I didn't want to post this on Russ' thread because like everyone else here I wish him a full and rapid recovery, and didn't want to take anything away from that ...
But this caught my eye:

Yes, $12,000 seems like an exorbitant price to pay for any medication, but what most people fail to consider is how many millions of dollars went into years of R&D to develop that medication ... I have a close friend since high school who had a very successful career as a chemist, his last position being the head of international quality control for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer ... He sometimes would tell me of the $$$$$ that were spent developing products, many of which never even made it to market for one reason or another ...
So, what I am saying is, not everything is as simple as it might seem on the surface ...

And look at what some of us pay for our gear ...

Price of meds in the USA is higher than anywhere else in the world. It is simply big pharma price gouging. I buy the same meds overseas now and get them shipped here for a fraction of the price. It has nothing to do with development costs when I can buy them elsewhere for so little.

Tony, much of what you have said has value but there are areas I cannot agree with. About Five years ago my wife was told she had an incurable cancer. The cost of one of her medications was $10,000 a month. I was ready to do what ever we had to do. Humana brought the price down to $3,900 a month. I feel sorry for the people who did not have a health plan to offset the price. Our doctor helped us find a company who has given us a grant – we are receiving the medication without cost.
That leaves me wondering what is going on with the drug companies.
John C.

PS, this is a strong issue with string opinions, it should be brought to the bar. (We have done this before)

Sorry to intrude, but the first comment about the cost of meds was made here.
Stay safe, stay well.

Tony, I do not feel you were intruding. You always add a positive.

John C.

I agree with Tony about R&D costs,which are unknown to the General public. The question is what is the fair length of time to amortize these costs,and how many fingers are in the pie. There are so many layers,from contract managers to insurance companies,that it is a quagmire. If the Federal government had direct bargaining power,knowing their past failures, I wonder if it would yield better results.

Tony, I agree, development costs are warranted. My issue is, on one med, the price with insurance was $299.00 for a 30 day supply. That was one a day. I need 2. That means the rate for 30 days with insurance would have been $600. The good Rx price was $179.00 for 0ne a day...$ 360.00 for 2 pills a day-30 days. In playing with other on-line discount cards, I found one good at Kroger for $25.40. for some reason, 2 a day was $38.60. I filled the other 60 days I needed or a price of $63.00. That means Kroger charged me $100.00 for what Walgreens would have charged about $1100.00 for. Full insurance price, with United Healthcare (run away fast)would have been over $3,000.00.

My point is, what is a fair price? Kroger isn't losing money at $1.00 per pill. Somebody is making lots of money at $11.00 a pill, or 10 times as much.

It's a mess, and somebody is getting very, very rich.

Russ

Wow, do you guys sort of have to pay full price, for all your meds, ie government doesn’t subsidise ?

My hubby’s on 5 medications a day, total cost for the month , $30.

No government subsidies for heathcare in the USA lol You gotta be kidding.

Sounds like we don’t know how lucky we are over here with our medical needs.

Not every single pill is on the subsidised list, but most seem to be. As pensioners we pay $6 per script , whether the pack is worth $10 or $1000 as long as it’s on that list.