Drug Me

Okay, let’s talk about drugs.

I’m not talking about the drugs you might find on the street that are manufactured to make you high – that are also illegal. I’m talking about the drugs that are necessary to keep you healthy and perhaps, even alive. I’m also talking about the medications that are needed to help ease whatever pain affects your body.

Many of these medications are so expensive that many people can’t afford them. They find themselves in a difficult situation. Do you purchase your medication? Buy groceries? Pay your bills? What do you do?

I am a diabetic and until just recently, I was in that situation. Thank God for my insurance and the new insulin bill that our President just signed.

Last year, I was on three different diabetic medications: Metformin, Farxiga, and Janumet. While Metformin was reasonably priced, the total of all three medications cost $505.00 a month. That’s right You read that correctly. FIVE-HUNDRED-FIVE dollars EACH month! Oh, and that is WITH my insurance. I can’t even imagine what it would cost if my insurance hadn’t paid the bulk of this astronomical cost.

And yet, there are others that don’t have the same insurance we have. Can you imagine trying to buy your meds and pay the rent? Especially if you’re like me and your Social Security benefits are less than $1000.00 each month. Heck, with that little SS coming in, I couldn’t even afford an apartment, let alone rent AND meds.

While some who have good insurance and a decent Social Security benefit, $500 might not seem so bad but think about other illnesses. My niece has rheumatoid arthritis, and her medication is $2000 a month. I have a son whose medical bills average closer to $3000 a month. Thank God he qualifies for Medicare (he’s disabled) and gets a reduced price. My niece doesn’t

The point I’m trying to make is the fact that most medications cost about 50 cents to manufacture. Of course, that doesn’t figure in the cost of maintaining the equipment, the salaries for the line workers, or the scientists. What bothers me is the pay the corporate executives give themselves. Why are they making millions, if not billions of dollars every year. Most of the worker-bees might make approximately $1500 a week – if they’re lucky, while the CEOs are making approximately $28MILLION each year. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

At one time, I thought the CEOs of the big pharma companies made about $300-500K a year. Then, I decided to be a bit more accurate and look it up. You could have knocked me over with a feather! Not $2M a year but $28M a year! That’s just not right!

And to think they are walking home with a clear conscience knowing they aren’t doing all that much to actually earn that kind of salary while their little peons are probably struggling to pay their bills. I sincerely doubt that they’re even bothered by the fact that us little guys, especially the ones on Social Security are struggling even harder.

I guess I just get frustrated when I see my medical bills constantly rising while my Medicare payments don’t increase as rapidly. It’s mind boggling to think they expect anyone to pay for the cost of these drugs and have a decent living. Maybe someday, someone might figure this out. But until then, the drug companies have us over a barrel and that barrel is wobbling, overflowing with water, and getting bigger by the day.

Some might say, “if that’s the case why don’t you keep yourself healthy?” Illnesses don’t care how healthy you try to keep yourself. Many illnesses are hereditary and when your number is drawn, you develop the sickness. My son didn’t ask to be an invalid. Yet, due to unforeseen circumstances, he ended up with brain damage and the medical bills are out of this world.

There are also the age-related illnesses that require medical attention. Some are high blood pressure, stenosis, osteoarthritis, and a host of others that are just related to getting old.

Hell, maybe the answer is Soilent Green. If you’ve never seen that movie, see if you can find it on HBO or maybe Netflix or perhaps one of your cable stations. I’m not saying I’m a fan of Soilent Greet but maybe when you think about the high cost of drugs, this is the direction the world is headed.

I’m not sure what the answer is; I just have a lot of questions and a lot of gripes.

All I know for sure is that I’m not alone in my views on the high cost of drugs.