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-   -   Rx price nearly tripples? (https://www.neurotalk.org/multiple-sclerosis/112368-rx-price-nearly-tripples.html)

Lady 01-15-2010 01:10 AM

Marion that really stinks. They mess with our doctors, drugs and tests. Now upping the co-pays, and still no increase in the cost of living. Don't they see that the cost of living is going up?
God help Grandma. :eek:

marion06095 01-15-2010 12:27 PM

Here’s an excerpt of an article in the New York Times:

. . . But Provigil will face generic competition in April 2012 under terms of an agreement Cephalon made with several generic drug manufacturers. The Federal Trade Commission has sued Cephalon, saying it paid off those generic manufacturers to delay the advent of competition.

Cephalon, which denies the charges, is trying to shift patients from Provigil, also known as modafinil, to the very similar but slightly longer-acting Nuvigil, or armodafinil. Nuvigil has patent protection until 2024, although generic drug companies are already moving to challenge those patents.

To get patients to shift, Cephalon has raised the wholesale price of Provigil to $13.60, from about $5.50 a pill five years ago, including a 29 percent increase in November. So Provigil is now 50 percent more expensive than Nuvigil.

And Cephalon is also trying to have Nuvigil approved for new uses beyond those of Provigil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/bu...2413.60&st=cse


The increase in price has nothing to do with how much it costs to produce the drug. It is simply a ploy to grab more money from sick people, and assure that they will continue to be able to do so until 2024.

So now, because of greed, people with MS will go broke trying to stay on medication that really helps them. Doesn't that really frost your cupcake? I know it does mine!

Kitty 01-15-2010 12:52 PM

I kept having my Provigil rx refilled when I had insurance (and the co-pay was only $10). I don't take it everyday so I have a pretty good stash of it saved up. Does it lose it's effectiveness the longer you keep it?

I remember looking at my drug printout that the pharmacy attaches with each rx you get filled and it would say something like "your insurance saved you $769. :eek: I couldn't believe one rx could cost so much.

SallyC 01-15-2010 01:18 PM

Yep, the watered down Health bill is not going to help the people in need.....once more, only the rich need apply. For Shame on you, Congress. :(

marion06095 01-15-2010 03:43 PM

Oooops. Looks like Riverwild beat me to it. It's just as well, though. Anything worth posting is worth posting twice, right?

mrsD 01-15-2010 03:52 PM

You should contact your insurance to see if they pay for NuVigil on a lower tier. It is possible that is why ProVigil went to a higher one.

Check and see if prior authorization is needed, and its procedure.

It is really a hideous situation, why they charge so much ..there is really no reason for it, beyond greed.
I bet they are bummed because they wanted to get FDA approval for modafinil for ADHD and it failed. They lost some bucks doing the tests etc.

Riverwild 01-15-2010 04:02 PM

I learned a long time ago, before I was ever on any prescription medication, to always refill the prescriptions for the man whether he needed more yet or not. I stockpile them in a cool dry place with an even temperature. Now I do it with mine too.

I picked up my provigil scrip yesterday, $16.66 per 200 mg pill U&C. Good thing I have insurance!:eek:

braingonebad 01-15-2010 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Debbie D (Post 610572)
Okay, I'll get political.
Even though I voted for and worked for Obama for pres., I am so upset about this so-called "health care reform." Pul-ease.
The patient continues to get jerked around by the insurance/pharm combine...and the reforms don't answer this problem at all...:mad:

Well, my meds went up too. From one class to another while I had Aetna ins. I guess that was Bush's fault, since he put us in this depression.

:rolleyes:

marion06095 01-16-2010 09:29 AM

I think there’s plenty of blame to go around, and the government certainly deserves its share. But I feel that the major bad boys in this are the Drug Industry and their partners in crime, the Insurance Industry. Follow the money and you will find that there is a conspiracy between the Drug Industry and the Insurance Industry to manipulate sick people, and enrich themselves at sick people’s expense.


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