Four Dollars
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Back in my past life...
For many years, all of our clinics had multiple places where Walmart's $4 prescription list was posted. That's $4 for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day prescription. I recently looked and they still do this, although the list is a little shorter than it used to be.
Still, many drugs are very affordable. Simvastin is $9/30 days. Three different BCP for $9 (although free at Public Health). Many antibiotics are still in that $4 range.
When physicians treat indigent patients and are made constantly aware of budget-friendly drugs, they will use them.
And something else we did, that was outstanding...
Our chief pharmacist worked closely with a local foundation to create the CMAP prescription drug program (google it up if you'd like the details). Danny then got Louisiana's congressional delegation to help him in his efforts to provide affordable maintenance meds. Pharma companies donated some meds and sold us many other meds at ridiculously low prices...We actually bought some drugs for less than what Walmart payed for them!
Bottom line is that we were filling 700 90-day scrips per day, making a huge impact on healthcare for the indigent.
Our hospital has closed, but CMAP does live on, albeit administered by other folks.
The point of this rambling post? We bitch about the cost of healthcare (for good reason), but with just a bit of effort and we can do better.
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Back in my past life...
For many years, all of our clinics had multiple places where Walmart's $4 prescription list was posted. That's $4 for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day prescription. I recently looked and they still do this, although the list is a little shorter than it used to be.
Still, many drugs are very affordable. Simvastin is $9/30 days. Three different BCP for $9 (although free at Public Health). Many antibiotics are still in that $4 range.
When physicians treat indigent patients and are made constantly aware of budget-friendly drugs, they will use them.
And something else we did, that was outstanding...
Our chief pharmacist worked closely with a local foundation to create the CMAP prescription drug program (google it up if you'd like the details). Danny then got Louisiana's congressional delegation to help him in his efforts to provide affordable maintenance meds. Pharma companies donated some meds and sold us many other meds at ridiculously low prices...We actually bought some drugs for less than what Walmart payed for them!
Bottom line is that we were filling 700 90-day scrips per day, making a huge impact on healthcare for the indigent.
Our hospital has closed, but CMAP does live on, albeit administered by other folks.
The point of this rambling post? We bitch about the cost of healthcare (for good reason), but with just a bit of effort and we can do better.
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Thirty day supply of birth control pills. $9 at WallyWorld with a scrip. But Public Health down here will give a female the pills for free, providing you do an exam with a NP.
Some people don't want to take the time at PH, and they find it more convenient for a doc to cut the scrip.
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There is a lot like that that can and is done for indigent patients. Universal coverage addicts never want to acknowledge the huge amount of free or very low cost care that is provided on a daily basis. I think where we get into difficulty is with the working poor.
