So my significant other went to buy her prescriptions today, without health insurance. 3 = $900.

One for cholesterol, two for blood pressure. One was even generic. They told her at CVS it would be $900. She just lost her job, and is 58. You want to see the nightmare that the health insurance industry, PhRMA, Glenn Beck, Faux News and most of all the Rethuglicans would foist on us? Try buying prescriptions without health insurance. Nine hundred freaking dollars for three one-month prescriptions.

These are their dreams, and goals: Mandatory insurance for all, no teeth in any enforcement about pre-existing conditions, 5-1 age rating, endless patent hoarding for the drug industry, no laws to rein them in, and EVERY law to rein in us citizens to pay them the largest transfer of wealth in history.

Thank you, Sen. Baucus, for making their dreams come true. Meanwhile, what is she to do? What every American does in this era. Go without.

Wish we had an FDR now. I love Obama, but he's Casper Milquetoast, and I for one am sick of it.

There are programs that some drug companies have, assistance programs. I don't know much about them, but I see them advertised on TV. Maybe she can get her meds through them?

I hope so.

This sucks so badly, and it's not just your SO. It's EVERYONE. I'm lucky, I have insurance, but when I go to pick up prescriptions, and I see what the retail prices are, I wonder how they think people are supposed to be able to afford them.

You're right about Obama. I'm dreadfully disappointed in how willing he has been to bend over for just about everyone. He talks a good game, but, you know, talk is cheap.

FDR would have DONE something. Obama talks.

I hope she can find someplace to help her, I really do.

Good luck................ :hug:

or PM the OP and tell him about them?

I'm so glad you are able to avail yourself of those programs. Was it very complicated to enroll? How do they work?

I'm sorry for pestering you with questions, but I know nothing about them. And, thank you.............. :hi:

I used to work for a cardiologist. I spent a lot of my time filling out forms to the pharmacuetical companies requesting free medications for patients. It takes a little time but is worth it.

while lipitor has no generic, there is a similar one that is a generic. why don't you ask your doctor for one of these and try it out - it may work just as good as lipitor for a fraction of the cost...simvastin or something like that (any of the other statins)

You're right, it's simvastatin. I take it and it has worked extremely well.

due to the fact that Medicaid quit paying for Vytorin (around $116) because it is a compound drug. Now I take Simvastatin ($70)and Zetia ($120) and this is more that what Vytorin cost them. I know that some of the medicines that I get are cheap but others make up for it. I have sixteen prescriptions that are required and the cost runs around 1600 a month. One of the prescriptions is over $400 and several are over $300. I could never afford this on SS.

Of course there are places where you can get them cheaper. Walmart and other places have plans where you can get certain medicine for a low monthly price and there are the places mention above where you can get others meds. Also, some clinics will sell you some types of medicine at a reduced price if you qualify. Trust me, I struggled before I got disability and medicaid to get even half the medicine I needed due to the cost. If I loose medicaid, and I thought I was going to recently, I will be back to looking for ways to get some of the medicine I take now. I doubt I could get all of it so I know how you feel. :shrug:

So i just break it in half..doesn't cost much more and lasts twice as long...
Had to ask him to do it though.....z

our situation. Mine is really good about making sure she gives me what medicaid covers and keeps up with what they don't. Of course I go to a clinic that I like, and love my doctor and most of the people that work there.

?i=6267448

when our co-pay went from $15 to $40 + some extras for bifocals etc..
The cost ended up being about $150 out of pocket for two pairs (hubby and myself)

While we were picking ours up a guy ahead of us was counting out $5's & $1s and still came up short.. had to leave for home to see if he could scrounge up more money.,. his glasses cost him over $400..

The lady at the counter said he had been in 3 times already, and was still about $80 short.

This was a working class guy with dirty fingernails and rough-outdoor skin, but he needs to see too:(

the situations get worse and worse.

I just grieve. This is wrong.

Medicare for everyone, all problems solved.

We're doomed. Our country is, I fear, already gone..................

