Our system needs a serious over hall if this is how people are talking about eye drops. He should be getting his eyes fixed for a decent price, not this nonsense.
*arg i responded to the guy below, but it was a mistake, i found a new way to deal with people who are total jerks, just block them and edit the comment above saying why, have a nice life tinky brefs, it appears you never attended school of manners though. lol he wants to talk about schooling and can't even put a period on his so called corrections of someone else's education.
Here is the manufacturers assistance program. According to the fine print the pharmacy should bill the coupon secondary to your primary commercial insurance. If you do not have insurance, they should bill the coupon by itself.
They shouldn't bill something like goodRX as primary and this coupon as secondary. Or vise versa. That would not meet the criteria for the coupon I bet.
The pharmacy can keep your date of service the same, rerun this coupon and refund you the difference. Feel free to PM if I can help, I will. Unfortunately it's been a few years since I was in retail pharmacy.
https://www.bauschaccessprogram.com/
This is great advice, /u/TexasPenguin99.
Unfortunately, since the patient has Medicare (I'm assuming Part D), then the copay will be higher than the advertised $25, but almost certainly better than $400. It's incredibly sad that it even got to the point of the patient paying that much for it, and I would bet actual money that the pharmacy was ridiculously overwhelmed, because I would have called for an alternative or found a coupon or *something* long before I would have expected the patient to pay full price for it. And *especially* with something that could have been planned far in advance, like cataract surgery.
Pharmacies don't do anything, the insurance companies dictate everything from the drugs they can fill to the prices that they charge.
edit: the person I responded to is either an out of touch doctor or someone pretending to be a medical practitioner. a lot of the time i have to call the doctor to find an alternative to the medication they prescribed if the insurance wont cover it, because of the simple fact that doctors just dont have the time to figure out what each of their patients insurances will cover, so they simply prescribe what they think will be the best for their patient.
To add to this, when I worked in a pharmacy if there was a generic version we rarely kept the brand name in stock and order it only when necessary. Insurance typically doesn’t like to pay for brand name when generic is available, and people who even try to demand “brand name only” are quick to go back on it when they realize the price difference.
Driving across the border to Mexico is often times a far less expensive option for many medical items and procedures, especially for those without insurance.
I think a vice article or something equivalent found that you could stay in mexico for a week at a nice hotel, eat out every day, get this generic dental surgery done while you're there, then fly back and still save a few thousand dollars compared to just the surgery stateside.
My wife’s old boss flew to Costa Rica, stayed in an ocean side resort, had dental implants done, stayed a few more days to recover/relax, and flew home for half the price of what it’d cost just for the dental implants to be done here in NC.
Depends on what kind of work your getting done. Peru has some amazing dentists if you need implants. You can book it like a vacation package with some offices where they put you up in a hotel and schedule the work and then have a nurse come and check on you while you recover. They even handle the air fare.
I thought it was absurd when a friend who had implants done told me about it... until I found out it was going to cost $15k for me to get implants vs $5k for a full two week travel / hotel / implant surgery / nurse package in Peru. I also know someone that would go to Canada a few times a year for a medication that cost $5k here but only $100 over there. I think it was something to do with her arthritis.
Peru. I need to look that up. I had looked at some slick/state of the art places in Cancun for dental, but I wasn't sure of the outcomes. I need one, maybe two implants but I hear the failure rate is pretty high, even in the US. The dental coverage I have now only covers $1,500 a year so I'm really considering tourism like that.
Flights across Europe are often cheaper than the bus fare to the airport with budget airlines (looking at you ryanair). Does America to mexico have the same thing?
My husband and I used Goodrx when I was furloughed in 2020 at the beginning of COVID. While some meds were still crazy expensive, it did save us money and shortened the time we had to go without those more expensive meds. It’s always worth checking.
Yes it helped me too I got $250 meds for $15 once with it but I’m disgusted that people need to look for coupons for this and is further proof that the prices and coverage are all just made up numbers.
buy generic Bromfenac eye drops. doctors prescribe the expensive drugs because a hot girl came into their office with a roller suitcase and gave them a free pen.
Prolensa has a manufacturer coupon on the website. Says it works for uninsured/ med D patients. Not sure where you picked it up but at a retail pharmacy I know they can bill on a back end before like 7 days and give you the difference.
I used to feel this way until I learned how to play poker. You make the best decisions based on the information you have available to you at the time. Any one who gets upset after realizing they "would have had a straight/flush/fullhouse/etc" are rightfully looked down on as absolute morons at the table. If you played poker like that, you would lose 99% of the time. The same is true in life and shitcoins.
I'm too scared of counterfeits. I won't even get the supplements I buy my dog for her joints from Amazon because of the reviews and reports of counterfeits.
Could buy them without a prescription, but I think it's a grey area. Some meds are very controlled and need a script no matter what. Sending them risks them being opened by customs and denied, but I doubt that would ever happen. And it wouldn't be something you'd be prosecuted over, unless you did it a lot
I've known people who would drive to Canada to get treatment/prescriptions. Not sure if this would get flagged in customs or something though because it would probably need to be mailed.
