UnitedHealthcare hits some insulin users in the wallet

[KeepItReal]

Source: Los Angeles Times

The health insurer is raising the price of NovoLog 250% while lowering the price of a similar drug, Humalog. The shift will force those on NovoLog to make difficult choices. It also shows how out of whack the healthcare system is.
...
People with diabetes were notified the other day by insurance giant UnitedHealthcare that one of the most widely prescribed insulins, NovoLog, is switching from the company's Tier 1 drug list to Tier 3.

That means it's moving from the cheapest category of drugs to the most expensive.
...
UnitedHealthcare is thus putting many diabetics in the position of having to choose between paying a significantly higher price for the medication favored by their doctor or accepting the cheaper (and potentially less-effective) alternative preferred by the insurer.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-lazarus-20101207,0,1181721.column

[Newsjock]

1. Death panels strike again

How much of a bonus did some "analyst" at United get for coming up with this one?

[Joe Bacon]

3. You can bet that beancounter is going to have a wonderful Christmas

And diabetics like me are going to get fucked from this thanks to Baucus!

Obama was wrong about change you can believe in, thanks to this price increase, victims stuck in the United Heathcare loansharking scam get royally screwed. Thanks a lot for selling them out to your extortionist pals in PhRMA and the insurance rackets, Mr. President! THANKS FOR NOTHING!!!!!

[Angry Dragon]

2. sarah another death panel for you

arizona and now unitedhealthcare

the list grows, pretty soon we will need sarah to hunt caribou for us so we can eat

[dflprincess]

10. It isn't just UHG - though the Evil Empire is one of the worse

all the for profits are basically hoping we die before they actually have to pay claim and they'll do their best to speed that along.

I've been insured by Cigna the last few years and I will say this, their customer service has improved in the last year since they got all that bad publicity - they've even been paying claims without a lot of hassle. In the past, every little thing turned into a fight with them. It probably won't last but for now I can only say "thank you Wendell Potter".

[Paula Sims]

4. I hate my med company for the same reasons

Calling my doc to tell me to substitute 1 60mg pill for the 2 30mgs I take because the 60 mgs is cheaper. Um, how can I split a 60mg capsule so that I take 30mgs 2x daily?? Then they call me to tell me "we're here for your benefit". I truly HATE this "MEDical COmpany" with the core of my existence.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Generics might be the same with common analgesics

but with name-brand drugs, it doesn't always work that way. I used to be covered under my lady's plan as a domestic partner until I went full-time. Her prescription plan switched me to a generic, and I occasionally got some breakthrough symptoms of my acid reflux.

I got my own coverage, and went for the high-deductable policy, now I buy name-brand from a Canadian pharmacy at a fraction of the cost that my prescription provider charges for generic. Drugs are a huge marketing scam.

[redirish28]

6. The insurance company is putting diabetics in danger. First of all

Doctors aren't always keen on switching drugs on patients NOT only that sometime patients don't always do good on certain meds.


When my doctor switch my insulin my wife remembers I went into diabetic shock. It took time for me to adjusted.

[defendandprotect]

7. k/r

[Hoyt]

8. If one can make it to 2014, you can switch to an insurer that doesn't do this.

A benefit of HCR. Maybe not as good as single payer, but with no pre-existing exclusions and the exchanges, consumers have a chance against changes like United HC is making here.

And, truthfully, even a single payer is going to have to make some choices we ain't gonna like to keep things affordable. I'd rather the government do that than some guy trying to make their bonus.

[TheDebbieDee]

9. The health insurers are just like the airlines.........next week, another

insurer, then another insurer, then another insurer will do the same thing.

[McCamy Taylor]

11. It is all about bulk purchasing. Humalog is also a patent med. The insurer

is getting their Humalog at a discount by agreeing to make it their prefered short acting insulin.

Next year, Novalog will be the low bid and the manufacturer of Humalog will raise a stink.

The two drugs are the same price online.

[FarCenter]

12. Maybe it is a "buy American" initiative, since NovoLog is an import

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554340

Insulin aspart (NovoLog, made by Novo Nordisk) and insulin lispro (Humalog, made by Eli Lilly) are rapid-acting insulin analogs indicated for treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Some institutions do substitute these agents for one another. Their pharmacokinetic parameters as reported in the product information are very similar.<1,2> A number of small clinical trials have been performed comparing their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, which suggest that few meaningful differences exist between the 2 products.

A randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial of patients with type 1 diabetes was performed to determine differences in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of insulin aspart and insulin lispro. Twenty-four subjects were given a single prandial dose of each agent tailored to individual dosing needs. Blood samples drawn before and after insulin administration demonstrated no statistical differences in relative blood glucose concentrations between the 2 agents over a 6-hour period. Similarly, there were no statistical differences in pharmacokinetic parameters, including peak insulin concentrations, insulin area-under-the-curve (AUC) at 4 and 6 hours, and time to peak insulin concentrations. The authors concluded that the 2 agents were equally effective.<[br />

[SoapBox]

13. This Shell-Game-for-Profit thing needs to be outlawed.

...yup...

Death by Dollars.

Thank you America.

[area51]

15. +1

Each day, 273 people die due to lack of health care in the U.S.; that's 100,000 deaths per year.

We need single-payer health care, not a welfare bailout for the serial-killer insurance agencies.

We don't need the GingrichCare of mandated, unregulated, for-profit insurance that is still too expensive, only pays parts of medical bills, denies claims, bankrupts and kills people.

Republinazi '93 plan with a mandate:

"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."

"We will never have real reform until people's health stops being treated as a financial opportunity for corporations."

"Any proposal that sticks with our current dependence on for-profit private insurers ... will not be sustainable. And the new law will not get us to universal coverage ...." -- T.R. Reid, The Healing of America

[Javaman]

14. Yayyyyy! that's my health care provider!!! Weeeee!!!

:cry: