An $80 tube of cream. Eighty. bloody. dollars.

[CatWoman]

I have severe dermatitis, and this year am suffering more than usual.

Went to the dermatologist, and got some prescriptions. She was nice enough to give me a bag of free samples of some of the medicine.

I had a problem locating a pharmacy that accepts my insurance (Kaiser), and finally found one (Save Rite).

The pharmacist's aide was having a hard time finding the code for my doctor to enter into the system, and as I was in a hurry, I said I'd go a head and pay for the cream. When she told me the price without insurance, I almost fainted.

I commented that couldn't be right -- how the hell could a tube of cream cost 80 bucks.

She replied that I hadn't seen anything, as I wouldn't believe the cost of some of the medications they fill. She also said that even she didn't have health insurance, and she couldn't afford any of the medications herself.

We finally got the bugs ironed out, and my co payment was $20.

Driving home I kept thinking about that hatchet job John Stossel did on Michael Moore last week.

All Stossel did throughout his report was defend the pharmaceutical companies and the HMOs.

Burn in hell, Stossel. And I hope Satan charges you the going rate for the gasoline.

[Taverner]

1. Stossel is a dumbass

I love how he "proved" the New York harbor isn't polluted by swimming in it. Yeah...right.

My rule is to be wary of men with mustaches.

[Sequoia]

Darn tootin' !!

[melody]

2. Amen, CW n/t

[depakid]

3. Try almost $800

for a tube of cream for diabetic lesions. That's what we had to pay for my late father's medicine.

[Hekate]

64. That's the depths of immorality and sin, that is. We are in such deep shinola.

:argh:

Hekate

[rodeodance]

4. can you imagine the elderly trying to negiate all this?

[CatWoman]

8. and I remember the so called "bill" the GOP senate passed

to help seniors out. :eyes:

Will America survive Bush and the GOP???

[Rick Myers]

5. Stossel is a jackass tool!!!

I know I could not afford the precriptions I take without coverage from the VA. My co-pay has gone up 300% since Clinton, but it is still a good benefit.

Thankfully they only charged you $20!!! It's insane!

:hi:

[debbierlus]

6. The Pharmeceutical Companies are RAPING patients -

They are profiteering off our sickness, just like the war profiteers in Iraq profit off death.

It is unbelievably sick, disgusting, & WRONG.

[Swamp Rat]

7. A relative experienced the same

He showed me two small tubes of lotion, each half the size of my pinky, that costed approximately $160.00. :wtf:

[niyad]

9. I know you have probably tried everything under the sun--I have a friend who found relief in ben-gay

and I have found a combination of yucca and lavender oils to be helpful. you might want to consider contacting an herbalist or other natural healer to see if something more efficacious and easily obtainable would help.

Will be happy to discuss this with you further if you want to email me.

[CatWoman]

11. Thanks, Niyad

I'm open for any and all suggestions :hi:

[DaveJ]

19. I've found natural treatments work best in many cases

I did a quick google and came up with this:

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/dermatitis.html

Seriously, it's hard to believe, but IMHO products sold by pharmaceutical companies tend to be snake oil that make people need to come back for more. In my experience, natural remedies appear to be higher quality, or at least worth a try as long as the problem is not life threatening. Good luck.

[Mend]

57. I tell my patients to try Real Africa Shea Butter...I use it myself for mild

psoriasis. It costs less than $10 a jar in the health store. You can pick various bases such as lavender oil.

[suegeo]

79. Stay away from plant based stuff?

My dermatologist told me to stay away from plant based products. I tossed some of the Aveda stuff I had, and the skin cleared up. Oh and I used some prescription (sp?)triamcinolne and elidel on my hands.

I am glad you found something that worked, but plants make MY problem worse.
Mileage may vary for others.

[Thothmes]

81. Bag Balm would also probably work in a lot of cases.

[malaise]

10. Get some raw aloe vera at a market

lots of web sites tell you how to use it. That's all our grandmas gave us in the Caribbean. It solves all skin problems.

[CatWoman]

12. I will try that

but I positively had to go to the doctor, as several of the areas had become infected.

[malaise]

14. use garlic if areas become infected.

Fugg the Pharma companies. The only company that gets my money make Bayer aspirin. I buy nothing else.

[malaise]

16. Nice link

http://www.newstarget.com/008487.html

[Hekate]

66. I keep a pot of aloe on my back patio. If you live where it freezes you can bring it indoors

...to winter over.

