An outline of the most recent policy shared by the White House Tuesday night would empower Medicare to negotiate the cost for 10 of the most expensive drugs by 2025, and 20 drugs per year by 2028, while carving out exceptions for small biotech companies. Only drugs that have passed their initial exclusivity periods — 9 years on the market for some drugs and 12 for others — would be eligible for negotiation, and the government can use an excise tax to force pharmaceutical companies to the bargaining table.
Patents last 20 years, the approval process 10. Roughly, circa, you understand.
So all this shouting about being able to negotiate drug prices, it’s not about patented ones at all, it’s about generics? That is, not very much at all?
As it stands, they are probably not very good at buying generics. What’s the chances they currently pay over the odds for them?
The main way in which the US healthcare system is stiffed on drug payments compared to other rich countries is for generics (insulin and epipens are great examples), whereas the fancy genuinely innovative drugs that cost millions per patient because they’re legitimately new and still patenteedare also paid for at top rate by the likes of the NHS, Australia and Germany. So in principle, this should be useful.
I was interested to discover the cost of the medication I take every day. Not sure if there are other costs that are added but some of them are considerably different to the £9 odd prescription charge.
https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/
Click on the drug you are interested in and then, on the relevant page, ‘Medicinal Forms’.
Adolff
Thank’ee. But alas:
“BNF is only available in the UK
The NICE British National Formulary (BNF) site is only available to users in the UK, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.”
Tejas,
Fortunately for Worstallians without VPNs, I still have a copy of the 37th edition from 1999 on my bookshelf. Let me know what you want to know what your drug cost in the UK 22 years ago.
BiNK(Gp)
Thank’ee sir! But ’twas but idle curiosity. Valsartan is currently dirt cheap here 🙂
BiT.
BNF for Valsartan shows price is between £2.32 to £20.23 depending on which flavour and Mg you need.
My drug of
choiceneed is £1.06.Which begs the question: When I had to actually pay for my script, WTF was I paying £8-9 ?
BiT.
I could have suggested you move to civilisation, but as we appear to have fucked that up, you are better off where you are (assuming of course you aren’t in mainland China, The National Socialist Workers Paradise of Australia, Chinada or North Korea).
Yes, and at least you can get it, which wasn’t the case for much of 2019.
BiNK(Gp)
It was a tad scarce, but I only started taking it later in 2020 having been on lisinopril beforehand. A unfortunate trend, such a progression, but oh well. Stuff seems to work
Addolff
Indeed; but as you note, civilization is self-canceling at the moment…
Prices are all over the place, but I can get 90 days at $50 without health insurance.
Very interesting. The drug I am on is 27/mo and the less effective and side effect one is 9/mo. And the GP I have refused to ever see again who runs the practice wanted me to switch. Hmm.
I find it interesting that certain generics are not for sale in USA whereas others are far cheaper in USA than in UK. Maybe John Band can tell us why, in his patronising, and usually inaccurate, way?