Why medicine is so damn expensive

[MadImmortalMan]

Time is timely with the discussion were having yesterday.

[Ed Anger]

In '06, my morphine was over 7k. And I didn't use the trigger much.

Also, my wife looted my room. Towels, coffe mugs, boxes of unopened gloves.etc. They gonna charge me 250k+? WE ARE GONNA LOOT.

[Malthus]

I'm in the wrong business and the wrong country. 

[Eddie Teach]

I'm in the wrong business and the wrong country. 

Stop moaning. You could have been a shopkeeper in Weimar Germany.

[mongers]

It's not. prescription medicine of any form is five or six quid here, though I've only ever had one adult prescription and that was some time ago. 


Also how cheap are American pharmacy/over the counter products like say generic/ non-banded pain killers ?


edit:

I checked a prescription is now 7.65GBP say 11bucks. 

If you're particularly sickly, you can one for $160 that covers whatever number and quantity of them your doctor/hospital perscribes over the course of a year.

[Habbaku]

Also how cheap are American pharmacy/over the counter products like say generic/ non-banded pain killers ?

Depends on the product, but for painkillers :

http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Ibuprofen-Tablets-500-Tablets/dp/B002RL8FIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361578399&sr=8-1&keywords=ibuprofen

~$.02 per pill.

[Ed Anger]

Generics? 4.99 for a lot of places. Some have 'em for two bucks or free, like Amoxcillin at the meijer's chain.

[mongers]

Generics? 4.99 for a lot of places. Some have 'em for two bucks or free, like Amoxcillin at the meijer's chain.

So broadly similar, it's just the prescriptions that Americans get screwed on.

[katmai]

In '06, my morphine was over 7k. And I didn't use the trigger much.

Also, my wife looted my room. Towels, coffe mugs, boxes of unopened gloves.etc. They gonna charge me 250k+? WE ARE GONNA LOOT.

How very un 1% of you.

[Ed Anger]

Generics? 4.99 for a lot of places. Some have 'em for two bucks or free, like Amoxcillin at the meijer's chain.

So broadly similar, it's just the prescriptions that Americans get screwed on.

Those were prescriptions. Shoot, my Vicodin was dirt cheap.

[Ed Anger]

In '06, my morphine was over 7k. And I didn't use the trigger much.

Also, my wife looted my room. Towels, coffe mugs, boxes of unopened gloves.etc. They gonna charge me 250k+? WE ARE GONNA LOOT.

How very un 1% of you.

Let's not mention my looting of Materity.

[mongers]

Generics? 4.99 for a lot of places. Some have 'em for two bucks or free, like Amoxcillin at the meijer's chain.

So broadly similar, it's just the prescriptions that Americans get screwed on.

Those were prescriptions. Shoot, my Vicodin was dirt cheap.

Oh so it's somewhat variable. 

Over here iirc doctors do sometimes write prescriptions for things you can get much cheaper over the counter like iron pills or dressings, but I guess if get free prescription then every little helps.

[jimmy olsen]

Yeah, I was totally amazed at how cheap things were in Korea. It's one thing to know health care in America is expensive but another to go get an X-ray and be charged the equivalent of $6.36

[Iormlund]

I'm in the wrong business and the wrong country. 

I thought you did work for pharma.

[Malthus]

I'm in the wrong business and the wrong country. 

I thought you did work for pharma.

I do consulting legal work though, and in Canada. That's similar to being their accountant or something.

The big bucks are, clearly, in hospital management in the US.