To me, the entire health care package being worked is a give away to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. I just do not understand why we can't do Medicare for everyone. Just about everything the US tries to do anymore is a struggle. Other countries set goals for health care and get it accomplished. Here, all we do is fight about it... The ignorance in this country is appalling. I've never seen so many uneducated individuals shouting their heads off.

We will never make it in the 21st century unless we all work together for solutions. Meanwhile, the rest of the world in many ways is going to walk right pass the US while not a small number of Americans praise and are proud of their ignorance and rowdiness. So many Americans are pawns of anyone who pushes their hot buttons so as to accomplish their agenda.

Happen.

Instead, Obama spent the summer running around trying to appease the RW nuts at the town meetings. FDR would not have done that.

Nor would LBJ have tried to find out what segregationists thought about the Civil Rights Act.

You don't get any type of REAL REFORM done if you are into being concillatory!

The Republicans are setting him up for failure by using his appeasing conciliatory nature. Maybe given some more time in the WH this will change, but I wonder if a number of seats might be lost in 2010.

If we continue on the current trajectory, in 2012, keeping the House & White House will be a huge battle.

Our party 'leaders' are going to learn a hard lesson. You can promise your constituents change & then deliver more-of-the-same, only so often, before dedicated dems decide to just stay home on election day.

Another thing that bothers me is the quest for the undecided voter. Who the fuck is undecided in this day & age? I'll tell you who - people who either have no convictions or attention hounds. Why do we give so much power to such a small, fickle group? Instead of going after the undecideds, we should be going after the non-voters. It's a much bigger pool! If our party would start representing the People instead of the corporations, I beleive many of the non-voters could be swayed to get off the couch & off to the polls.

s.o. in hosp. today for observation, as he's a cardiac 'patient.' Going to suburban to visit, now.

Good luck to both of you, kiddo. I'll be thinking of you......................

I had to pay close to $500.00... No-line Bi's cost another $125. Lucky I still have something in saving and my S.O. is sooo nice :)

My teeth are going bad and I think I'm going to check out the Collage in the next town for any help.

But I know several people who have, and they said the quality was okay. If nothing else, for $8 for regular glasses and $25 for bifocals it's good for a spare pair.

http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

www.goggles4u.com

www.zennioptical.com

I got three pairs from zenni optical for $200. Bifocals, tinted, high index, and clip on shades.

thank you

People added tons of useful stuff

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4591570

Thank you :hi:

:shrug:

It takes a couple of weeks but so far really great. :)
http://zennioptical.com

That's all I can say. I won't let her go down; I intend to share my medications with her.

right here in this thread.

I love DUers. They come through in the most beautiful ways.

Don't hurt yourself, though.

I wish I could help you.

It'll be all right. I know it will. There are places that will help.

And best of luck to you both........... :hug:

Michigan is Home. Will always be Home.

"Faygo Kid" sounded like my home state. Best of luck, I'll be fighting for health care for ya.

Poor ass Jamaica subsidizes health care and the cost of drugs for its citizens.

http://www.nhf.org.jm/

Once you have collected your NHF card (and it takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the application and receive the card), you can go to any pharmacy on the island and receive significant savings on prescription drugs. One of my friends pays about $8.00US for drugs that would normally cost about $100US.

My husband's from Chile and has family still living there. It can be worth the cost of a trip home to visit with family and buy a year's worth of his prescription drugs.

Is this silly? Or are we we being taken advantage of by a seriously corrupt government and seriously corrupt corporations.

Watch the new movie "The Informant". If it's anywhere near as good as the book, it will show you how companies get away with this. And it's kind of a fun story.

When the nephew of ADM president, after conviction for price-fixing, came up for sentence review, asking that his fine be lessened and his prison time be shortened, the appeals judge told him he was lucky that the judge was not allowed to strengthen the penalties. He would've like to increase the fine and extend the prison term.

In the case of pharmaceuticals, the U.S. taxpayer supports all teh basic research. The companies only take on a project to develop a marketable drug after all the basic research is done and the path to take is clear.

"In the case of pharmaceuticals, the U.S. taxpayer supports all teh basic research. The companies only take on a project to develop a marketable drug after all the basic research is done and the path to take is clear."

not true.

I think customs will only let you bring in 3 months supply....

