[dgrilli]

Can anyone explain to me why these companies charge so much for Test Strips?

This has got to be the biggest GOUGE beside Gasoline Price at the Moment?

[grace girl]

If you find the answer, let me know! It's probably my biggest gripe. It's not like I can do without them, or stretch them out to make them last longer!
And you can't convince me that it costs a buck a strip to produce them and make a profit, either. Way too many of us hooked on the little suckers.

[ladytaz]

Because they can! I think they also think that everyone who uses them has insurance, and therefore, the insurance companies are paying for it! But ummm .... NO not everyone has insurance, and there are quite a few of us out here that don't and it's SO **** expensive!! They COULD give us out of pocket spenders a lil break, yanno!!

[archimeech]

they are simply in the business to make money. the market will currently bare the price that they charge and there is no insentive to lower them. when looking at an issue such as medical supplies or gasoline, that are manufactured in the free market economy, what does it mean to "gouge" someone? It's all a matter of supply and demand.

I agree that it sucks to pay what we pay, but that's business.


LadyTaz,
I know that a lot of the companies have programs for meds, have you looked into the meter companies?

[Cyborg]

That's almost as bad as selling a bottle of insulin for 100$.

[ladytaz]

Originally Posted by archimeech

LadyTaz,
I know that a lot of the companies have programs for meds, have you looked into the meter companies?

I use the OneTouch Ultra. I haven't found anything on the LifeScan website, nor anywhere else when researching online, that indicates that they provide any help programs. All I've ever found that does provide help with diabetes supplies, are places that require you to have insurance or medicare! *big help that is* So, I purchase mine at a place online that saves me about $13 per box of 50 or about $25 per box of 100. I usually can only afford a box of 50 at a time though. I often run out, or have to limit my testing, before I can order more. My actual need is about 150 test strips per month. I was lucky this past week and was able to order a box of 100. So I'm set for a couple/few weeks right now. But when it's time to reorder ... who knows?

I do good with my meds, found a great place online where I get a 3 month supply (no matter how many pills a day I take) for $20 each. I'm happy with that. Although, now Walmart/Sams has can beat that price, so I'll probably be moving my prescriptions over to there, when I run out next month.

[mids1999]

If you dont have insurance look into the togetheraccess program
Welcome To Together Rx Access

It is only if you do not have any medical insurance and offers discounts from many companies.

Its free and offers a little savings on scripted meds.

and

If you dont qualify for that try

https://www.pparx.org

[seacomp]

There are a lot of issues here. I'll only mention the "real cost" one. What you pay for a drug or an office visit without insurance is very different from what the insurance company pays.
Once in a while you (by accident get a bill) with the full info on it. They look sort of like this:

Nov 1 Office Visit $120.00
Nov 1 Patient Co-Pay $ 25.00
Nov 15 Insurance Write Off $ 75.00
Nov 20 Paid by Insurance Co. $ 20.00
Patient Owes $ 0.00

The doctor's real charge for the visit is $45.00, not $120.00. When a doctor agrees to accept a company's insurance, they are also agreeing to the reduced charges.
The same things goes on with prescription drugs, except the partner of the insurance company is the pharmacy (chain). The test strips that cost a walk-in customer $50.00, costs the insurance company far less.
This goes on with everything. I have had drugs prescribed where I paid the full charge, the insurance kicked $0 to the transaction.
If you look at an insurance as mostly a buying club, you get a better idea of what's going on.

[grace girl]

It's no different really than what I experience at my endo's office. Normal office visit is $150. They charge me $70 because I have no insurance. Cost of a1c test: $50. For me, free. They do ultrasounds in-house and told me at my last visit that I needed an u/s of my thryroid...cost would be $800. After review from the accounting girl, the cost was only $200.
While I appreciate the break, someone's paying for it somewhere.

[seacomp]

Originally Posted by grace girl

someone's paying for it somewhere.

I don't think so. I think the discounted charges you see are the real charges. It's probable what they get from insurance so there is still is a profit built into the price.
They are giving you a break by charging you the actual price.

[ladytaz]

Originally Posted by mids1999

If you dont have insurance look into the togetheraccess program
Welcome To Together Rx Access

It is only if you do not have any medical insurance and offers discounts from many companies.

Its free and offers a little savings on scripted meds.

and

If you dont qualify for that try

https://www.pparx.org

Yes, I have a Together RX card. Only thing, You have a "prescription" for the test strips! I got this card AFTER I had last seen my doctor, and couldn't AFFORD to go see him JUST to get a prescription for a NON prescription item! I'm sorry that's just freakin LAME!

