Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Lenegan on July 29, 2012 at 1:29am

Ridiculous, I remember back in the 90's when Humalog was $25 a vial.

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Permalink Reply by Regina on July 29, 2012 at 5:41am

I don't remember those days as I wasn't on the pump then. I got on the pump when I lived abroad in a country with socialized medicine, so I knew when I came back home I'd have to adjust to the US system. I never know Humalog was once $25 a vial. It seems criminal that now four vials from Walgreens is more than $850. I'm thinking there has to be inflation going on because Lilly wants to get money from insurance companies for this.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on July 29, 2012 at 9:08am

There is enormous inflation going on. When I lived in Guatemala I bought insulin pens over the counter. I paid about $13 per pen. Figuring a pen as containing about 1/3 of a vial that would equal around $40 a vial - a lot less than $212!

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Permalink Reply by Regina on July 29, 2012 at 9:14am

Yeah, when I lived abroad, I paid out of pocket for my supplies, but it was socialized medicine so I was insured. That basically meant that I had access to medical care in a university hospital at a fraction of the cost it would be for me in the USA.

Strips cost me half of what I'd pay in the USA. Pharmaceutical companies index their prices based on the country. I also got my Humalog directly from the hospital pharmacy. When I moved back, I made sure to buy a years worth of supplies because I knew it would take me roughly a year to get back into the system here.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on July 29, 2012 at 1:33am

Maybe he was attempting to be empathetic.

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Permalink Reply by Regina on July 29, 2012 at 5:33am

You're right. I'm not sure, and I don't want to throw the guy under the bus because my perception of it is what's going on here.

I just know it hit me in a way where I was like "WTF?" I know he didn't mean it to be snarky or rude.

I didn't get empathetic off of him. It sounded more like shock to me.

Since the costs of all of this is something I deal with all the time, I wasn't shocked. In fact, earlier this week I called my insurance company and had them walk me through how much I'd have to pay for my insulin (my insurance switched prescription providers this year.) Him being shocked just hit me hard because I'm just fatigued having to worry about the cost of my diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on July 29, 2012 at 5:34am

Maybe it was insensitive. But if he had suggested that there might be other sources that were cheaper, you would have thought he was a good man looking out for you. My insurance provides mail order service, a vial of humalog is $133, the total cost is $300 less.

What really gets my gall is doctors who prescribe top tier medications when a generic will do. I am doing battle with one doctor who prescried a just released mediation, $200/month. I said I would pass. She then found me another, she said she checked with the insurance company and it was "covered." Turns out it is "covered" is are almost every medication, but it still costs $200/month.

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Permalink Reply by Regina on July 29, 2012 at 8:52am

I would have appreciated a cheaper solution, for sure, but I also said at the end that I know he was trying to offend me. :)

I just think non-diabetics sometimes don't stop and think. We live with this everyday. I remember when I was uninsured and I'd flip out if I had to use more than one strip to get a blood glucose reading because I had to pay out of pocket for test strips. That feeling still lingers with with me in some ways when it happens now.

I know this technology isn't cheap to discover and I understand that these companies need to make a profit to keep discovering more drugs and processes that help us. However, the cost is something I don't want to talk about. If he has solutions, great. But I really don't want to be reminded about how expensive something is just to b$^#h about it. That's just going to make me upset and I already was upset.

Offer me a solution and I'm all for it. In fact, at my pharmacy another pharmacist did exactly that. They have a program where if you get a 90-day supply of generics you save a ton of money. For the other two meds I take, my doc was already writing generic prescriptions. That pharmacist noticed that I could save money by joining their program. I did and THAT was helpful.

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Permalink Reply by brokenpole on July 29, 2012 at 5:50am

bsc, I left a doctor's practice because he DEMANDED that all of his patients take no generic drugs. NOT ONE. I even asked his if that meant I could take the cheap asprin but had to by bayer instead. That was going to make the cost of my medications nearly triple. I told the man, NO! He basically read me the same speech my father had when I was 13. If you are part of my practice you will abide by my rules. When I turned 18 I left my father's house (as many of us did) and I did the same with this doctor.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen on July 31, 2012 at 9:04am

you should have medicare investigate him. Under the law, a doctor cannot prescribe a med that is not a generic unless he can prove a good reason. If he is not doing that he is screwing his patients and someone should report him.

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Permalink Reply by Spock on July 29, 2012 at 8:03am

I am sorry you had such a lousy day. Hope things are improving.

I looked online some for the price of Humalog and what you paid seems high. I woouls look into a mail order pharmacy or check at WalMart. I get all my pumpp supplies from CCS and they a;so fill insulin scrips. Liberty is another one.

I also agree that generics work the same. A generic drug uses the formula from the original drug once the drug patent expires. There is no reason not to use a generic, and if the doc says no, he is problem working with the drug companies. If your endo won't write generics, talk to your PCP.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Regina on July 29, 2012 at 8:59am

Thanks. Maybe Novolog is an option, but there isn't generic insulin. My doctor already writes me prescriptions for generic drugs for the other two things I take. My insurance goes specifically through one prescription provider, so I get what I get when it comes to that unfortunately.

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