Don't the manufacturers offer cheap rates to people without insurance?
Not that it should be even necessary in a civilized society - but who's talking about a civilized society nowadays.
Montel Williams used to advertise it.

http://www.phrma.org/news_room/press_releases/humanitarian,_author,_talk_show_host_montel_williams_to_help_educate_americans_about_drug_assistance/

http://www.scbn.org/?gclid=CMHRo-_t_pwCFdZM5QodMCiMbQ

http://freemedicine.com/?gclid=CO-GuPjt_pwCFRBM5QodqlJ9bw

Try these links

I am also aware that the cost of many of these medicines is NOT that high in other countries, well except like Lipitor.

And yes, we do need it, and bad

She was about the same age as your SO ~~ she would have been 60 this coming February. She had high blood pressure and could no longer afford the RX for the problem. So, she went without. She stroked out and was put on life support which was later removed by her family. She was brain dead. She had been in real estate and when the market collapsed, she could no longer afford her insurance and could not pay for her RX out of pocket.

What I discussed with a mutal friend of mine was that if there had been some govt option available to her, the cost of the RX and monitoring most certainly would have been far, far less than the cost of a week in the ICU on life support while they located family for her to give consent to remove life support. She had never married and had no children. Both of her parents and her one sibling, a brother, had predeceased her. So, they had to hunt down a niece and nephew and get court approval, etc.

But for what everyone deserves ~~ simply their rights as a person ~~ medical care and necessary RXs, this lovely lady would be alive today. What a horrible result and a tragedy that could of and should have been avoided.

So, you fucking RW teabaggers ~~ not only did she die for a totally horrible, unecessary reason, but the government has to pick up all the costs that you were trying to avoid by not seeing that everyone in this country has access to healthcare.

Mad and sad here...and totally wish the earth would open up and swallow the anti-healthcare assholes.

Sorry about your SO and I hope there is some solution. I know what a tragedy this can bring about.

:cry:

Your friend died because she couldn't get her vital medication. In America today.

I am so sorry. That's a nightmare, but I know it's happening every day now, worse than ever.

I just started crying. Your loss touched me. No one should have that happen to them. Not in our country. It's just so wrong.

I'm sorry for your loss and for everyone's loss....................

...:hug:

This is the first time I have said anything about this loss on the DU. It really upsets me and I have not been able to talk about it. My friend Jane was a wonderful person. She would be alive today IF she had gotten her blood pressure RX. But she went without simply because she could not afford it.

Yes, this is the US...but on healthcare we are a 3rd world country...

:cry:

I'm on several prescriptions and I always ask my doctor if there are cheaper drugs that will treat the same condition. He often has coupons given to him by drug reps (first scrip free or half off). Hopefully there is more than one drug that will suffice.

A former coworker used this resource and recommended it highly. They also have many helpful links.

One I'm taking is Lisinopril and I just had a prescription filled for $20 for 3 months worth. It used to be $10 when my dose was 20 mg, but the price went up when it went to 40 mg.

And that you can take advantage of some of the helpful tips other posters listed here.

It was for asthma and the pharmacist asked me if I still wanted it considering it was $182. I said of course I did cuz it's for asthma and that can be a life-threatening condition if not treated. Then I asked if he could tell me whether the full price would be lower if she had had insurance coverage. He said he couldn't tell me exactly but, yes, he would probably be charging the insurance company a lot less.

That whole discounting scheme pisses me off because it's one of the reasons why people without insurance have to pay such exorbitant prices.

It was for someone I don't know - an elderly gentleman who was trying to decide which meds he could pay for that day. It was worth it. Every time I go to the pharmacy I watch for that and look for the chance to do it again.

Of course, if this was a decent, moral country I wouldn't have to be on guard for this.

1) Go to Google Maps http://maps.google.com/
2) Enter the word 'farmacia' and the closest border town in Mexico.
3) Go there and buy your prescription at a reasonable price.

Often I tell my friends I think the US has been overtaken, we just don't know it... how tea baggers and the like, outfits like Fox News and the rest of the herd can continue with liars, absolute distortions and fabrications is beyond me. Not a small portion of this country have become disgusting and selfish individuals, frankly, un-American. Some are so wretched in the unrest they are promoting they should be investigated for inciting terrorism. While I believe in free speech, we have many media mongers that are way over the line.

