Dr. van der Linden:
Here are the per pill and per day prices for my medications. This medication
is obtained through the Pharmacy at Kaiser Permanente, supposedly at their
deeply discounted rates as a large purchaser of medications. The comparison
to Belgium is striking. Is there a way to purchase medications from
overseas?
each day
Sinemet cr 25/100 $ .87 4.33
Mirapex 1.5mg 1.72 5.16
Ritalin 20mg cr 1.05 1.05
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Total daily cost $10.55
Prescription drug coverage is an important issue for PWP. The US President
has proposed expanding these benefits for Medicare recipients, but no
protections are available for those under 65 years and not otherwise eligible
for Medicare. While many health plans cover prescription drugs, Kaiser
Health Plan in the Middle Atlantic area has put a cap on coverage for
prescription drugs at $1500 per person for self pay individuals (not groups).
This doesn't even get me half way through the year. Most people in self pay
are conversions from groups under portability laws. But with a chronic
disease, we have little choice but to keep our current plan. I have
unsuccessfully (so far) fought Kaiser on this issue for 1.5 years, <for more
information see: Insurance Curbs, a Prescription for Hardship, David S.
Hilzenrath, Washington Post, Sunday, May 9, 1999; Page H01 -- in the
archives: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/archives/front.htm, or email
me and I will send you a copy> but I am not finished. I have been working
with the Insurance Commissioners in Maryland and DC to try to persuade Kaiser
to be more even handed in its benefit package offerings.
I am interested in hearing other people's experience with their health plan
in terms of cost and coverage of medications.
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Here is a list of the costs of some of the available PD medication in Belgium.
Price is per tablet and converted to US $:
PER TABLET:
Permax 1 mg tablet: $ 1.5
Sinemet 25/250: $ 0.27
Sinemet Control 50/200: $ 0.32
Comtan 200 mg: $ 0.96
Requip 1 mg: $ 0.59
Requip 2 mg: $ 0.83
Requip 5 mg: $ 1.59
Symmetrel 100 mg: $ 0.12
Eldepryl 5 mg: $ 0.85
Mirapex and Tasmar are not available in Belgium; could someone give me a
comparative list of cost per tablet of medication in the US? We do have
dispersible in Belgium, which works very quickly, so especially usefull in
patients with freezing.
Greetings,
Chris van der Linden, MD
St Lucas Hospital Ghent
Movement Disorder Center
Ghent
Belgium
