I gotta say, I don't really see the problem here. Your doctor just had to approve exactly what meds you were given, and I see that as a pretty good part of the system. You would prefer to let some bureaucrat decide which meds will be substituted based on cost savings and take that decision away from your doctor?

By the way...

If you're struggling with co-pays and such for meds. Look for a Federally Qualified Health Center in your area. They can hook you up with a pharmacy participating in the 340B federal drug program which prices most medication lower than what a typical insurance program charges for co-pays.

And, like previously mentioned. For a decent selection of the most popular generics, check out places like Wal Mart with the $4 prescription programs they run nowadays. Only problem with those programs would be that they don't generally include newer drugs. Most drugs with high costs aren't included anyway.

That's what it was: a 40% variance in dosage ±20% from the stated dosage. (Versus, what I believe is a 10% - ±5% — variance for brand-name.) Thanks for clarifying, Prowess. And for my antiseizure meds, my doc is not comfortable with me getting the lower dosage on any given day. So I'm on the brand-name. (Thankfully, I've reached my max out-of pocket for the year, and have no copay for my meds for the rest of the year now.)

To save $345 a month, I'm dumb enough to risk it.

Says the guy who does not live with a chronic, debilitating health condition.

Also, from a purely financial standpoint, a hospitalization would cost a helluva lot more.

And I gotta say again, I don't understand why there isn't a problem here.

Yes, I'm fine. I'm getting my meds. But Medicaid is paying THREE TIMES what they need to for my treatment--and Medicaid is going broke.

Most HMO's/PPO's require you to accept generics if they are available. If you are sensitive to generics, the plans provide the prior-auth mechanism to allow the doctor to override this standard. Thats the free-market solution and it seems to work for the vast majority of americans.

I'm kinda unusual. I don't want the patient making their own health care decisions. I don't think its a good idea for patients to walk into their doctor's office and demand a medication that they just saw on tv. If its not an emergency, and a patient develops concerns about a symptom, their first visit should be to their family doctor/GP for guidance--not to the Mayo clinic for an MRI and a specialist.

I think every american has a right to good, practical and reasonable health care. I do not think that every american has the right to brand-name health care. I don't think a health care system that allows consumers to choose a med because they think one pill looks cooler than another is sustainable.

Well, are you on generics now or not? One time you say you switched and just needed doc approval...but now you're talking as if you are still using non-generics. Kinda makes a big difference in your whole point.

I thought I was clear...but after reviewing, it appears that I used 'switch' in two different contexts without enough specificity.

I was on generics for 5 out of my 6 meds until this the beginning of this month. At the beginning of this month I was moved from from a trial ABD medicaid program to general medicaid, and I am now on 1 generic script and 5 brand name scripts.

The generic scripts were rejected after the program change. The doctor had to change those scripts from generic to brand name in order for medicaid to cover them. The scripts were changed, I got my meds, and medicaid paid over $600 more than they needed to.

And I conclude that, this amounts to a waste of over $7200 per year, just for my case. This waste goes straight to the drug companies. Meanwhile, 1 out of 7 of the people around me have no insurance coverage. The average US Health care cost per capita was $7439 last year.

after reading this i think we should just people die as nature wills

Yeah, that is fucked. I smell drug companies getting sweet deals from the government.

I think I pissed my doctor off when I told him that I didn't want things like open-heart surgery for myself. Way I see it today, I'm 40, single, have no kids, and I'm going to die someday. I have no real interest in living till I'm 80. If I get cancer, fuck chemo, just give me enough morphine that I don't shit myself from pain every hour and let me go--give the chemo to someone with kids.

haha pretty much

Fuck that. I ain't giving up quality medical care just because some other guy decided he just had to recreate a little version of himself to run after.

Just stop reproducing. It's the responsible thing:
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

Pretty macho now. Let's see what happens when you actually get cancer.


Just like I fully expect Rads to find God on his death bed and start praying. EDIT: On second thought, I expect Rads to find aliens or Tom Cruise on his death bed and start telekinesing or whatever it is that scientologist do.

get a good job in hollywood?

Not really macho. What actually scares the hell out of me is the prospect of pain. I've been through enough major depressions now that I've basically lost my fear of actually dying.

Maybe you should write a letter to that government waste crusader John McCain.

Cranked one out to Kaptur. I doubt she'll do anything about it, but it makes me feel better.