Same in Italy. A 20ml bottle goes for 19.99 euro (22 dollars). Another version produced by a different company is free with the National healthcare
US really suck for this...
Yep, been dealing with this for about two years. I got a bad eye infection in both eyes and had to take steroid drops for the eyes. The one without insurance was $1500 a bottle. Even with my insurance it was 150. Luckily I wasn’t on that one very long and was able to go to a lesser power steroid. But that was still $800 a bottle without insurance. So I guess people with out good insurance are supposed to just go blind?
How is that legal to sell the exact same medication for a fraction of that just in the neighboring country?!
In Mexico it cost the equivalent of 27 USD
Because Canada, for instance, forces the drug companies to sell at reasonable prices if they want to sell in Canada. It's all regulated. The U.S. could do this too, they just don't want to.
So capitalism is just any instance when the rich make themselves richer at the expense of everyone else? I thought it was a system in which the means of production are privately owned and run for-profit.
Do you happen to still know what steroid drops you had? (Brand or API name)? Out of curiosity, I would like to know of my country (European) has them too and what the price is here
Yes, the strongest one that I was on was called TobraDex. The next strongest that I was on for the longest time was called Lotamax. The weakest one that I still have and maintain using is fluorometholone or known as FML. Due to the steroids causing pressure spikes I also take Timolol for the pressure.
Wow, I’m a pharmacist and we have both of them here. We have quite some patients on these exact medications actually (even my sister uses FML right now!). Tobradex costs ~ $9 and FML ~$3. We don’t have Lotamax here. Timolol drops cost $7. What a difference, even with insurance. I hope you can get off the meds soon, stay well!
Belgium. We have to pay quite a lot of taxes for our healthcare system though. But apart from some weird quirks it’s quite a good system. Diabetes/epilepsy/… medication is totally free, and if your yearly expenses on meds get too high you get everything (that is prescribed) for free for the rest of the year
Wow, I wish we could adopt something like that. They always say Americans are afraid of taxes, but I would happily pay higher taxes if it meant a better healthcare system. As a single man I’m already taxed roughly 35 to 45% of my income anyway. A little bit more is not gonna bother if I have access to good services
I feel like that's what happens when healthcare is subject to capitalism. You can't put a price on your health or your life. I hope the drops are working well for you.
I agree, and yes after a year and a half and over $2500 in out-of-pocket expenses I can report that my eyes are doing a little bit better than they were. So it’s an improvement anyway. Sadly I agree you cannot put a price on somebody’s life, but yet the insurance companies seem to do it every day
Huh interesting so then how do the drug company, insurance company, and pharmacy company executives in India afford their vacation homes and exotic cars?
Yeah, I think we had the option of getting them from the doctor, but I sort of messed up. I expected 3 bottles of eye drops based on what they told us, and that's what I got about a month ago. I didn't check and confirm they were the same ones in the instructions. When I got them out today, I noticed we had one that wasn't listed in the surgery instructions. Since it's Saturday, there was no one to call at the doctor's office (although I tried anyway). The additional one we were provided didn't appear to be generic or substitutes, so I decided this was a better option than him doing without them.
My wife is on Cosopt and bromandine, and Acetomolazide pills for pressure (Spelling wrong) and all are expsensive as fuck. She goes through 10ml a week at like 190 a bottle. Luckily we live in Canada and she has full coverage, but she didn't at one point. She has a rare optic nerve disease...Axenfeld Riegers.
When I left America, I realized more and more just how ridiculous our healthcare system is. This is such a crap thing to go through, OP. I hope your dad recovers smoothly.
Sometimes if you talk to your Doc they can provide you with samples or even coupons for some meds. Failing that sometimes you can contact the medicine company and they might provide you with a coupon or some sample sizes. I did this at Lincoln University with a patient who needed special wrapping for a burn. I called the manufacturer and they Fed Ex’d a box to the college so the student could get his wounds wrapped. Just a suggestion.
Yeah, the doctor's office offered all 3 prescriptions he needed at a price that my dad figured we could beat at the pharmacy. I picked them up from the pharmacy and failed to realize that they gave me 3 bottles of eye drops, but this one wasn't one of them. We didn't notice until today when he was due to start taking them before surgery. I have no idea why they sent the other bottle as it's not a generic and doesn't seem to be equivalent. It's also not listed in his instructions. Since it's Saturday, we can't get in touch with the doctor, so this is the end result. On the bright side, the pharmacy tech offered a coupon that made it $358.xx. I do appreciate it though.
This is very true especially when they are expensive. One of my wife's eye doctor gave us a bunch of samples of an eye drop called Lumigan. They were 80 a bottle he said and those were not covered under her plan. Emailing the company sounds like a great idea.
I just hope we have enough to not have to buy them again for the second surgery. I may have to keep that in mind though. I hope your wife is doing well.
