# China Rules The World's Pharmaceutical Industry.



## fmdog44 (Sep 13, 2019)

If you were watching CBS evening news on 9/12 you would have seen the report on how China makes our a majority of the medicines we need.  When asked how this could be the answer was simple "it's cheaper." Not only it is frightening that this is true and China can cut us off at the throat should they choose to do so but equally troubling is the cost when we make the medicines here. I looked in to Humira some time back and the first injection is $1,600 then the next is $1,100 and $500 per month for the remaining ten months. That's $7,600/yr with no guarantee of it working. I recently saw an add for another medicine for the same affliction (psoriasis) and found it's cost for one year is over $15,000/yr. The possibility of China electing to poison our prescriptions was also mentioned in this news piece.


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 13, 2019)

No. China does not make the majority of meds we need. That report was exaggerated and based largely on the quote from a couple of people. The U.S. itself is the largest manufacturer. A huge number of meds are also coming from India and Japan, as well as a number of other countries. China is definitely a large player, and I realize it's larger than we know because the U.S. manufacturers don't have to state that an ingredient comes from China. It is true, from other things I've read that ingredients from China may be tainted. We stopped purchasing items from China a long time ago, especially general health care products and even things like toys or treats for animals made in China. 
    I was diagnosed with a form of cancer and learned, quickly, about how bad the drug pricing is (that we've all read about) in the U.S., in my case, due to patent protection. The full retail price of the med I'm taking is $250,000 a year. The RX is for 21 days at a time, with a week off. The price is $1000 per pill. Even after medicare (plus donut hole) and supplement, it would cost me $16000 a year. Fortunately, I researched and received a grant that covers me for 14 months in total. 
   The reason for stating this is that due to a number of lawsuits, the drug is made in India and a couple of other countries. I contacted pharmacies in those countries, but they cannot ship or sell to non-citizens (part of the contractual agreement winning the lawsuit). Bottom line is that India (which has a good reputation for drug quality) sells the same formula (not generic) for $15 a pill!


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## Liberty (Sep 13, 2019)

Wow!  Sure hope and pray it will work great for you!


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## Judycat (Sep 13, 2019)

My one med is retailed at over $800 for a 30 day supply. I can afford it only because my income is low enough to qualify for Extra Help from the Fed. Then there's the high cost of insulin for diabetics. What are these people supposed to do? Geez.


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## hollydolly (Sep 13, 2019)

Judycat said:


> My one med is retailed at over $800 for a 30 day supply. I can afford it only because my income is low enough to qualify for Extra Help from the Fed. Then there's the high cost of insulin for diabetics. What are these people supposed to do? Geez.


 WoW!! what if your income was above the threshold?..how would you afford $800 a month for just ONE medication?.. what happenes when you need other meds?


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## Judycat (Sep 13, 2019)

My income is fixed right now, but this is what I'm saying, people have to go without meds or food in some cases.


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## Liberty (Sep 13, 2019)

Judycat said:


> My income is fixed right now, but this is what I'm saying, people have to go without meds or food in some cases.


That is so very very sad.  Have heard it before and my heart goes out to these poor folks. God bless them!


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 14, 2019)

Judycat said:


> .... Then there's the high cost of insulin for diabetics. What are these people supposed to do? Geez.


Yeah. Insulin is another pricing insult. The stuff has been around as long as I have and it is another example of companies charging what they feel like.


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 14, 2019)

Judycat said:


> My income is fixed right now, but this is what I'm saying, people have to go without meds or food in some cases.


Have you researched all possibilities? In my case, there are foundations that provide grants for cancer meds. These are private charities (but large), no fed involvement. I'm not poor, but the foundations do not look at what you have in investments. They look at what you are claiming as income which has quite high thresholds. And they will look at your income only --- not household. The foundation supporting me allows ups to $50,000 in income a year just for myself. There are quite a number of these foundations out there, but you have to do your homework.


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## Liberty (Sep 14, 2019)

Got a friend...she doesn't have a high income, but certainly has a lot of savings, due to a settlement from her ex many years ago.  She was prescribed a well known heart medication that was unbelievably expensive.  She complained to her doctor and he got in touch with the manufacturer who cut the price way way down.  Thinking a lot of people just don't know to do that?


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 14, 2019)

Liberty said:


> Got a friend...she doesn't have a high income, but certainly has a lot of savings, due to a settlement from her ex many years ago.  She was prescribed a well known heart medication that was unbelievably expensive.  She complained to her doctor and he got in touch with the manufacturer who cut the price way way down.  Thinking a lot of people just don't know to do that?


Yup. That's what I'm talking about.


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## Judycat (Sep 14, 2019)

Medicare part D helps pay for medications, but still, even the cheaper generic alternatives have increased so much in price it is still a pain in the pocketbook for many retirees. Sometimes the doctor will work with you, give you free samples, or a savings card.


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## GreenSky (Sep 14, 2019)

Judycat said:


> Medicare part D helps pay for medications, but still, even the cheaper generic alternatives have increased so much in price it is still a pain in the pocketbook for many retirees. Sometimes the doctor will work with you, give you free samples, or a savings card.


Or just use a Canadian pharmacy and/or goodrx.com.

Rick


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