Cheaner Prescriptions Already Available.For cheaper prescription drugs prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, , you don't have to wait for the drug-discount program proposed last month by President Bush. Bush is targeting seniors -- more than 10 million of them -- with poor or no health insurance coverage for drugs. But people of all ages can find plenty of discounts today if they shop around. Drugs are a major issue for the uninsured, the poorly insured and seniors relying only on Medicare Medicare, national health insurance program in the United States for persons aged 65 and over and the disabled. It was established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and is now run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. . People with moderate incomes often can't afford medications, especially permanent prescriptions for managing chronic illnesses. So they stay sick and get even sicker. Bush hopes to organize seniors into 10 or 12 vast buying pools. The pools would be managed by pharmacy pharmacy, art of compounding and dispensing drugs and medication. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. Until modern times medication was prepared and dispensed by the physician himself. In the 18th cent. benefit managers (PBMs) -- the same people who manage drug benefits for corporate health programs now. PBMs would negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. The seniors in each pool could order by Web or phone, or get the discount through their local pharmacy. How much less would you pay? Maybe 10 percent to 20 percent below the retail price, and sometimes more. But you can get price cuts like this already, through mail and Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the sources, where you'll find many reliable stores selling drugs for 15 percent to 30 percent less than retail. A few states, including New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). , are piloting discount plans for all seniors who lack drug insurance. But drugstores may refuse to join if the discount comes out of their hide. Drug-industry members -- both pharmacists This is a list of notable pharmacists.
The more you learn about discounts and mail order, the more pharmacists in particular are going to be squeezed. But hey, that's capitalism. Drug companies shouldn't be going to court to try to keep your prices up. |
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