I already use Rx Outreach Patient Assistance Program for Discount Prescription Drugs for my meds. But will probably be moving them to Walmart/Sams come next month, since it's a bit cheaper.

Alot of those prescription assistance programs, or even from the pharmaceutical companies themselves, ask you questions that I feel are none of their business, such as, what the income is for ALL who live in the household! Um, HELLO, last time I checked, I am the only one responsible for my health care costs! And I REFUSE to let them base my eligibility upon the income of OTHERS who live in my household!

Then they want a pay stub and/or last years tax return, and/or a bank statement to prove your income. Well, I don't work, therefore I have no pay stubs. I don't work, therefore, I don't have any income, therefore I don't file any tax returns, and as for my my bank statement, well, It's a joint account (MY name being the "main" account holder) with the man I CALL my hubby, altho we are NOT married! Just because we share a joint bank account, does NOT make him responsible for my health care costs (altho he DOES pay for it - and we have a very difficult time paying for it) nor should what we have in OUR bank account from HIS income, decide MY eligibility for any assistance programs!

So ... see my dilemma!

[ladytaz]

Originally Posted by seacomp

I don't think so. I think the discounted charges you see are the real charges. It's probable what they get from insurance so there is still is a profit built into the price.
They are giving you a break by charging you the actual price.

I'm with ya there seacomp! Altho I still think that "actual" price is often way too expensive!

I do have to say that the last doc I went to, an Internist, my initial "new" patient visit was quoted to me at "about" $125. They actually charged me $75, then each visit after that was $55. Altho one time he did charge me $75, and the only thing different was I had asked him for a 3 month prescription for each of my meds, so I could get them through the RX Outreach program. I asked why I was charged $20 more for that visit when I went to check out, but the girl couldn't give me an answer! Just said "extended visit" on my visit sheet. *shrugs*

When I go to a new doc, an Endo, next month, Told them I have no insurance, will be paying out of my own pocket. I was told to bring $200 with me for my initial "new" patient visit! *faints* I do know he'll be giving me an A1c, which he draws the blood right there in his office (Both my sisters see this same doc, one for Diabetes, the other for Graves Disease, and I went with my sis who has Diabetes to one of her visits, which convinced me to choose him for my doc). But I don't know what all else he'll do at that visit, testing wise I mean. I'll have to let y'all know that after Jan. 9th

[JediSkipdogg]

seacomp's post is 100% true. Nobody is paying for the less cost of health care with insurance. The reason they offer lower rates is because they want to be accepted by that insurance. Remember, there is no law that says your insurance company has to cover Endo Dr. Smith. If Dr. Smith wants to charge $300 a visit, and your insurance thinks that is outrageous, and he won't drop his prices for them, then you can't see him unless you pay out of pocket. Insurance companies have negotiated rates with all doctors in their plans of how much they will charge. If the doctors don't like it, they aren't accepted by that plan and they can lose out on thousands a year.

With that said, there are also tons of ways to lower health care costs. MOST, not all, but MOST doctors will give you a lower rate if you don't have insurance than what they truely have listed. You just have to be willing to pay in full in cash at the time of the office visit. The reason for that is because they don't have to worry about sending your payment to their accounting department and being processed or waiting for money. They get the cash at the time of the visit.

Now, why does every **** item cost so much? That's simple as well, and someone said it, because they can. I'll break the areas down a few....

Doctors
They have hundreds of hidden items that many don't think about that they have to cover for. Doctors do make alot, but they also take alot of slack. The biggest area for a doctor is medical malpractice insurance. If you see a doctor and they don't do a test to discover something because they are trying to save you/insurance money, and you get whatever that test would have picked up, they just opened themselves to a million dollar lawsuit. If they prescribe a drug against the FDA requirements for that drug, again, another lawsuit for them.

My doctor works 4 days a week on appointments and can see people every 20 minutes. In an 8 hour day that is 48 visits. In a year that is 9984 visits (not taking off for holidays or vacations. At say $100 per office visit....that is $998,400. Don't forget though not everyone pays as some just leave the bill hanging and she doesn't see all those appointments in a year. In her office there are two Endo's and 3 nurses and 2 desk clerks. So, she has to pay all of them, and then pay for the office, then pay for insurance, etc. Not to mention all of the machines. In the end, she gets about $100,000 of that. Pretty pitiful if you ask me.

Testing Procedures
This is the biggest waste of money in both insurance and out of pocket. Why? Because tests are ordered that don't need to be ordered way to many times. Let's use an MRI for example. In a hospital with a high usage load (basically a patient has to wait to get an MRI) it can cost about $1000 per MRI. In a low usage place that cost can increase as you have specially trained personel sitting and waiting around.

