tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post6331949208837067785..comments2010-06-22T17:06:09.665-04:00Adam J. Fein, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12217252282643255442noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post-17636526581082747622010-06-22T16:44:17.899-04:002010-06-22T16:44:17.899-04:00OK, am a little late to the Irinotecan party, but now we have Oxaliplatin. Yes, Medicare &quot;overpays&quot;. <br /><br />More egregious; the Medicare beneficiary copayment. In it&#39;s worst form, the patient writes the copay check based upon a brand price (in ASP) that is six months old for the generic that was just administered to them and actually cost the doc a fraction of the ASP that determined the copayment. Between Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin, this &quot;excess&quot; copay will likely top $100 million before generic prices stabilize ASP.<br /><br />Given Part B patent expirations over the coming years, the patient copay exposure could be measured in billions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post-48075697818989328042009-12-15T23:24:56.743-05:002009-12-15T23:24:56.743-05:00I am on medicare. With my medicare rx insurance I pay $7.00 per month for a generic blood pressure medication. <br /><br />If I send my prescription to costco (which is not recognized by my insurance co) I can buy the same drug and quantity for approx 2/3 of the price I pay with &quot;insurance&quot; <br /><br />What&#39;s wrong with this picture? Am I paying for medicare insurance so I can pay more than the uninsured??<br />BDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post-88769585362912175162008-09-23T15:04:00.000-04:002008-09-23T15:04:00.000-04:00Interesting discussion. Maybe there should be a defined ramp down in reimbursement, but the current 6 month lag may just be fine. I wonder how much it costs annually.<BR/><BR/>Presumably slamming the price down immediately would still force the use of generic, but would save a lot of money.Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post-40920807649474127492008-09-09T21:23:00.000-04:002008-09-09T21:23:00.000-04:00Great analysis, Adam! It make me wonder if there's a better way instead of the feast or famine approach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28450497.post-75101227753636493722008-09-09T11:37:00.000-04:002008-09-09T11:37:00.000-04:00Thank you. I hope you write your Senator, Congressman, etc, etc. As you well know the government has an uncanny way of screwing it all up...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com