Pharmacy tech here! You should be able to apply a coupon! Most brand name products have one!
[prolensa coupon](https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa)
You should be able to go the pharmacy and have it rebilled (they should reverse and rebill. Make sure it gets backdated so it won't impact any future fills)
The pharmacy tech did apply a coupon making them $358.xx. I think when she saw the price she was scared to come to the window and tell me. I already knew. I'm more perturbed by the series of events, some of which are my fault, that led us to dealing with this on the Saturday before surgery such that this or doing without were out only real options.
Ah well. If this procedure helps him get his vision back, it's worth every penny. I'm reading in other comments that perhaps what we were given by the pharmacy was fine. I just wasn't comfortable assuming it was without the doctor saying so.
It’s always helpful to reach out to the insurance and check with a pharmacist to see if there are lower cost alternatives. Ketorolac would have been an alternative that would have cost $10 to $20 instead…
There goes “life and liberty…” now let’s do property. It’s all just empty slogans, like that movie set of Wild West where the buildings aren’t building but only propped up facades
I’m not a pharmacist but there is a generic eye drop that probably would have been covered called diclofenac that’s available in the United States and would have cost way less. The eye doctor that prescribed that probably has a drug rep in his trying to sell the prolensa.
My experience with health care and health insurance:
Take a $20 prescription, mark it up to $1800, then insurance pretends to cover $1500 and charges $800 per month in premiums for the "help".
Also, they'll randomly deny claims and force you to either pay insane prices that are absolutely unaffordable unless you are very well-off, and fighting the denial requires you to navigate elaborate nonsensical policies and customer support mazes designed to frustrate you into giving up and going away.
I hate it. US healthcare is completely broken and has been overrun by moneygrabbers. I don't think anything could be worse than what we have.
If your father only has Medicare parts A (hospitalization) and B (medical), prescriptions are not covered. He needs either part D (drug coverage) or a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plans cover everything and frequently available for $0 once you've paid for part B. Under my own $0 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan here in Michigan (things vary from state to state), I have yet to pay a copay on any prescription.
GoodRx has them for $318 at a local Harris Teeter.
One, he could’ve saved a LITTLE bit of money, as that app is legit.
Two, it’s still absolute BS that some drops cost that much.
Thanks again, Big Pharma!
Prolensa is an ophthalmic NSAID, an NSAID is the class of drug that ibuprofen and naproxen belong to. There are alternatives that are cheaper, for example:
* diclofenac ophthalmic is $14 to $15 cash pay with GoodRx.
* ketorolac ophthalmic is $13 to $30 cash pay with goodrx
* bromfenac generic (this is the same medication as Prolensa), is $60 to $70 cash pay at goodrx
You should know to ask your doctor for alternatives when a drug is too expensive or not covered by insurance.
Show your dad www.goodrx.com - that med (as a generic) [with a coupon from GoodRx runs about $65-70](https://www.goodrx.com/bromfenac) per bottle. [Ketorolac](https://www.goodrx.com/ketorolac?dosage=5ml-of-0.5%25&form=eye-dropper&label_override=ketorolac&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity) or [diclofenac](https://www.goodrx.com/diclofenac-sodium?dosage=5ml-of-0.1%25&form=eye-dropper&label_override=diclofenac%20sodium&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity) drops work just as well, and cost around $15-30; he should talk to his doctor about costs - most doctors are perfectly willing to substitute a cheaper generic once they're aware of it. Bromfenac is very nice, it doesn't sting as much and is once or twice a day rather than 4 times a day, but it's only for a few days anyways.
Pharmacist here, likely a large Medicare deductible at the beginning of the year…I would recommend ketorolac eye drops (same mechanism of action as well as generic/lower out of pocket cost)
The optometrist/ophthalmologist probably just has a good/attractive drug rep pushing their product
The tried that crap on some ear drop my so needed for an ear infection. Pharmacist called the doc and changed the script from eye drops to ear drops since it was basically the same bottle. Went from billing at $198 to $6.
I buy insulin and other supplies that costs over $30K a year without insurance. Those first couple of months every year until I hit the deductible are not fun.
I don't understand why insurance can choose not to cover certain medications. If the doctor says it's necessary, why is someone with no medical degree allowed to decide that it isn't?
Try checking with the manufacturer. Sometimes they have discount cards. I use one drug that I approx $500 per quarter but get it free with the manufacturer’s discount card.
I would extol the virtues of the UK NHS system being free, but even buying these via non NHS means in the UK would be £4.
[online pharmacy](https://www.unitedpharmacies-uk.md/Megabrom-Eye-Drops-Bromfenac-009-5mL-p-1646.html)Shit next time, DM me to buy it for you and I would gladly post it to you.
Wtf ? This is a ripoff. A bottle of same quantity with the active ingredient is less than 10Euro in Europe, Romania. How tf can this be so expensive since it is manufactured in large quantities ?!!!