Hekate

[malaise]

72. Everyone has a plant here

and we don't worry about winter. Aloe vera is one of nature's great gifts.

[NashVegas]

13. If Co-Payments Were Eliminated for Just One Month

We'd see the entire nation screaming over the cost of medical care. As it is right now, we merely bitch about the cost of insurance.

[Catchawave]

15. Does it work ? Seriously,

my husband would pay 800.00 for a cream that actually helped his skin allergies.

[malaise]

17. Try aloe vera first

believe me. It's dirt cheap at farmers' markets.

[Catchawave]

34. Yes, that and everything on the organics list...

including creams that include "bloodroot" ? Thanks!

[CatWoman]

23. It's called "Desoximetasone"

and this is my second day using it. I've seen vast improvement.

she also gave me this foam called "Hydro 40 Foam" to pre-treat the area with before adding the cream.

At night I have to bandage the areas up (they are on both legs and the side and tops of both feet).

She said bandaging them up will help the medicine work faster, as it will penetrate deeper into the areas.

[Catchawave]

30. Thanks for the info.....the stuff my dh uses

is "hydrocortisone valerate cream USP 2%" sounds generic? I'll pass your info on to him. :hi:

Oh, and I'm glad you're seeing relief ! As far as the pharmas/ins. we have military (tricare) and never pay more than $3 for any script. And I'm sure the pharmas are still making money. Tricare for all :patriot:

[CatWoman]

32. I'm a disabled veteran, and I use the VA for certain things

like my allergy medicine.

I saw the dermatologist there for two straight years, and saw no improvement. As a matter of fact, it became progressively worse.

My co-pay at the VA is $7 (I think). However, they don't carry a lot of medicines available elsewhere.

All they would prescribe at the VA for me was "Triamcinolone Acetonide (0.1%), which does absolutely nothing for me.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

36. An elderly fellow, former Marine and my neighbor, got booted from VA coverage.

;( He owns too much worthless rural property (around 30 acres). They (the VA) actually back-charged him for treatment he had received.

I was pretty angry about that. I thought our vets received unconditional coverage. He's merely a property owner in rural America and got disqualified. He's not a rich man, for God's sake. He worked his whole life for,...well,...

I had no idea veterans ONLY GET HELP if they are desperate but not homeless. The homeless are abandoned, entirely.

This topic really, really bothers me.

[PDenton]

70. it's a corticosteroid

Did you first try any over the counter steroid treatments, like hydrocortisone?

New medicines are always expensive, they want to milk them for all they are worth, and some are expensive to manufacture. Sometimes doctors also reach for the first thing that some flashy pharmaceutical salesmen just gave them or told them about, wheather or not it is the most cost-effective treatment.

[Sparkly]

38. I have a suggestion worth a try...

I used to have terrible skin allergies. This is weird, but I read in Adele Davis' old book "Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit" about brewer's yeast (and also wheat germ). I started putting brewer's yeast in juice and all sorts of things got better, including my skin allergies (and also lifelong anemia).

I don't take it anymore, but I still find that as long as I get a lot of B-vitamins, I'm fine!

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

18. I've been insured and uninsured. Either way has been, in my experience, a hardship.

While insured, I still paid out the nose after spending hours upon hours and letter after letter fighting over coverage. Hell, my PCP even spent a ridiculous amount of his personal time, without charge, trying to get me covered.

While uninsured, I just don't get treated,...don't even fight for it knowing I am in a losing position. So, why bother.

The insurance and pharmaceutical companies have everyone's hand tied. FUCK! If you can't BUY LIFE you have no life in this country. It's gross. I don't even try to wrap myself around what this country REALLY IS at the end of each day because I know it's not defined by any basic moral human edict.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

20. I don't know how they arrice at these prices? Meds should be capped

the drug companies should be capped.

[matcom]

21. the cream will help

but only if you wash the bedding. Crabs won't go away unless you wash the bedding.

so I hear :hide:

[CatWoman]

25. I love you, too, Mat

:hi:

[Parche]

22. Cream

:hug: :hug: :hug:

:hi:
OH MEOW

[malaise]

26. What a beautiful kitten

:D

[CatWoman]

27. awwwwwwwwwwww

:loveya:

:hi:

[nini]

24. well, you must be a welfare queen or something

because god knows everyone can afford medical care that's not lazy! :eyes: :sarcasm:

It's a fucking disgrace as a society that medicine is so over-priced the way it is.


hissssssss

[sandnsea]

28. Ours are hundreds

Diabetes sticks are like $50 a month alone. That's why I don't feel bad getting $4 prescriptions from Walmart. My mother's medications were over $1,000 a month and that was 10 years ago.

