drug coverage. Before retirement and hitting age 65 and going on Medicare, our health insurance was the same Blue Cross plan, but it was the "basic" plan rather than a Medicare Supplement plan (and it included prescription drug coverage). The amount that the State contributes for retiree health care is more than enough to cover our Medicare premiums (as well as the additional IRMAA for Parts B & D), and the premiums for the Medicare Supplement policy.

The chart below shows what different Medicare Supplement/Medigap policies cover. Our plan falls in column F.

Debbie, because of our insurance we must go through CVS. However, I checked the price of all pharmacies around us. Without insurance the drug goes in the range of $450.00 - $460.00 per month. Outrageous when you tell me it's a cheap drug. I was on something called Multaq and that was even more expensive. Not only that, but my Electrophysiologist said it only works 50% of the time. I said to him, at that price you would think it would have a better success rate than that. Worked in the beginning, but not after several months so I'm no longer on it. Between the two drugs, I met my minimum by April and all meds were free after that.

I just checked our insurance, Georgysmom, and found out that a 90-day supply of Eliquis 5mg (180 tablets, to be taken as one tablet twice daily) would cost us $40 from Walgreens (the preferred pharmacy for our insurance) or $60 from CVS or any other in-network pharmacy. That's for the brand name, not a generic.

I just got my ExpressScript EOB today and looked at it. I have GERD and must take Dexilant, twice daily ( max dose). My TricareForLife co-pay for a 90 day supply is $53 and the retail price is over $900, Good thing I have this great insurance as I certainly could not afford this for the rest of my life (and I've been taking it for at least 8 years!). It's the biggest co-pay I have. I am truly blessed.

Debby, interesting that you say in Canada Eliquis is cheap. My mom had medicare and a supplement and had to pay out of pocket 450.00 month for Eliquis. What a freaking racket pharmaceuticals are here in the US!

Remember, many of the world's major pharmacuitcal companies are in the US. They do pass on their research and development costs to us here in the US as we don't have universal health care coverage as does much of the rest of the world.

So, what would happen if we did? Who would pay for the research and development costs (which are enormous!!!!)? It would be hard to reduce dividends or stop paying them at all - people would sell their stock or not buy it. If that happens, many of the companies would quit developing new drugs.

The bottom line is that there is no such thing as a free lunch or cheap drugs!!! Someone is going to pay for them! Am I glad it's not me due to Tricare? Of course I am! I take a LOT of meds due to two chronic health conditions over which I have little control (but am doing all the things I must do to help control it). I would go through most of my IRA and other savings pretty quickly if I had to pay the sticker price for all these meds. But someone IS paying that sticker price.

We live in a capitalist society and it appears to work far better than other types. Communism has been a huge failure in the Soviet Union/now Russia et al and China. It didn't work. Socialism is running into problems in Europe as it appears to be economically unsustainable. That pretty much leave capitalism and that means that drug companies not only need to cover their cost of doing business, but make a profit. What would happen if the government took it over? Well, the track record of business that were taken over by the government is far from good.

I don't know the answer. Heck, if I did know, I'd run for office! All I know is that I'm very grateful that there are meds I can take to allow me to continue living. I would have died a LONG time ago if there weren't.

"Remember, many of the world's major pharmacuitcal [sic] companies are in the US. They do pass on their research and development costs to us here in the US as we don't have universal health care coverage as does much of the rest of the world."

The headquarters for many of the world's major pharmaceutical companies are in the United States, but many of the drugs are manufactured outside of the United States. India is where a LOT of prescription drugs, especially generics, are manufactured.

They charge the prices they do because they can. Yes, research and development is a significant cost but these companies are seeing some nice profits.

I do think those who are against single payer healthcare usually have excellent insurance already. It's hard to see the other side when it's something you never have to worry about for the rest of your life. My uncle is like that. He's had free Tricare since 18 and he's never had to pay a dime but of course doesn't want to subsidize other people who aren't as fortunate.