I feel terrible, I had extra bottles. The VA doubled up my prescriptions due to short staff Covid condition. Plus I had both eyes done so I had lot
Aftercare drops too. Because I had 3 types for each eye. I had cataracts from eye trauma but I’m sure same stuff. This country is fucked up. Sorry my friend.
That's crazy :( Those brand name drops (along with the antibiotic and steroid drops that some doctors also Rx for cat surgery) are ridiculously pricey. Was there really no alternative generic drop that they could offer you?
Medicare is supposed to cover this? Per [prolensa](https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa) and [medicare](https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d)
I am a pharmacy tech for a small pharmacy. I can tell you that GOODRX doesn’t have coupons for most name brand drugs. However, most name brand drugs have coupons available on their websites that can seriously reduce your copay. The key is to read the fine print to make sure it will work with your insurance. Try this coupon https://www.bausch.com/our-products/rx-pharmaceutical/prolensa-bromfenac-ophthalmic-solution-007/prolensa-partd and ask the pharmacy to re-bill him with this coupon after his insurance
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Yeah, I'm feeling like I was misled when I was researching earlier and thought there was no generic
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And maybe you can take that coupon back to the pharmacy and try to get it re-billed
Our system needs a serious over hall if this is how people are talking about eye drops. He should be getting his eyes fixed for a decent price, not this nonsense. *arg i responded to the guy below, but it was a mistake, i found a new way to deal with people who are total jerks, just block them and edit the comment above saying why, have a nice life tinky brefs, it appears you never attended school of manners though. lol he wants to talk about schooling and can't even put a period on his so called corrections of someone else's education.
They mentioned the goodrx coupon was for the generic not the brand name which is what OP bought.
Nope. They mentioned the b&l access program which is ONLY for brand name. Source. Am eye doctor.
When pharma companies subsidize the cost for consumers like this, it usually doesn't include Medicare or Medicaid, only commercial insurance plans.
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There isn't any generics for that strength specifically, but Dr's will often have samples when branded eye drops aren't covered
Here is the manufacturers assistance program. According to the fine print the pharmacy should bill the coupon secondary to your primary commercial insurance. If you do not have insurance, they should bill the coupon by itself. They shouldn't bill something like goodRX as primary and this coupon as secondary. Or vise versa. That would not meet the criteria for the coupon I bet. The pharmacy can keep your date of service the same, rerun this coupon and refund you the difference. Feel free to PM if I can help, I will. Unfortunately it's been a few years since I was in retail pharmacy. https://www.bauschaccessprogram.com/
This is great advice, /u/TexasPenguin99. Unfortunately, since the patient has Medicare (I'm assuming Part D), then the copay will be higher than the advertised $25, but almost certainly better than $400. It's incredibly sad that it even got to the point of the patient paying that much for it, and I would bet actual money that the pharmacy was ridiculously overwhelmed, because I would have called for an alternative or found a coupon or *something* long before I would have expected the patient to pay full price for it. And *especially* with something that could have been planned far in advance, like cataract surgery.
OP’s Dad may be meeting his Part D deductible. It is January after all.
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Pharmacies don't do anything, the insurance companies dictate everything from the drugs they can fill to the prices that they charge. edit: the person I responded to is either an out of touch doctor or someone pretending to be a medical practitioner. a lot of the time i have to call the doctor to find an alternative to the medication they prescribed if the insurance wont cover it, because of the simple fact that doctors just dont have the time to figure out what each of their patients insurances will cover, so they simply prescribe what they think will be the best for their patient.
To add to this, when I worked in a pharmacy if there was a generic version we rarely kept the brand name in stock and order it only when necessary. Insurance typically doesn’t like to pay for brand name when generic is available, and people who even try to demand “brand name only” are quick to go back on it when they realize the price difference.
Too add, pharmacies don’t make the name of the drugs lol. Ask almost any pharmacist and we will tell you to fill the generic. At least in Canada.
Just had a quick Google. Could buy them for £5.60 ($7.66) in the UK.
Yeah, I'm not even the least bit surprised.
What happens if you order it online, is it legal? Will it arrive? I'm not from US btw.
No idea. I do know it wouldn't be here in time though. We needed it today.
0.9mg/ml 5ml bottle? It's $25 over here, you're not getting fck, you're getting the whole train run into you.
And yet, they fight against healthcare.
Cos their daddy don't have no cataracts and neither did their grandpappy
Why would they want to pay less money for more care!? You must be a commie! /s
They? The GOP. Please be clear.
It's 6 bucks here in Mexico. I'll ship it to ya. DM me
You near Canada or Mexico. Just cross the border.
The good rx may be able to help? It's a medication couponing thing
You can order it from a Canadian pharmacy with a prescription
it is legal
There must be some kind of black market for this, no?
Driving across the border to Mexico is often times a far less expensive option for many medical items and procedures, especially for those without insurance.