The great USA used to be the tops in just about everything. Education, manufacturing, science, you name it .... the world looked up to us!

Today our society is crumbling. :cry:

This country is just sad.

Might be worth a try to see about getting the drugs from either country.

Probably not. But it will be voted on the following week, I bet. And go down, as even Dems do massa's bidding.

I will share my blood pressure medicine with her, as I have "health insurance." That's all I can do.

We use it, it works, significant price reduction.

out prescription meds to Americans

she should try finding an independent pharmacy and checking prices there.

Many people assume that they are higher but often that isn't so.

I have no idea what the drug was. But the request stunned me.

A clerk handed me my scrips and I was gone before the woman received and paid for her TWO fucking pills.

I've heard of folks getting their prescriptions only half-filled at a time. But, TWO pills at a time?

This has been bothering me since it occurred last week.

It could only be done with some drugs.

if my former insurance had paid, it would have cost me zero and they would have been paid $25 with the remainder written off since, after all, it IS illegal to charge insurance companies and paying people different rates.

So now I have to copy my 1040 and last month's pay stubs to show my income and they will deduct some.

Thank you to my doctor who didn't charge me for the visit or sample antibiotics.

Having just turned 55, all the rates I've been able to find have done a big jump for insurance.

But I have no job and no insurance. So I spend about $40 on the ones I can afford, and I suffer in excruciating migraine pain. I will see a doctor in a month and get some samples plus be able to apply to the drug company for some free prescriptions, but these things are short-lived solutions. For a chronic condition you need coverage 12 months a year, not a few freebies that last 2 months.

Change we can believe in. Think I heard that somewhere.

All the best, undeterred. You and others like you break my heart. What the HELL is going on here? Is Glenn Beck's search for Communists the story, or is it undeterred's?

My uncle, who used to suffer from them, told me about it. I used to get bad, debilitating migraines.. to the point that all I could do was curl up in a dark room and sleep...

I was skeptical, but tried it out. It really works.. for me, at least. When I feel the onset of a migraine coming on, I just do a few blasts of nasal spray and within 20 minutes the symptoms are gone. I use regular nasal spray, bought from Dollar General.. it does wonders for me, but your mileage may vary. It's worth a try, at least...


Peace,

Ghost

does it have something else in it (like decongestant or something)?

such as this

http://www.sinusbuster.com/headache-buster.html#page=page-1

Guarantees health coverage to all, single payer.

We're living in America, we're occupying Iraq, and they're getting better treatment than we are?

Is there hope for us? I don't think so. We have to keep trying, but how the hell do you swim upstream against something like this bit of news?

with countries to sell their products in bulk but charging uninsured Americans the absolute maximum? How about 17year patents so that the drugs have NO COMPETITION and they can charge whatever they want? Big Pharma makes me even angrier than the insurance companies.

the consumer, especially the poor consumer, gets screwed.

The unfairness of it is scalding, but I doubt it will ever change. I have finally lost faith in the notion of change.

I've found that one of the really old-fashioned tricyclic ADs has helped mine. It's really cheap - even off RX. There are a lot of high-priced migraine meds out there that your doctor will, as you say, be able to hand you a few of, but that doesn't help when they're hitting several times in a month.

including a tricyclic and a beta-blocker. Without them I'd be worse off, probably sick 75-80% of the time.

they really, really do. I sympathize.

320 dollar co-pay.

Left them on the counter.

But, don't worry. Barack Obama negotiated a 1.5% decrease with big pharm, so I am sure your S.O. will be just fine under the new legislation....

:sarcasm:

Might have your SO check with her MD for some samples. They often have lots of them.
Also, ask the MD to prescribe a less expensive BP med.. There's lots of them available. The important thing to remember
with MDs is to ask questions. Otherwise they often give you what the drug reps are pushing at the moment.
Thank you for sharing yours. Wishing you the best....z

But I take 25mg of Hydrochlorothiazide and 10mg of Lisinopril daily for hypertension. I have great insurance so a 90-day supply costs me less than $13 in co-pays, but even at full price at Walgreen's the 90-day's worth of both combined would only be about $55. Perhaps her doctor could switch her to something that would be less expensive and still effective. Depending on the doctor's practices, s/he might be willing to do it over the phone without an office visit charge, too. It would certainly be worth a try to call and see.

http://www.planetdrugsdirect.com/

My better half gets her meds there. A 3 Months supply for two prescriptions cost LESS than a 1 month prescription for just one of them. You can check their prices right up front on the website. They are legit and on the up and up.

democracy, they have a single payor system with everyone having a right to health care.
It's in their Constitution.

http://www.pparx.org/

He was uninsured and needed chemo meds (as well as many other drugs, incl BP meds).

You can fill out the info online.

It may not cover everything, but every little bit helps.

Best of luck to you both.

$40 worth lasts me 2 weeks.. another added effect was that I got to quit taking anti anxiety drugs (xanax) too...


:hi:

WalMart started the $4 / month for generic drugs programs.

Others have followed suit. They vary from the $4 / month to perhaps $15/ 3 month supply.

CostCo is not listed in this site, but they also have a program.

http://genericmedlist.com/

So I lowered my blood pressure from "definitely too high" to "normal" in about four months mostly with aerobic exercise on my bicycle, it's gone from something I did for entertainment to a life (or at least health) saving necessity.

I'm also taking a spice mixture and coconut oil my brother has given me, he has been researching alternative medicine a lot for the last few years and sent me a lot of links to read on that sort of thing.

I've also done a lot of research on exercise physiology and gotten myself on a proper training schedule, up until recently I was overtraining which is not as efficient as proper training and also gave me tachycardia. The tachycardia is now gone and my resting heart rate at fifty nine years old is fifty eight beats per minute, I intend to get that below fifty beats per minute by the end of the year.

Ya know, it isn't always great things about proper training schedule.

I got a prescription for a migraine medicine at a chain drug store similar to CVS. Later I found out the same drug costs about 40% less at Costco.

living like the poorest nations in the world so they can exploit the hell out of us some more.



Btw, I was reading that Apple Cider Vinegar lowers blood pressure among other things.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/77099/the_best_natural_cures_for_high_blood.html?cat=5

I knew I was losing my job so started to get my lungs ready for no meds. I also stocked up on a month's supply in my last week of employment because I knew I couldn't have none of them around for bad days. I take them about once a week (when my lungs get really bad) now instead of 1-2 times a day as required.

Can your doctor get samples or something for you? We are living a nightmare.

I have no insurance. I'm hoping my unemployment is only temp. but I'm now into my second month.

face something like that some day.

The meds I take now are fairly simple but my doctor told me to shop around. He told me that Target has the best prices in our area, much less than CVS. I have found that to be so.

Make your calls before taking the script in. That being said, the whole drug thing is one colossal rip off.

You can get a variety of BP and cholesterol meds under the $4/month program.

Print out a list of drugs and ask your physician or NP to switch her to a BP med or a statin that is on the list. Places like walmart, Kroger, CostCo and I think a few other pharmacies have $4/month prescriptions.

There are tons of BP meds that are cheap. A variety of beta blockers, alpha blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics. These are all $4/month now. I take the diuretic HCTZ, and my brother takes an ACE inhibitor. Both are covered under the $4/month program.

And there are several cholesterol statins like Lovastatin and pravastatin for $4/month.

She could be getting alternatives that help her keep her cholesterol and BP in check for $8-12/month.

Also, if she gets her liver enzymes tested, she can try high dose niacin for cholesterol. That is cheap too. But I wouldn't recommend it (unless she is healthy, has a healthy liver and her doctor says it is ok), there could be side effects.

http://intelegen.com/nutrients/niacin.htm

Docs are well compensated by the pharma industry, although I don't hold them responsible for this mess. But, who the hell still prescribes Vytorin? Anyway, I am sharing the medications I have been prescribed with her to get her through this time. Luckily, I am employed with good health insurance. For now. This whole debate is ridiculous. Get Americans covered NOW, you spineless politicians. This shouldn't happen in this country.

