Doctors: High Cost Of Drugs Out Of Control
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The price of medicine is out of control and according to many doctors and pharmacists, it may take an act of congress to rein in the prices.
Suzanne Pershall of Golden, Colorado has experienced the increases firsthand. She injects Copaxone, a multiple sclerosis drug, three times a week which keeps her MS symptoms at bay.
"I'm very thankful for that," she said. But in the years Pershall has been taking the drug, the price has increased 381 percent.
And patients like Pershall say that it's just too expensive. "I've actually had a volunteer sitting with me teary-eyed trying to decide if she was going to buy her daughter a gift for Christmas or pay for her MS therapy," she recalled.
It's not just MS drugs. It's also cancer and heart medications along with prices of antibiotics which have also skyrocketed.
Donna Barsky owns a pharmacy in Plano. She watched weekly reports on the rising drug prices. She's seen price of an old antibiotic go up almost 3000 percent.
The trade organization says it takes 10 years to bring a new medication to market and costs nearly $3 billion in research. Also, the profits from one drug might fund the next big breakthrough.
Dr. Cindy O'Bryant with the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado says the big price increase can be tough on patients.
"It places a huge financial burden on the patient, one that sometimes can be insurmountable for them," she said.
Co-Pay Assistance Programs
To find out if you may be eligible for co-pay assistance a simple web search for "your medication" and "co-pay assistance" program is a great way to start. The details of many co-pay assistance programs are right on the drug manufacturers websites. The brand name version of your medication may actually be more affordable than the generic because co-pay assistance is offered more frequently from makers of brand name drugs. Some co-pay assistance programs have maximum income eligibility requirements, others do not. Consult your doctor, sometimes switching to a comparable drug may be more affordable.
There are also foundations designed to help pay medical costs:
– Patient Advocate Foundation
– Patient Access Network
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