Now you have the double faced effect. Say you go in for a checkup and the doctor thinks something may be wrong. He has two options that he has to weight heavily in his mind. He can NOT order the MRI and try it with other tests and hope that he can discover what is causing the problem. If he lets you go, and you come back in in a serious condition later, he could be open to a lawsuit for not ordering that MRI that MAY have detected the exact problem. This has happened many times over.

The doctor's other option is to order that MRI. At the cost of $1000 to insurance, which then drives insurance rates up. Now, if the person doesn't have insurance, guess who pays? The rest of the people ordering an MRI. Now, here's the catch 22. Say he orders the MRI and nothing comes up with it and your problem goes away that night. The doctor just wasted $1000 of insurance money.

So this is one of the most outrageous costs for ER visits that is hard to control thanks to the sue-happy world we live in.

Prescriptions/Medications
This is one that hits me close. The reason they are out of control is because there is ZERO control on health care drug costs in the government, at least in the USA. Eribitux right now is the most expensive drug in the United States. It costs $17,000 a month to take and NO insurance covers it. Guess what though, it's the most successful treatment method for colon cancer though with a 100% success rate in slowly and in some cases reversing colon cancer cells. Yet only the highly wealthy can afford it.

Drug companies claim they use the profits for research of new drugs and treatment methods. However, year after year they return BILLIONS in profits. If it truely was research money they needed, they wouldn't accept federal grants or need to charge that much.

The Cost Effect
Lastly we have the cost effect (my name for it.) It is better explained with numbers.

Say 10 people need a procedure done. To return cost (not a profit) they have to charge $100 each time they complete this procedure. That means they need to make a minumum of $1000 to do it 10 times.

Now, say Person A can't afford $100 and doesn't have insurance to pay for it. Guess what? The other 9 people have to make up that cost. So $1000/9 = $111. Uh oh, that's too much for person B and C to now pay for it. Now, we are down to 7 people paying for that procedure so $1000/7 = $143 each person. See hwo that adds up fast? That's one reason many hospital visits and procedures are outrageously priced. It's because some can't afford it and so the hospital has to eat the cost. This happens many times in county hospitals that have to take anyone regardless of insurance or wealth. This is also where many of your drug users and gunshot people go. Once in that door, hospitals have to treat regardless to at least make the patient stable.


Solution
So what's the solution you may ask? There is one in a few areas and other's there aren't. The easiest solution is for the government to step in and put controls in place. However, with the current president that won't happen since he's all for the big business and making a profit. He believes a higher profit means that company will invest more into new areas, which is true, all the while putting the middle and lower class into bankruptcy. There must be controls put in place for how much a drug company can increase their drug prices a year. Once a vial of insulin is discovered how to be made, as long as there are no rare substances used in it, then the price should not change each year. There is no reason for insulin prices to double in the last 6 years.

Ok, my lengthy post is done. Congrats to all that read it word for word. Unfortunately, till we have a better government in the US, we won't see anything happen for the positive.

[ladytaz]

I read it all, and yes, you are correct. It's just a shame that it's like this!
OH and don't forget what the pharmaceutical companies say about them having to pay the FDA costs for the "study" on new meds, therefore they pass the costs onto the consumer! New meds, that in 3 years they're recalling, and have multiple suits going on because these new wonderful meds are harming, or even killing, rather than helping people! The FDA is apparently not "studying" these new meds very well, are they??

[JediSkipdogg]

Originally Posted by ladytaz

OH and don't forget what the pharmaceutical companies say about them having to pay the FDA costs for the "study" on new meds, therefore they pass the costs onto the consumer! New meds, that in 3 years they're recalling, and have multiple suits going on because these new wonderful meds are harming, or even killing, rather than helping people! The FDA is apparently not "studying" these new meds very well, are they??

I don't mind the FDA part. I do have other problems with the FDA. It does drive me nuts though people that think items should be approved faster through the FDA and then also say some items should take more time. My problem with the FDA is they take whatever the manufacturer gives to them as set the only studies. Personally, and from being in research studies, they can disqualify someone from making it to the final results, therefore fixing the studies. I think the FDA should take the manufacturers info and then do a 6-12 month study of their own.

Then, like you mentioned, passing on the costs. I'm sorry, but that's just bull. If they are "passing on the costs" then how are they still making a 100% profit? I took business and accounting in college. One thing I learned was debit and credit, aka, what goes out, must come in. So, that should mean both sides should be equal with like maybe 5% bonus on the income for profits. Yet 5% does not equal 200 billion. It just drives me nuts how they can legally get away with it.