This is also where our local tax dollars are going - health insurance premiums instead of infrastructure.

[Triana]

29. I have some that is $300 or $350...

..my insurance picked up all but the co-pay. But without it, the cream is $350/tube or so. WHAT is in any g*ddamned tube of cream that is worth $300 - $350?!

NOTHING. Just greed of the pharmaceutical companies and no one to stop them, that's all.

[tammywammy]

31. It's outrageous!

I really liked the NuvaRing as birth control, but my insurance decided that it was a Brand Name non-formulary = $50/month. I had to go back to a generic birth control pill.

I got my new list of medicines yesterday from the insurance, and yep all brand name birth control is $50/month. But I checked, so are all ED medicines.

[madrchsod]

33. just for you.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35wyVQxXUA
YouTube - Dr. D slaps John Stossel

[CatWoman]

35. bwahahahahahahaha

I can't watch that clip enough!!!

:hi:

[rucky]

37. There are some really good Chinese treatments out there.

But the approach is internal instead of topical.

[KittyWampus]

47. Yes, I treated my skin issues mainly through diet. If only people saw that our food is our medicine

and our medicine is our food :)

[pansypoo53219]

39. i got my cat some pills

about 30-90¢.

[SoCalDem]

69. Our vet's eye medicine (for my kitties) is the EXACT same medicine

that my opthalmologist prescribes for me.:)

My aunt used to use pet meds all the time:)

[AZBlue]

40. I'm glad they got your insurance info worked out!

It breaks my heart to see seniors in line in front of me, paying hundreds of dollars for their prescriptions. And, that's with insurance or Medicare. By the time I get to the counter, I'm all teary-eyed.

SOMETHING has GOT to be done.

[arikara]

41. I used to have dermatitis

It was caused by the harsh soaps and detergents in the hospital where I worked, and I had a horrible rash on my hands and up my arms. It still comes back on me if I'm exposed to detergents, perfumes or chemicals of any kind now because I have developed a sensitivity.

So I make my own hand soap now and have no more problems. If you're not into soapmaking, I would suggest Bonners or some other very mild handmade "real" soap. Nothing commercial, they are all perfumed chemical detergents and they aren't real soap. Same thing for dishes, shampoos etc. Use a natural type of dish soap without perfumes or chemicals.

Once I got rid of the cause, I was able to clear up the rash quickly with plain Vitamin E oil. For infections, I use colloidal silver. It gets rid of infections faster and safer than anything I've ever used. I also carry a spray bottle of it to use as a hand sanitizer. CS is expensive to buy in the health food store, but you can buy a colloidal silver maker for less than 2 - $80 tubes of cream and then make it for pennies.

[devilgrrl]

42. Hey CatWoman, have you ever used Coconut Oil on your skin?

Check it out. It's only $6 and can't hurt. Also, try some deluted Apple Cider Vinegar...

SERIESLY!!!!

[CatWoman]

43. I use olive oil, never thought of coconut oil

I've had this problem since I was about 5 years old.

Like I said, it's never been this severe before.

The skin problems are tied into my hay fever -- I'm allergic to damn near every type grass, weed, tree and mold :-(

[devilgrrl]

45. You're allergic to WEED???? :-0

:P Just kidding...

Here are some links:

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/coconut_oil.html

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

44. My pharmacy shows their price on the prescription receipts

When Bartell drugs fills a prescription, they give you a special "filled prescription" receipt for your tax records. One of the data given is their wholesale price. It is astonishing what this stuff costs: $146.79 for a one month supply of Lipitor. $86.27 for 100 diabetic test strips (not quite two months for me.) $44.89 for a small tube of anti-biotic ointment I needed to treat a skin infection. $79.21 for a tiny bottle of eye drops.

I am extremely lucky to have insurance.

[KittyWampus]

46. My drops for pink-eye were $95. TINY little bottle

[JCMach1]

71. 10 AED (less than $3) in the UAE

and you don't have to visit the Dr. just go to the pharmacy and take the meds.

If I had gone through the Dr., insurance would have covered 85% of the $3...


