ethics: financial assistance from a drug company

[Kore]

Dude. Take it! I always google for coupons or discount cards. I use one that takes $60 off my Vyvanse, and that is only $170/mo. I can't imagine a $24k/mo drug.

[fuddyduddy]

I would take it. I don't think this is an ethical matter; they offered it to you and you qualify.

[bunch]

Umm, take it.

[cahabalily]

Take it. There's nothing unethical, she's offered a program that is not exclusive based on income.



Sent from my SGH-T959V

[Deleted]

You are way, way crazy. As long as you don't lie to them, take them up. Trust me, they'll be fine getting the $22k a month from your insurance company.

[Deleted]

One of my doctors gave me a coupon for free meds from the drug company that I gladly used. I don't see the big deal. They're giving it away.

[GailGoldie]

i work in pharma - and as long as you are telling the truth and their policy accepts you - i see nothing wrong with it at all!!

[bazealina]

DH and I thought we were going to be in this same boat..(His one medicine is 13k/mon) Originally his insurance was not going to pay. However, for some reason they are paying all but $12/month. We would have gladly taken any assistance possible.

Now we have one month supply of a different med that Tricare paid for in the closet..it costs $15k/month. DH can't take it. He took one day's worth. Now what do we do with that? Legally, we can do nothing but it kills me to know that someone could use it.

I would call them back and take the assistance for sure

[mrssavy42112]

I don't understand this at all. They wouldn't be offering it to you if you weren't eligible. Just take it for goodness sake.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

What they offered you is a discount. They just put a marketing spin on it & called it financial assistance. The list price for their product is $24k/month. Trust me, no one actually pays that amount.

If Macy's offered you 25% off, you wouldn't insist on paying the original price, would you?

Take the discount. It is foolish not to.

[MadamePresident]

Call them back and take the discount. I'd bet a bubble necklace your employer gets rebates for the drugs you take.

[isabel]

I'm so confused as to why you wouldn't take free money??

[sunny]

i've had drugs that do this. they sent me a card (unasked) where I only pay X amount per month, lower than my co-pay. it's because they want you to take it forevvvvvvvah ;-P no, but really, do it! it's marketing.

[FWP]

Nov 27, 2012 23:18:38 GMT -5 sunny said:

i've had drugs that do this. they sent me a card (unasked) where I only pay X amount per month, lower than my co-pay. it's because they want you to take it forevvvvvvvah ;-P no, but really, do it! it's marketing.

Not only that, but it's a way that drug companies game the system. Part of the reason insurance companies do the 90% coverage model is that it gives the patients an incentive to only get care that they actually need. So even though the consumer is only paying 10%, it tends to discourage unnecessary procedures (which saves them a bunch of money). The prescription drug cards and assistance programs are a way for the drug companies to get the patients to not care about the costs of the drugs. As an example, a generic may actually cost the patient more than the name-brand drug when the promotions are accounted for, but the insurance company ends up paying waaaay more [eta for clarity] for name-brand.

I have an issue with this from a system-level standpoint, because in the end it leads to higher costs for insurers which leads to higher premiums for the insured. However, would I utilize one of these cards/programs if they were offered for a drug I needed to take? Probably.

ETA: theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/drug-coupons/

[Kore]

That's fantastic!

[Deleted]

In general it is contributing to the higher costs associated with medical care. But hey, if you get yours, who cares?

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

Nov 28, 2012 12:56:10 GMT -5 kooshball said:

I applied this morning and was approved. Instead of 1500/yr, it'll be 120/yr.

That is awesome!

[Deleted]

If it's from a drug company, and it was offered to you (as in, you qualify), why not? If it were from the government, yeah, I'd hesitate and probably say no (that's me - YMMV), but drug companies aren't meant to be non-profits. They probably have a line in their budget for this very thing.

[hannamaren]

While I agree the drug is marketed too high if they can afford to give these discounts, who cares?
I work in a pharmacy with very high cost drugs for illnesses where the drugs are required. About 1/3 of the $$$ drugs are compassionate use. The drug company provides them for free. I am sure the drug company gets a tax break for this help too. We also have countless other programs to offset costs.
But we also have a drug program sponsored by the government for people with exorbitant costs of medications.