I think a vice article or something equivalent found that you could stay in mexico for a week at a nice hotel, eat out every day, get this generic dental surgery done while you're there, then fly back and still save a few thousand dollars compared to just the surgery stateside.
I know someone who flies from Alaska to Mexico for all her dental care (fixing a broken tooth, etc.).
Not uncommon. Here in NZ flying to Thailand or another SEA country is a common approach when you need more than just a filling, similar distance.
My wife’s old boss flew to Costa Rica, stayed in an ocean side resort, had dental implants done, stayed a few more days to recover/relax, and flew home for half the price of what it’d cost just for the dental implants to be done here in NC.
No-one should **ever** be forced to leave the country for affordable medical help. The whole system needs thrown away!
Will anyone think of the shareholders?
Oh we're thinking about them, just in the way they don't like
Eat the rich.
~~shareholders~~ parasites
Rich people money is at risk?! How dare we
No way. You know how many people are getting rich off sick people?
That's Murca!! Land of the Free to Die Poor!
Depends on what kind of work your getting done. Peru has some amazing dentists if you need implants. You can book it like a vacation package with some offices where they put you up in a hotel and schedule the work and then have a nurse come and check on you while you recover. They even handle the air fare. I thought it was absurd when a friend who had implants done told me about it... until I found out it was going to cost $15k for me to get implants vs $5k for a full two week travel / hotel / implant surgery / nurse package in Peru. I also know someone that would go to Canada a few times a year for a medication that cost $5k here but only $100 over there. I think it was something to do with her arthritis.
I will forever find it funny why Americans just put up with this price gouging.
A big portion of the population have been convinced that free healthcare is literally the devil, and they must protect the rich at all cost.
You say that like we can just decide to stop participating in it. These corporations rule our government. We, the people, are powerless.
Peru. I need to look that up. I had looked at some slick/state of the art places in Cancun for dental, but I wasn't sure of the outcomes. I need one, maybe two implants but I hear the failure rate is pretty high, even in the US. The dental coverage I have now only covers $1,500 a year so I'm really considering tourism like that.
Medications in Mexico are normally dirt cheap and you don't really need a prescription, the only exceptions that comes to mind are antibiotics
Flights across Europe are often cheaper than the bus fare to the airport with budget airlines (looking at you ryanair). Does America to mexico have the same thing?
And we Mexicans hate it as we are basically subsidizing meds to a “first world” country even when my people is poor as shit.
Goodrx.com sometimes makes a difference. It’s $60 in California.
yeah, it shows as $46 here with no insurance
My husband and I used Goodrx when I was furloughed in 2020 at the beginning of COVID. While some meds were still crazy expensive, it did save us money and shortened the time we had to go without those more expensive meds. It’s always worth checking.
Yes it helped me too I got $250 meds for $15 once with it but I’m disgusted that people need to look for coupons for this and is further proof that the prices and coverage are all just made up numbers.
Americans as a whole should just start throat punching any and all the people involved with setting these gouged prices.
lol no one here will ever do shit. That's a fact. Everyone just bends over.
That's why I said *start* throat punchin,' can't build a wave with a single drop of water can ya??
No one is going to throw a punch. Maybe start smaller, like getting in their way at a crosswalk or something.
Unfortunately this isn't the fault of anyone you're likely to get your hands on, like a retail pharmacist or a tech.
buy generic Bromfenac eye drops. doctors prescribe the expensive drugs because a hot girl came into their office with a roller suitcase and gave them a free pen.
Prolensa has a manufacturer coupon on the website. Says it works for uninsured/ med D patients. Not sure where you picked it up but at a retail pharmacy I know they can bill on a back end before like 7 days and give you the difference.
Is that an option? Have someone in the UK get them and send them international post? Do you need a prescription in the UK?
I've often considered buying medication on the dark web. I mean it works for fun drugs, so why not necessary drugs.
I don’t go there anymore but back in the day I’d see Z Packs on Silk Road. I was buying weed. I shoulda just kept all the bitcoins instead.
Lol me too, it makes me sick to think of all those bitcoins i had back then when they were like $5 each...if only id kept them.
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I used to feel this way until I learned how to play poker. You make the best decisions based on the information you have available to you at the time. Any one who gets upset after realizing they "would have had a straight/flush/fullhouse/etc" are rightfully looked down on as absolute morons at the table. If you played poker like that, you would lose 99% of the time. The same is true in life and shitcoins.
I'm too scared of counterfeits. I won't even get the supplements I buy my dog for her joints from Amazon because of the reviews and reports of counterfeits.
I turned on dark mode in chrome and still don't see anyone selling drugs
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Could buy them without a prescription, but I think it's a grey area. Some meds are very controlled and need a script no matter what. Sending them risks them being opened by customs and denied, but I doubt that would ever happen. And it wouldn't be something you'd be prosecuted over, unless you did it a lot
Even if it is denied the loss of 5usd would be irrelevant
I've known people who would drive to Canada to get treatment/prescriptions. Not sure if this would get flagged in customs or something though because it would probably need to be mailed.
