It is often said facetiously that the true measure of the success of an advertising campaign is that it compels its target to buy something that is not needed. By this measure, the pharmaceutical industry is the true master of the craft. What else explains the high proportion of the industry’s budget that goes to advertising and marketing spending more for ads than research! But that is a subject for some future blog or comment below. What I will highlight today is the stunningly successful campaign of the industry to induce us to pay $billions for overpriced brand-name drugs when the exact same drug (or one that is as or more safe and effective) is available for a small fraction of the price as a generic product.
What got me going today is the latest of a long series of full page ads in my local newspaper urging me to apply for Pfizer’s $4-CoPay Card that allows me to begin or continue to take brand-name Lipitor® to lower my cholesterol. The CoPay Card promises an out-of-pocket cost to me of from $4 to $50 per month for perhaps one year. The savings depends on whether or not I have prescription drug coverage as part of my health insurance, and how low my co-pays are. As usual, those without any health insurance pay the highest prices. Those of our neighbors do not have anyone negotiating discounts for them are stuck being billed for the full amount of whatever the healthcare industry thinks it can get away with. Continue reading “Not One Public Penny More for Lipitor®”