The rising cost of prescription drugs has some Utah families going to an "underground network" in order to afford their medication. (IMAGE: KSL Newsradio)
“Being the recipient of so much generosity made me want to help others and help alleviate their stress, because I know how stressful it is.”
The rising cost of prescription drugs has led some Utah families to go to an “underground network” in order to afford their medications.
(Graphic Getty Images, Composite Colby Walker)
More than 75% of new drug patents for new drugs aren’t new. They are old patents that the FDA allows drug makers to take over. Once they get that monopoly, that’s when economists say the lower-cost generics disappear and the price we pay at the pharmacy goes up.
“The scariest part about being a diabetic is walking into the pharmacy and [thinking] how much is this going to cost me this time?”
“How do you go from $4,000 to $10 bucks a month?”
This isn’t a rhetorical question, rather a personal statement of disbelief. All over Utah, everyday people are paying thru the nose for prescription medication they need just to stay alive, but asking a few questions could save you thousands of dollars.
The Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Intermountain Healthcare had spent a majority of the decade consumed by the minutiae of patient care. During that time, he realized that health care providers were operating in an imperfect system, but perhaps more troubling was the corporate and personal greed that was prohibiting any kind of solution.