Drug pricing in the US is, like other health care costs, a spaghetti tangle of a mess and the result is we pay more (for both) than elsewhere in the world. One reported problem with drugs is a federal law that prohibits Medicare from negotiating purchase prices. As a result, the VA, as an example, buys drugs for considerably less than Medicare and Part D programs can.

Many of the Big Pharma companies, and maybe it's a majority of the world largest pharmaceutical companies, are European and of European origin. Companies like Roche, Sanofi, Bayer, Novartis.

Whether a company is US-based or not, whether R+D is done partially in the US or not, these are huge global companies that DO NOT operate their businesses or price products as if any one country were an independent operation unrelated to others. They recover global development costs from global sales, price sales on a per market basis based on local conditions. US customers absolutely do not solely carry the burden of drug development for drugs to be sold in the US and elsewhere.

Many prescription drugs are made outside the US. Many US companies have ops in Puerto Rico and Ireland, for instance, because these factories can be located anywhere and low tax rate jurisdictions offer training, building, and other incentives and advantages for location deciders (in addition to the obvious low income tax rates) to create local jobs.

I am about to see what happens insurance-wise when someone needs a lot of costly procedures and medications. Will BCBS drop me or increase my premium? Who will want to provide my Medicare Part D coverage?

DH and I have had high-deductible, low cost Plan F Medicare supplement policies with BCBS for several years. We currently have a low cost Medicare Plan D coverage through what I believe is the parent company of CVS. DH has had never had any unusual medical expenses and only one high cost drug that shortly became a generic. BCBS paid out a few hundred dollars on my expenses one year when my costs associated with pneumonia exceeded my deductible (around $2K).

I've just been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I've had three dozen blood tests, full-body skeletal X-rays, a PET scan, a bone marrow extraction, and half a dozen visits with two oncologists. I'm scheduled for a full-body MRI.

I will start a regimen of chemo at the end of June that requires me to go to a cancer center weekly for a shot of Velcade and administration of 40 mg dexamethasone. (You may be seeing a lot of me on this forum due to my being horribly 'wired' by the steroid!) This is to continue for six to twelve months -- for starters -- in hope of achieving a remission.

If I can get to remission, I will need these or some other drugs to stay in remission. There is no cure.

MM is 1% of all diagnosed cancers, yet there are three or four other people at the KT who have it themselves or within their families.

I have a close friend who was diagnosed with MM a few months ago. So far, they are fine with their insurance. Also, a relative by marriage has been being treated for this now for 3-4 years. I've heard no problems with insurance from him, either.

Having said this, both are very wealthy people who could afford to pick up the tab if their insurance dropped them or did not cover something, so perhaps they're just not talking about it and just paying. One hates to ask...

Anglophilia -- I'm starting to think this may not be as uncommon as the literature would have you think. A factor could be our aging population. Another might be that there are new drugs that can put people in remission.

I'm 77. My mother died of this forty years ago at 72, when treatment was very experimental and was often only a series of transfusions until the patient died.

Best of luck, Chisue! I have no doubt you will be in remission soon.

Indeed. Very best wishes.

Having had some past experience with chemo expenses when my late husband was being treated for pancreatic cancer...I can offer that Medicare...for the most part...covered ALL COSTS for chemo medications and the dispensing of same...whether as an in patient or as a visiting patient. Take a look at the info on the linked site below as well as visiting your own Medicare site. I think you'll be grateful for the info contained therein. At about $10,000+ a wack for some of his treatments...I was on-my-hands-and-knees grateful for Medicare. Without it...I'd be a bag lady today.

Medicare also paid all the expenses for my Eylea AMD treatments that ran over $2000/injection.

My very best wishes for a positive outcome, Sue and a rapid return to normalcy and good health.

https://www.caring.com/medicare_information/medicare-coverage-for-chemotherapy