I don't know if you have written on this topic before, but since it is an unbelievably salient area where all of us are getting screwed – I nominate allowing advertising on prescription drugs to be written about as a way of screwing everyone! New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries where this is even allowed. Since the cost of advertising has to be passed on to the consumer via the insurance company or directly for those without insurance, it seems that this is a particularly ridiculous way of jacking up prices. Every time I see a TV ad for Jardiance – a drug that costs $1700 for 90 days without insurance, I wonder how much it would be reduced if we were not paying for the ad. The cost is so high that even if you have good insurance with Medicare, you hit the donut hole between halfway and 3/4 of the way through the year with Jardiance being the leading cause. From that point on you pay 25% of the list price of the medication
I don't know if you have written on this topic before, but since it is an unbelievably salient area where all of us are getting screwed – I nominate allowing advertising on prescription drugs to be written about as a way of screwing everyone! New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries where this is even allowed. Since the cost of advertising has to be passed on to the consumer via the insurance company or directly for those without insurance, it seems that this is a particularly ridiculous way of jacking up prices. Every time I see a TV ad for Jardiance – a drug that costs $1700 for 90 days without insurance, I wonder how much it would be reduced if we were not paying for the ad. The cost is so high that even if you have good insurance with Medicare, you hit the donut hole between halfway and 3/4 of the way through the year with Jardiance being the leading cause. From that point on you pay 25% of the list price of the medication