So, yeah you don't realize how F'ed up the American system is until you step out of it... it is a complete ripoff.

[Canuckistanian]

48. I had to go to the doctor for an extremely sore throat

It hurt like hell. I had to brace myself for every swallow.

He prescribed some anti-biotics related to Cipro (remember Cipro?)

Cost $70 for 10 pills.

My wife's medical prescription plan paid for it all.

My total cost? Bupkis.

[midnight armadillo]

73. I can top that pill cost

My wife was on antibiotics a number of years ago for a chronic sinus infection. $10/pill, 3x/day, for 6 months (that's $5400). We hit the $500 annual prescription limit on the crappy insurance we had at the time in no time flat ($50 co-pays), then paid the rest out of pocket. Sinus surgery fixed the problem, was barely covered...6 years later and we still have the credit card bills.

Seriously, I have my days when emigrating to Canada or Europe for better health care sounds like a really, really good idea.

[KoKo]

49. I hear ya....but Repugs would say...Live with your Dermatitis! After all

you need to sacrifice because we are making Democracy Free in the Axis of Evil and you need to GIVE UP SOMETHING TO DO THAT!

So just live with pustulent sores, or itching and flaking...it's just something Americans need to learn. After all we gave you McMansions and Credit Card Debt so you could purchase Houses and fine clothes...what's a "little itch" compared to THAT? :sarcasm:

Sorry...I understand what you say. You wonder about the folks who don't have "co-pay insurance" who leave empty handed without the $80.00...and you had to fight for the $20.00. And the pharmasist couldn't even afford the $80. WHAT A SCREWED UP SYSTEM and LIFE we lead.

Hope you will be feeling better, Cat... after all that crap it's a wonder you don't have "hives" to deal with, too. I'm not wishing that on you!!!!!

[Posteritatis]

50. I forked over that much for something like that once

But that was for what was becoming an annoyingly infected and not-that-minor injury to my leg. I don't regret the price tag at all; it completely cleaned things up in like 2-3 days, and I only barely have a scar now.

I think something like that's probably more of a special case than something that you'd need to take regularly, though. If I had to fork over that much for something to do with, say, allergies, I'd be frothing in rage. ;P

[slipslidingaway]

51. $109.00 vs. $9.00...

After seeing Sicko I decided to go into a couple of pharmacies this summer while on vacation. Topical prescription medicine for my son (Differin) cost me $109.00 After my insurance paid their portion, it cost $9.00 in Istanbul and $25.00 in Italy.


And I never went to the doctor for the dry patches that would develop every winter for years, since using Oil of Evening Primrose cream (Boots version) about ten years ago they have not returned.

[Whisp]

52. !

that's a bit much, even for CEO yacht sperm.

they're getting pretty brave, aren't they?

[SeattleGirl]

53. Here's one for you, CatWoman: $899 for ONE BOTTLE OF PILLS.

Yep, eight hundred ninety nine dollars for a one month supply of an antibiotic.

My mom just hit the "donut hole" in her medicare coverage, meaning she has to pay full for her meds until she reaches $3000. My mom is fortunate, in that when my grandfather passed away, he left her a decent amount of money. But holy shit, $899 for a 30 day supply of an antibiotic.

She and I started talking about how many people go downhill, or flat out DIE, when they hit that donut hole. It's absolutely fucking immoral and unethical to charge people that kind of money for necessary medications, just so some damned CEO can pad his fucking pockets!!!

:grr:

[CatWoman]

54. Jesus Christ on a pogo stick!!!

900 bucks????

:wow:

[SeattleGirl]

60. Yep. Absolutely fucking insane.

:banghead:

[entanglement]

65. Nine hundred bucks for an antibiotic is looting, plain and simple

BTW, many antibiotics have generic versions which are WAY cheaper.

[SeattleGirl]

68. This one, unfortunately, does not have a generic version.

That's the first thing my mom asked. Nope, no generic.

And you are right: it's looting. They might as well show up at her door with guns in hand, demanding she turn over all her money.

Makes me sick. Especially when I think about the fact that so many people DON'T have the money to buy something like this. If my mom didn't have it, she would be dead. Literally.

It is beyond shame.

[Le Taz Hot]

77. Head for the border

(assuming you're near one)! I'm serious, I've done that with medications and find that Mexico's (and I'm sure Canada as well) pharmas are about 1/4 of what they are in the U.S. Same thing for optical and dental care. Here in California, senior organizations will charger buses and drive them down there to get their meds.