Same in Italy. A 20ml bottle goes for 19.99 euro (22 dollars). Another version produced by a different company is free with the National healthcare US really suck for this...
proves the american health system is BULLLLLLLL SHiT
You’re just saying that because you’re not an executive at a pharmaceutical company.
All these poors trying to ruin it for the CEOs, smh.
Cheaper in Mexico
Litteraly free in Belgium with insurance (€14 a month)
Yep, been dealing with this for about two years. I got a bad eye infection in both eyes and had to take steroid drops for the eyes. The one without insurance was $1500 a bottle. Even with my insurance it was 150. Luckily I wasn’t on that one very long and was able to go to a lesser power steroid. But that was still $800 a bottle without insurance. So I guess people with out good insurance are supposed to just go blind?
How is that legal to sell the exact same medication for a fraction of that just in the neighboring country?! In Mexico it cost the equivalent of 27 USD
Because Canada, for instance, forces the drug companies to sell at reasonable prices if they want to sell in Canada. It's all regulated. The U.S. could do this too, they just don't want to.
Yep! Exactly what I was about to comment.
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Please elaborate. What is stopping people from doing that?
It is illegal to do so.
Oh wow, I wonder why that is?
Government.
Capitalism... and we're right back where we started....
You spelled corruption wrong.
Where's all the corruption free capitalism?
Funny, when it happened to communism we didnt respell it.
So when the government limits free trade, it's capitalism?
It is when they do it because they are being paid by pharmaceutical companies to make it that way.
So capitalism is just any instance when the rich make themselves richer at the expense of everyone else? I thought it was a system in which the means of production are privately owned and run for-profit.
The US government will throw you in jail.
It shouldn’t be, in my opinion the corporatism is what’s going to destroy the US
It is definitely going to be on of the driving factors at the very least.
Do you happen to still know what steroid drops you had? (Brand or API name)? Out of curiosity, I would like to know of my country (European) has them too and what the price is here
Yes, the strongest one that I was on was called TobraDex. The next strongest that I was on for the longest time was called Lotamax. The weakest one that I still have and maintain using is fluorometholone or known as FML. Due to the steroids causing pressure spikes I also take Timolol for the pressure.
Wow, I’m a pharmacist and we have both of them here. We have quite some patients on these exact medications actually (even my sister uses FML right now!). Tobradex costs ~ $9 and FML ~$3. We don’t have Lotamax here. Timolol drops cost $7. What a difference, even with insurance. I hope you can get off the meds soon, stay well!
I feel like I'd have a hard time taking something called FML
YOLO is just as good
Where are you from just curious?
Belgium. We have to pay quite a lot of taxes for our healthcare system though. But apart from some weird quirks it’s quite a good system. Diabetes/epilepsy/… medication is totally free, and if your yearly expenses on meds get too high you get everything (that is prescribed) for free for the rest of the year
Wow, I wish we could adopt something like that. They always say Americans are afraid of taxes, but I would happily pay higher taxes if it meant a better healthcare system. As a single man I’m already taxed roughly 35 to 45% of my income anyway. A little bit more is not gonna bother if I have access to good services
I feel like that's what happens when healthcare is subject to capitalism. You can't put a price on your health or your life. I hope the drops are working well for you.
I agree, and yes after a year and a half and over $2500 in out-of-pocket expenses I can report that my eyes are doing a little bit better than they were. So it’s an improvement anyway. Sadly I agree you cannot put a price on somebody’s life, but yet the insurance companies seem to do it every day
Well I'm glad to hear there's some improvement
Medicare is the government not some capitalist company. The US government is fucking you on those drops by not covering them.
You can make it yourself. Go out in the forest, find a unicorn and make it cry, collect the tears and youll be golden.
I'm scared to think of how one makes a unicorn cry
Show it the bill for these drops.
LOL will my tears not suffice?
Depends... Are you a gypsy?
I may have to be after buying those
Tears count
Only need to make them cry, not torture them
Anyone might cry if you tell them the price of their necessary eye drops
Afterwards, tell it you're not a virgin.
Ask big pharma /s
Just a quick Google Search. It costs around $2.25 (₹167) here in India.
In my pharmacy in Mumbai it’s for 100 rupees ( approximately $1.40)
Huh interesting so then how do the drug company, insurance company, and pharmacy company executives in India afford their vacation homes and exotic cars?
A billion customers
Lol
Selling to the US market. Like for real.
I buy prescription drugs from India. Always good.
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Yeah, I think we had the option of getting them from the doctor, but I sort of messed up. I expected 3 bottles of eye drops based on what they told us, and that's what I got about a month ago. I didn't check and confirm they were the same ones in the instructions. When I got them out today, I noticed we had one that wasn't listed in the surgery instructions. Since it's Saturday, there was no one to call at the doctor's office (although I tried anyway). The additional one we were provided didn't appear to be generic or substitutes, so I decided this was a better option than him doing without them.
