Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shared some thoughts on health care reform from “an economist’s perspective” today. He was short on proposals, but did suggest that we concentrate our attention on improving the cost-effectiveness of our health care system:
pharma
Walgreens Pill-Flipping Scheme Costs Taxpayers Millions
By 6.16.08
Thanks to an anonymous whistle-blower, a Walgreens pill-flipping scheme has been blown wide open, according to CBS. “Pill-flipping” refers the practice of pharmacies that purposefully switch Medicaid patients to more expensive versions of certain drugs for the sole reason of collecting more money from the government. Naturally, when this happens, taxpayers pick up the bill. Athough, Walgreen’s officially denies any wrongdoing they have agreed to pay the government more than $35 million. Details, inside…
BCBS Double Copay On Thyroid Meds
By 6.5.08
Mary is freaking out because BCBS of Maryland just doubled the copay on her thyroid meds. Times are tight, and Mary doesn’t have a thyroid. The insurance companies have been telling her for years that Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs is a generic, now BCBS has classified it as not being generic. She’s pretty ticked, and considering getting married to her fiance early just to get on his insurance. Her letter, and how she might save $200.32 a year, inside.
By 6.2.08
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Attention Doctors of the State of Minnesota: You may not have any of Eli Lilly’s free frozen yogurt. [WSJ Health Blog]
CVS Accidentally Gives You Leukemia Drugs, Sends You To Intensive Care For A Week
By 5.22.08
You should always check to make sure the medicines you get are the medicines you’re prescribed. Dorothy Enriquez learned this lesson the hard way when she began taking the leukemia drugs that CVS gave her instead of her actual prescription. Not only did the pharmacy give her the wrong drug, but at several times the recommended dose for someone who actually has leukemia.
Costco Is A Great Place For Cheap Drugs
By 5.12.08
Consumer Reports bought bought Plavix, Levoxyl, Detrol, and Alendronate at a whole bunch of different pharmacies, and Costco came out the cheapest overall. Here’s how the 13 places they tested rang up:
Top 9 Medical Myths
By 5.5.08
Dr. Keith Hopcroft of The Times has put together his list top 9 medical myths. Can having sex cause a heart attack? Are headaches a sign of brain tumors? Is breast self-exam actually useless? Can the flu shot give you the flu? Put your medical knowledge to the test. Check out the myths, inside…
Walmart's "$4 Prescription Plan" Adds OTC Drugs, 90-day Supplies For $10
By 5.5.08
Walmart’s $4 prescription plan is getting even cheaper, says Reuters. The big blue box will add 1,000 over-the-counter items for $4 or less and make some drugs available in a 90-day supply for only $10 — thus kicking K-mart’s 90-day supply program squarely in the teeth.
By 4.24.08
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A Bristol Meyers Squibb executive was indicted for making a secret deal with a Canadian drug manufacturer that they wouldn’t make a generic version of Apotex, a competing drug to Plavix, if the Canucks didn’t make a generic version of Plavix. Under federal law, such anti-competitive agreements need to be submitted to the FTC. [NYT]
You Can Still Join A Fen-Phen Class Action Lawsuit
By 4.22.08
This lady started taking Fen-Phen and lost 30 lbs, but now she’s got high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and swollen legs, possibly indicative of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), the negative side effect American Home Products (now known as Wyeth) were successfully sued for upwards of $14 billion. When she called Wyeth, they told her that she had “waited too long” to file a lawsuit. However, the 2006 Fen-Phen settlement actually has a clause that says there’s no statute of limitations on filing a claim. Therefore, you can still join a class action lawsuit against them. Also goes to show you that calling up the customer service department probably isn’t the best route to take if you’re looking for objective information about suing that company…
Merck Ghostwrote Vioxx Studies For Doctors
By 4.16.08
Newly unearthed documents may reveal that Merck Pharmaceuticals ghostwrote dozens of Vioxx studies and then paid well-known doctors to put their name on them as if they wrote them, according to a new article to be published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In one instance, a draft version of an article to be published listed the lead author as “External author?” Dr. Steven H. Ferris, one of the doctors whose research was questioned, call the article “simply false”, its allegations “egregious.” Let’s see what the JAMA article has to say about the study Ferris supposedly worked on:
Need 30 mg? Walmart Charges You For Three 10 mg $4.00 Prescriptions
By 4.4.08
WalMart advertises that generic prescriptions are just $4.00 for up to a 30 day supply. What they don’t tell you is that it must be what they consider a “commonly prescribed dosage,” so if your doctor decides you need a different dosage they count it as separate prescriptions. For example, if a pill comes in 10mg, 20mg or 40mg strengths and your doctor wants you to take 30mgs. WalMart counts that as 3 – 10mg prescriptions and charges you $12.00 for a 30 day supply.
FDA Investigating Possible Increased Risk Of Suicide From Popular Asthma Drug Singulair
By 3.27.08
Concerns over “behavioral issues” with Singulair developed over the past year. Merck periodically updated the drug’s labels to include warnings for tremors, depression and anxiety. FDA spokesperson Susan Cruzan said reports of suicides by “three or four” people who were taking Singulair prompted Merck to clarify suicide warnings on labels and patient information sheets in October 2007.
CVS Underfills Your Prescription, Treats You Like A Junkie
By 3.26.08
CVS underfilled Shannon’s prescription and then treated her like a junkie when she complained. According to her email, after Shannon picked up her regular monthly batch of 60 Kolonopin pills, an anticonvulsant, she realized CVS only gave her 30. She called CVS and they insisted they gave her 60 pills. Shannon encouraged them to check their inventory, which CVS said was impossible. Shannon then asked them to fill one of the refills for the script. CVS told her that insurance wouldn’t cover more than 60 pills in 30 days. Shannon said that was fine, seeing as it’s dangerous to suddenly stop taking the drug, she would pay out of pocket. CVS then told her they would not do the refill “under any circumstances” and they would note her record for “drug-seeking behavior…”
CVS To Pay $36.7 Million For Improperly Switching Medications
By 3.18.08
CVS has settled a lawsuit that alleges the pharmacy giant improperly switched customers to a more expensive form of their medication in order to collect more money from Medicaid.
Walgreens:"No One Will Want To Be Within 25ft Of You" If You Don't Take Your Depression Meds
By 3.12.08
Last week my mom told me about the unfortunate experience she had at Walgreen’s. She had recently switched to a new antidepressant and when she came down with a cold was concerned about taking OTC cold medicine with it.
"Expensive" Placebos Work Better Than "Cheap" Ones
By 3.7.08
A new study published in the American Medical Association has a new and astonishing demonstration of just how much your perception becomes your reality when it comes to prices. People in the study thought they were trying out a new kind of pain med. Instead, they got sugar pills. However, some were told their sugar pills cost $2.50, and the others were told the pills cost $0.10. People with the “pricey” sugar pill had their pain reduced much more than the “cheap” sugar pill. Does this mean that price alone pays for itself?