You can buy a different statin (they all do the same thing by blocking the HMG-COA enzyme) for $4/month to replace the statin in vytorin. I checked pharmacychecker.com and you can buy Ezetimibe for as low as $0.40 a pill. So she could be using the two drugs seperately for about $20/month instead of paying hundreds a month for vytorin. This is what happens when pharma companies bankroll doctors.

In my view, your best bet isn't so much to share your meds as it is to get her replacements by going to a clinic and explaining the problem and how you want replacement meds. She can get statins and a variety of BP meds dirt cheap, and just use those for $10-25/month.

You are right, we shouldn't be having this discussion. I know it is supercilious to think this way, but what enrages me about the issue of UHC is that countries with far less wealth and far more problems manage to do it but we can't. Brazil was a military dictatorship 20 years ago, and has about 1/20 the per capita wealth we do. And they still have UHC.

We are a wealthy country with a 200 year long history democracy, but countries that are poor and recently emerging from dictatorship seem to have more concern for their citizens than ours does. That really bothers me.

As far as the response 'why don't you do something about it', which I'm sure I'll get, I have. I have donated hundreds to causes and politicians. I have signed petitions. I have raised awareness. I have contacted my legislators. I have made well thought out, passionate arguments in person, in print and online.

But at the end of the day, we live in a country where 20-25% of us are extremely spoiled, undemocratic, self centered, xenophobic and fearful. And it seems that 25% always gets what they want. Even when they are voted out of office.

Health Insurance is but *one* of the MONOPOLIES that are killing us on Healthcare.

You can't beat them easily - it's complicated.

OPENING THE BORDERS TO CANADIAN LEGAL DRUGS WOULD DESTROY THE PHARMA MONOPOLY IN ONE FELL SWOOP.

Plus - it makes Obama look positively "free trade" !!!!

THE PHARMA MONOPOLY ARE THE REAL DRUG PUSHERS.

Cocaine is flowing north, but the LEGAL drugs can't get in !!!!

Democratic Undergrounders should lead the charge to OPEN THOSE BORDERS NOW. C'mon Obama !!!!

Discuss.

No doubt, enough Dems will do their drug companies' bidding to defeat it. Pathetic.

Go to this website and buy this book
http://www.heartattackproof.com/

I am 73 and two years ago I could not walk two blocks, my BP was 200 and my cholesterol was 265 and I was on two BP meds and Lipitor and the doc wanted to put me on more and the cardiologist wanted to start cutting and messing around.
Today I walk at least 3 miles everyday and even jog a bit when no one is watching. My BP is between 110 and 135, my cholesterol is below 150 and I feel wonderful.............
I know this sounds like an ad, and that is why I hesitate to even post it.
I realized that doctors can only push pills....that is all they know and all they do. There are options and one of those options is to take control of your own health.
I have met the Dr. who wrote the book and his wife is a school teacher who taught my niece. They are honest people who only care about helping us.
If you want to thumb your nose at the non-health care we have, do it by taking control of your own health and it feels so good to walk right past the pharmacy into the fresh food section.

Good luck

Our government is so concerned about our safety that they prefer that we go without our medications rather than purchase them through a foreign pharmacy. It is so unfair that people in other countries can purchase the same prescriptions from the same manufacturers for so much less than we are expected to pay.

I make too much to be eligible for Medicaid yet I'm unable to afford to pay $70+ per day for my medication without the help of insurance. The government refuses to let us purchase our medications outside of the U.S. which is asinine. I can buy a 3 month prescription for the equivilent of a single month at ProgressiveRx. Checkout www.progressiverx.com.

Last year, I broke a collarbone, two ribs, compressed my cervical discs and had a non displaced fracture of the C7 vertabrae...all without the benefit of health insurance. The ER bill for two hours was 6G's. The pain pills were $320. I had to do without them. It was a painful life and spirit changing experience. The accident wiped out a big chunk of the money we were saving for a new house and an eventual MA.

Not to preach, but I highly recommend vitamins, FISH OIL, exercise, lots of water and plenty of exercise (if you can) in the battle against high cholesterol.