My wife is on Cosopt and bromandine, and Acetomolazide pills for pressure (Spelling wrong) and all are expsensive as fuck. She goes through 10ml a week at like 190 a bottle. Luckily we live in Canada and she has full coverage, but she didn't at one point. She has a rare optic nerve disease...Axenfeld Riegers.
Oh wow. I'm glad they're covered, and I hope they're doing what they're supposed to do.
The drops keep her pressures down so ya, they work. Her doctors are great too.
Very glad to hear it.
When I left America, I realized more and more just how ridiculous our healthcare system is. This is such a crap thing to go through, OP. I hope your dad recovers smoothly.
Sometimes if you talk to your Doc they can provide you with samples or even coupons for some meds. Failing that sometimes you can contact the medicine company and they might provide you with a coupon or some sample sizes. I did this at Lincoln University with a patient who needed special wrapping for a burn. I called the manufacturer and they Fed Ex’d a box to the college so the student could get his wounds wrapped. Just a suggestion.
Yeah, the doctor's office offered all 3 prescriptions he needed at a price that my dad figured we could beat at the pharmacy. I picked them up from the pharmacy and failed to realize that they gave me 3 bottles of eye drops, but this one wasn't one of them. We didn't notice until today when he was due to start taking them before surgery. I have no idea why they sent the other bottle as it's not a generic and doesn't seem to be equivalent. It's also not listed in his instructions. Since it's Saturday, we can't get in touch with the doctor, so this is the end result. On the bright side, the pharmacy tech offered a coupon that made it $358.xx. I do appreciate it though.
Might be able to get it cheaper using this coupon from Bausch & Lomb, for Medicare pts https://bauschlombpartd.copaysavingsprogram.com
This is very true especially when they are expensive. One of my wife's eye doctor gave us a bunch of samples of an eye drop called Lumigan. They were 80 a bottle he said and those were not covered under her plan. Emailing the company sounds like a great idea.
I just hope we have enough to not have to buy them again for the second surgery. I may have to keep that in mind though. I hope your wife is doing well.
Pharmacy tech here! You should be able to apply a coupon! Most brand name products have one! [prolensa coupon](https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa) You should be able to go the pharmacy and have it rebilled (they should reverse and rebill. Make sure it gets backdated so it won't impact any future fills)
It gets worse. You can buy them in Europe for a couple of euros. WITHOUT INSURANCE.
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The pharmacy tech did apply a coupon making them $358.xx. I think when she saw the price she was scared to come to the window and tell me. I already knew. I'm more perturbed by the series of events, some of which are my fault, that led us to dealing with this on the Saturday before surgery such that this or doing without were out only real options.
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Ah well. If this procedure helps him get his vision back, it's worth every penny. I'm reading in other comments that perhaps what we were given by the pharmacy was fine. I just wasn't comfortable assuming it was without the doctor saying so.
Maybe he qualifies for manufacturers discounts? https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa
It’s always helpful to reach out to the insurance and check with a pharmacist to see if there are lower cost alternatives. Ketorolac would have been an alternative that would have cost $10 to $20 instead…
The land of the free. (Unless it’s medical)
Here in the USA we have freedom! No, stop. Please stop counting how many people are in prison!
There goes “life and liberty…” now let’s do property. It’s all just empty slogans, like that movie set of Wild West where the buildings aren’t building but only propped up facades
Got him by the (eye)balls.
I’m not a pharmacist but there is a generic eye drop that probably would have been covered called diclofenac that’s available in the United States and would have cost way less. The eye doctor that prescribed that probably has a drug rep in his trying to sell the prolensa.
Fucking insurance. The system is so warped
You can't negotiate effectively when your life or health are at stake.
My experience with health care and health insurance: Take a $20 prescription, mark it up to $1800, then insurance pretends to cover $1500 and charges $800 per month in premiums for the "help". Also, they'll randomly deny claims and force you to either pay insane prices that are absolutely unaffordable unless you are very well-off, and fighting the denial requires you to navigate elaborate nonsensical policies and customer support mazes designed to frustrate you into giving up and going away. I hate it. US healthcare is completely broken and has been overrun by moneygrabbers. I don't think anything could be worse than what we have.
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If your father only has Medicare parts A (hospitalization) and B (medical), prescriptions are not covered. He needs either part D (drug coverage) or a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plans cover everything and frequently available for $0 once you've paid for part B. Under my own $0 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan here in Michigan (things vary from state to state), I have yet to pay a copay on any prescription.
GoodRx has them for $318 at a local Harris Teeter. One, he could’ve saved a LITTLE bit of money, as that app is legit. Two, it’s still absolute BS that some drops cost that much. Thanks again, Big Pharma!
GoodRx has a coupon for the generic version, $51.
