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.