[Hoof Hearted]

55. I had an ulcerated cornea recently, 1 sm eyedrop btl, $76, 2nd sm btl. $90

They each contained about .07 fl oz.

If I didn't have insurance that little diddy would have run me around $450 dollars, or my eyesight.

It's obscene. And to think we skated by without insurance for TWELVE YEARS. Thank God nothing happened to us all that time. Well, other than the flu with temps around 104 that we were too poor to go in for, including our daughter.

[emilyg]

56. Try honey. Especially Manuka honey.

P.S. Apply to site.

[VLC]

58. $800 for a shot

Once I had a minor surgery and the bill said $800 for some kind of anesthesia. Whatever was in that syringe costs more than gold.

[kineneb]

59. $117 for generic Wellbutrin!

which I have to pay every month. My monthly share-of-cost is $280, so essentially, I have no coverage.

County Medical Services Program (CA) assumes that a family of two can live on $934/month, so above that everything is share-of-cost. It is the only "coverage" that I can get. It forces us to stay poor.

[Emit]

61. $200. for my son's epi pen in case he's exposed to nuts

The school required one, and the doc said I need one to keep on hand at all times. They cost $150 a piece and my insurance only covered $100. toward one. $200. and they expire within a year.

[Lorien]

62. Try switching to all natural cleaning products

I had horrible dermatitis for years, but it hasn't come back since I switched to all natural cleaning products: dish soap, surface cleaners, bleach alternatives, laundry detergent, etc. I find most of the stuff at Whole Foods (Mrs. Meyers or Earth Friendly Products) or online at www.shaklee.com

[Trillo]

63. It's just an artificial pricing scheme.

protected by law and anti-competitive legislation (such as not allowing you to buy your medicine from another country).

Here's how it works. Say a tube of medical cream costs $20 (manufacturing cost + distribution + reasonable profit). You either have insurance that requires you to pay $20 per prescription, or you don't have insurance, so you also pay $20. See the beauty? There is no benefit to having prescription drug coverage on a private insurance policy in that case.

HOWEVER. If an artificial retail price can be created and rationalized that has no relationship to the real price of $20, say 8 gazillion dollars, all of a sudden private prescription drug coverage seems like a good deal, since it costs less than the price of insurance AND the copay. For the insurance company, since the retail price is artificial, they're not really out anything when you need the prescription because you're still paying the $20 real cost of the medical cream, the insurance company is getting a nice fat monthly stipend from you ... Everybody wins ... except you who are out extra money to keep the insurance company in biz and those without insurance who can't afford the artificial retail price!

Private Insurance Is Just A Money SCAM to convince you you need them.

Fix it with H.R. 676, Single-Payer Universal Medicare for all.

[Cleita]

67. I had a $73 co-pay on a prescription that I filled this week.

That's on the fabulous prescription drug benefit I got for Medicare. The same drug costs $100 for the whole thing in Canada. I couldn't even find out what the whole USA price is. It seems like it's a big secret. The PHARMA companies have been given a legal prescription to rip us off. It's really helping to defund the Medicare program really fast too because the govt. is stuck paying high prices for the drugs as well.

[opihimoimoi]

74. go to freederm.com and read the testimonials re the subject...might work. Opi

[Le Taz Hot]

75. To keep me breathing every month

costs approximately $220.00 a month. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but when you're struggling for every dime, its a challenge to come up with. We can't even afford my husband's blood pressure medicine so we try to combat that with a good, healthy diet and exercise. My medication gets priority because, well, you sort of HAVE to breath. We're playing Russian Roulette with my husband's condition. It's disgraceful.

But Hil's come up with a new plan. We'll be FORCED to buy into insurance -- whether we can afford it or not. In fact, we'll even be required to have it to get a job now. Isn't that just peachy? Well, it's good to know that those insurance campaign dollars were money well spent. :sarcasm:

[graywarrior]

76. I can't get estrogen cream because it's $80+, so I suffer.

[Baby Snooks]

78. And how much would it be in Mexico?

You have to wonder how much it would be in Mexico and then you have to wonder why none of the candidates for president, Democrat or Republican, have really addressed the matter of price parity.

[hedgehog]

80. Does the medicine work?

The pharmaceutical companies do charge what the market will bear, but I think you have to accept that some medicines are expensive to manufacture.