I dropped my cholesterol 40 points by using Benecol instead of margarine, putting garlic on something every day, and taking 1 gm of vitamin C a day. I don't know which of those is effective. Benecol is quite pricey, $5-$6 a tub.

I am sorry.

Here are a couple of suggestions. Some manufacturers do have programs to give free meds to people depending on income (check their websites). I don't know if they actually follow through on this.

I used to buy meds from Granville Pharmacy in Canada http://www.onlinecanadianpharmacy.com/ I had trouble getting mine recently because the manufacturer is no longer supplying meds to Canadian pharmacies that they know sell to U.S. customers, but it is worth checking their website for your meds.

i pretty much just don't accept an Rx to anything that is a lifelong Rx (such as lipitor) because being shut off suddenly could be worse than not ever having had the treatment at all -- i quit w. my inhaler years ago, maybe not smart, but i'm worse scared of being dependent because of having gone so many years where i couldn't afford insurance/medicines

a relative was shut off baycol suddenly when it was withdrawn and within weeks had to have emergency bypass surgery

and yet, the reason you get a script for a drug like that, is because you NEED it to save your life and functioning -- just saying, nope, won't start taking it, isn't always possible

example, a friend about 40, tall, slim, athletic, non-smoker -- there was nothing that he could do with diet etc. to lower his cholesterol because it was caused by genetics -- he simply has no option but to take the script -- if he loses his job, what happens? -- i chuckle at those who suggest "diet and exercise" because for a lot of people, it is simply genetic -- my relative in the baycol story is also slim and exercised/still exercises an hour a day -- the fact is, diet and exercise may work for the small minority it works for, but if you're already thin/athletic and you still have cholesterol issues quite likely there's a genetic component

one that's a $50 co-pay that's also per month. Mine has no generic and his the generic makes him sick. Like I said this is WITH insurance so you're still fucked no matter what IMO.

If we lost my insurance we would be financially ruined. This is a crisis and DC wants to treat it like a mild problem. We need a strong public option that anyone can opt into. I have insurance and we are going broke. This just keeps getting worse. When will someone we've elected see how desperate people are for a real solution?

if my dr. gave me an rx for some fucking drug with that huge price tag i'd call his office and tell him i need a different drug that can do the same shit--because i couldn't afford it.

as it is, i get two meds for blood pressure at cvs--and they are fairly cheap cheap cheap

(i used to take norvasc--or however it's spelled--and that was kinda pricey--it is also a calcium channel blocker and can deteriorate your jawbone--so can boniva and the other osteoporosis drugs according to a periodontist i went to see who told me to get the fuck off it. i went back to my doctor and told him to find me a different blood pressure med because i wasn't going to do norvasc anymore.)

I know they give out a national one at my pharmacy. My insurance (which is local subsidized) said a prescription had to be pre-approved (which was new -- ugh). But the pharmacist came up with a national discount card and it only cost me $7! I didn't ask how much it would have been without the card -- I know I had to pay cash for that med once and it was $44 for a prescription half the size of the one I got filled for $7; My area also has county discount cards -- there are piles of them available at our local health department. Oh, my pharmacy is Target, so may be one near you.

BTW, I find CVS to be very expensive. Among other things, they don't do the $4 prescription thing, do they? Target has many older prescriptions for $4.

as of Oct. 1. Just got word today my husband's hours have been cut back to 3 days a week and we're losing our health insurance. He's 47 and takes high blood pressure medication. I'm 54 and have severe asthma.

This area has a 15% unemployment rate but the real one is closer to 23%.

We've gone through 3 job losses and one failed business in 8 years.

I'm just fucking numb.

If you have insurance, you end up paying forty bucks for it.

It's insane the way the way Pharm corps are raping us.

and ask him if there is something there that would do just as good a job as the designer brand? My sister who takes cholesterol and blood pressure medicine along with xanax and paxil. out of the 4 only one is more than $4. she pays about $40 a month for her meds.

...change her diet and buy some supplements for a year that would work much better than those drugs which usually don't increase life span and have serious side effects. GET EDUCATED GUY!