What’s the Prescription for Lowering Drug Prices? | Catalina Gorla | TEDxBeaconStreet

[@DanG626]

Excellent presentation and good job explaining the complicated matters in terms I can understand. I’m so upset about ridiculous high drug prices.

[@Pharmacychecker]

Vetted international online pharmacies are just as safe as domestic ones - but a lot cheaper. In many cases, the exact same medicine sold here, such as those you may find at a local Walgreens or CVS, costs 90% less from an international online pharmacy.

[@wildcl0ver]

She missed some details. Yes, most large employers (think 2,000 or more employees) are self-funded - but they don't fund or administer their health plans on their own. They hire actuarial consulting firms to set up and manage the plans for them. It is one of the jobs of these consulting firms to bring these types of member-care situations to the employers' attention. And they do. For a given large company, it's highly likely that someone in the company's HR department is aware of these issues, including making edits to the plan's formulary. Problems arise in that (a) the HR representative may not want to dedicate any significant amount of time or effort to their health plans, or (b) they don't have the power to change anything without the signoff of an executive, and the executives have "better things to worry about."

[@AlanLukazewski]

Thirty-eight years as a professional, insights gained- 30% of healthcare resources in the U.S. is wasteful, meaning unnecessary, inappropriate and harmful to many. Solution- Use best evidence to deliver best outcomes, reduce harm and lower costs. Finally, comparative effectiveness research is being applied to solve the cost-dilemma for employer groups.

[@edshort1138]

I think she said the crux of the problem is two-fold: [1] Drug companies also own pharmacies (if I understood her?); and [2] Neither Medicare / Medicaid nor self-insuring private corporations bother to look at studies that *compare* the effectiveness & side-effects ratings of the drugs they agree to pay for. Yet other modern countries rely heavily on these comparative studies. She does not say why large USA companies do not utilize the data from these comparative studies, despite the desire corporations have to reduce their health care costs. She gives one example that strongly support her argument, but no aggregate or averaged data to indicate whether her one example is typical or extreme. Overall, worth watching.

[@catalinagorla9152]

Dear Ed Short -- thank you for your comment and for watching! I’m very glad to hear you found it worthwhile. I also appreciate your notes as it helps me learn where I can be more clear. To your first point if I may clarify: it’s actually the middlemen -- not the drug companies -- that own pharmacies. Not all, but the 3 largest middlemen who claim 75% of the market do own pharmacies. The reason this is an issue is because employers hire these middlemen to decide which drugs are covered and what we pay for them -- and because they also require most employers to be the exclusive pharmacy in the network for most drugs, then they also get to turn around and sell them to us. So if you make 80% of your revenue from selling drugs, most would want to sell a $95 drug more than an $11 drug. And great point you brought up: why don’t large USA companies use this data despite their aim to reduce costs? In our conversations with these folks, the answer they share is that they thought the middlemen they hired were using this data! We’ve developed tools much like the plot I shared to help employers see the truth. Thanks again for watching!

[@vogiabao99]

You’re right. But those PBMs work in a team with a considerable lobbying budget. No party wants to miss a piece of that cake. And if they didn't grab that money, then they might lose the majority or at least some seats to the competitive party in the next election. We call it the game theory. I do think we should eliminate those middlemen out to cut the premium cost. But the problem is they now too big, too big. We cannot kick them out completely because they're making up a huge piece of the economy, creating a lot of high paying jobs. Though it sucks, there are fewer options we could do. It's too late to kick them out of the process, but we could only restrain their power for now.

[@webflys]

Out of stock = increased prices = greed. This is why so many turn to China for help. I can only imagine how many execution-style deaths would occur to big pharma executives once this is realized by patients and parents of patients who need these meds affordable - not line someone’s pockets. Do yourself a favor and seek other countries for your meds / plenty of reputable manufacturers with full stock.

[@oldman4312]

What little TV I watch I see commercials all day on script drugs. They speak of the good then about problems followed by see your doctor. I have antenna tv and I can see maybe twenty a day. Years ago we stopped all ads on liquor and smoking. We need to stop all advertising on TV and printed matter of script drugs then the money they save can be used to drop the cost of drugs. I saw a commercial about HIV showing two guys kissing. You may not see all this on cable TV and streaming because too many kids might see it.

[@groverfan1389]

Instead of passing laws that would reduce the funding to develop new therapies and crippling the pharmaceutical industry, why can't the Democrats do something about the runaway cost of health insurance that they caused by passing Obamacare? That thing has been nothing but a giveaway to the insurance companies, and the group that it's harmed the most has been the middle class! (DISCLAIMER: I don't work in the pharmaceutical industry).