Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Look that free drug in the mouth
Last winter, we (and the CDC) got riled up about pharmacies eliminating co-pays for antibiotics because it could encourage overuse of the drugs and antibiotic resistance. A new Wall St. Journal article points out that drug manufacturers are doing the same thing with medications for some chronic illnesses. And sure enough, pharma's co-pay rebates are also likely to have negative consequences for society.
Specifically, the elimination of the co-payment on a brand name drug (Lipitor was one cited by the article) pulls patients away from generic options and pushes up drug costs for the insurer. (The drug makers aren't offering the same kind of deals to third-party payers; for them, medication prices have only increased as co-pays went down.) Luring business away from generic competitors was explicitly the point of the rebates, explained one pharma exec quoted in the article.
Massachusetts is the only state that currently bans the practice, but it will probably become a hotter topic as health reform progresses. Under the current system, the complaints of insurance companies that have to pay a little more for drugs isn't going to elicit a lot of sympathy from consumers and legislators. But if a public plan option results in tax dollars paying for these brand-name medications, that'll be a different story.
Labels: drug companies, health care reform
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
9:00 AM
ACP Internist hosted Grand Rounds on June 16, wrapping up the best of the medical blogosphere. Click here for the complete wrap-up.
Contact ACP Internist
Send comments to ACP Internist staff at acpinternist@acponline.org.
Previous Posts
- Medical news of the obvious
- Nurse shortage turns into a glut
- This week in eye-catching acronyms...
- Pay attention! Primary care faces a shortage
- A friendlier Surgeon General nominee?
- Medical news of the obvious
- Awesome acronym of the week.
- Good news for complainers.
- Remember this.
- Medical news of the obvious
Blog log
American Journal of Medicine
Also known as the Green Journal, the American Journal of Medicine publishes original clinical articles of interest to physicians in internal medicine and its subspecialities, both in academia and community-based practice.
Clinical Correlations
A collaborative medical blog started by Neil Shapiro, ACP Member, associate program director at New York University Medical Center's internal medicine residency program. Faculty, residents and students contribute case studies, mystery quizzes, news, commentary and more.
db's Medical Rants
Robert M. Centor, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating medicine and the health care system.
Everything Health
EverythingHealth is designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
Getting Better with Dr. Val
Getting Better is the continuation of Dr. Val Jones' previous blog at Revolution Health. It is devoted to helping people understand health issues from a balanced, scientifically sound perspective.
HealthHombre
A roundup of health policy news drawn from a database of hundreds of Web sites.
Interact MD
Michael Benjamin, ACP member, doesn't accept industry money so he can create an independent, clinician-reviewed space on the Internet for physicians to report and comment on the medical news of the day.
Kevin, MD
The alter ego of Kevin Pho, ACP Member, is the closest thing to royalty in the medical blog world.
LSUHSC-S Medical Library Evidence Alert
Major guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and/or major reviews by national and international organizations.
PLoS Blog
The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a blog.
White Coat Rants
One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by a doctor.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home