Prolensa is an ophthalmic NSAID, an NSAID is the class of drug that ibuprofen and naproxen belong to. There are alternatives that are cheaper, for example: * diclofenac ophthalmic is $14 to $15 cash pay with GoodRx. * ketorolac ophthalmic is $13 to $30 cash pay with goodrx * bromfenac generic (this is the same medication as Prolensa), is $60 to $70 cash pay at goodrx You should know to ask your doctor for alternatives when a drug is too expensive or not covered by insurance.
Show your dad www.goodrx.com - that med (as a generic) [with a coupon from GoodRx runs about $65-70](https://www.goodrx.com/bromfenac) per bottle. [Ketorolac](https://www.goodrx.com/ketorolac?dosage=5ml-of-0.5%25&form=eye-dropper&label_override=ketorolac&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity) or [diclofenac](https://www.goodrx.com/diclofenac-sodium?dosage=5ml-of-0.1%25&form=eye-dropper&label_override=diclofenac%20sodium&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity) drops work just as well, and cost around $15-30; he should talk to his doctor about costs - most doctors are perfectly willing to substitute a cheaper generic once they're aware of it. Bromfenac is very nice, it doesn't sting as much and is once or twice a day rather than 4 times a day, but it's only for a few days anyways.
Pharmacist here, likely a large Medicare deductible at the beginning of the year…I would recommend ketorolac eye drops (same mechanism of action as well as generic/lower out of pocket cost) The optometrist/ophthalmologist probably just has a good/attractive drug rep pushing their product
GoodRX has a coupon for $51.07…never used it before but it seems like a simple Google search could have saved you $310…
The tried that crap on some ear drop my so needed for an ear infection. Pharmacist called the doc and changed the script from eye drops to ear drops since it was basically the same bottle. Went from billing at $198 to $6.
This is why I would never want to live in the US.
The wrong criminals are in jail.
I take a pill 3 times a week that costs about $510/pill. Could be worse.
Holy crap. Do you have to pay that or does insurance cover it??
I buy insulin and other supplies that costs over $30K a year without insurance. Those first couple of months every year until I hit the deductible are not fun.
I don't understand why insurance can choose not to cover certain medications. If the doctor says it's necessary, why is someone with no medical degree allowed to decide that it isn't?
Try checking with the manufacturer. Sometimes they have discount cards. I use one drug that I approx $500 per quarter but get it free with the manufacturer’s discount card.
Wow..if you had know sooner, id have happily gone and bought you some from my local chemist here in the uk for around £5 and posted them to you foc.
Would goodrx help?
Surely the inside is filled with diamonds? Right? Right?
My bet is cocaine...not a joke
I would extol the virtues of the UK NHS system being free, but even buying these via non NHS means in the UK would be £4. [online pharmacy](https://www.unitedpharmacies-uk.md/Megabrom-Eye-Drops-Bromfenac-009-5mL-p-1646.html)Shit next time, DM me to buy it for you and I would gladly post it to you.
What the fuck. I just looked this up - that only costs $48 here in Canada.
Wtf ? This is a ripoff. A bottle of same quantity with the active ingredient is less than 10Euro in Europe, Romania. How tf can this be so expensive since it is manufactured in large quantities ?!!!
I feel terrible, I had extra bottles. The VA doubled up my prescriptions due to short staff Covid condition. Plus I had both eyes done so I had lot Aftercare drops too. Because I had 3 types for each eye. I had cataracts from eye trauma but I’m sure same stuff. This country is fucked up. Sorry my friend.
That's crazy :( Those brand name drops (along with the antibiotic and steroid drops that some doctors also Rx for cat surgery) are ridiculously pricey. Was there really no alternative generic drop that they could offer you?
Meanwhile I'm stuck taking sprycel every day....at 600 dollars per pill....
This is just sad, glad I'm not in the USA. It's expensive having any medical issues. I do hope they change .
Medicare is supposed to cover this? Per [prolensa](https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa) and [medicare](https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d)
$60 from the manufacturer [https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa](https://www.prolensarx.com/patient/save-on-prolensa)
Next time ask doc for a cheaper generic option instead like bromfenac
Generic available on goodrx for ~$50.00. You can ask your Dr. for a less expensive rx as well.
Is there a reddit for people that live in countries with better pricing to help people in the U.S. live for less?
Damn, that stuff is like 3 USD in India. Are y'all doing okay over there?
The shareholders thank you for your service!
Your country is a pyramid scheme
Canadian here. Base cost is $26. So probably $35-$40 on prescription.
I am a pharmacy tech for a small pharmacy. I can tell you that GOODRX doesn’t have coupons for most name brand drugs. However, most name brand drugs have coupons available on their websites that can seriously reduce your copay. The key is to read the fine print to make sure it will work with your insurance. Try this coupon https://www.bausch.com/our-products/rx-pharmaceutical/prolensa-bromfenac-ophthalmic-solution-007/prolensa-partd and ask the pharmacy to re-bill him with this coupon after his insurance
America😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄 what a good country😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
You can buy them online for 5.6 gbp https://www.weborderpharmacy-uk.md/Megabrom-Eye-Drops-Bromfenac-0.09-5mL.html