The Soaring Cost of a Simple Breath

The article this week comes from the New York Times excellent series on medical costs in the US.  This one deals with the cost of asthma medications, a common set of prescriptions that our patients should be taking but often can’t or aren’t.

There are two things in particular that shocked me about this article.  The first is the overwhelming co-pays that our families may be paying if they have insurance.  I know personally that I was pretty stunned by the fifty dollar co-pay for my albuterol that at one time only cost me fifteen before they renewed the patent.  The second is the wild difference in price and over the counter availability of these drugs in the US compared to Europe.

It doesn’t appear that this is going to change anytime soon and experts are predicting that the cost for generics will increase further as more and more people are insured under the affordable care act.  The authors feel that the difference between the US and Europe pricing has mostly to do with our belief in the free market setting a fair price, while other governments set a wholesale price for generics that is standard throughout the country.

The article goes into detail about pharmaceutical lobbying, patent tweaking, and difficulties in developing and marketing generics.  It’s a pretty quick read with lots to think about.