If you’ve noticed that the cost of eye medications increase each year, you’re not alone! A medication that used to cost $4.00 a bottle is now almost $100; $15, now $160. G
enerics can even cost more than brand names! The situation is indeed alarming and getting worse.
Who’s to blame? Insurance companies blame pharmaceutical companies who are making record profits. Pharmaceutical companies blame insurance companies who are also making record profits claiming they are forced to offer expensive medicines to insureds for which they are not adequately reimbursed so they inflate prices of other medicines. They also blame the government for costly regulations.
Unfortunately, your doctor has no control over drug prices. While we try to use the best and lowest cost medication for, each insurance plan is different, so we have no way of knowing the cost of any individual medication. Often the pharmacist doesn’t even know until he enters it into the computer system.
Our best advice is to ask the pharmacist if there is any equivalent medication that would be less expensive and then let us know so that we can prescribe it for you.
Dr. Carlin is a highly experienced, board-certified ophthalmologist and Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology with more than five decades of experience in vision care and surgical innovation. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, he completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Michigan before serving in the United States Navy in Key West, Florida. In 1977, he founded CarlinVision and has since built a longstanding reputation for excellence in LASIK, cataract surgery, refractive procedures, and cosmetic eyelid surgery. Throughout his career, Dr. Carlin has completed more than 11,000 procedures and remains at the forefront of advanced laser and refractive technologies. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and an active member of multiple leading professional organizations, reflecting his enduring commitment to clinical excellence and patient care.