Greed's Grip on Healthcare and Prescription Drug Costs and a Solution for it
Michael Reagan, CBPA
Prescription Drug Savings | Making all FDA-Approved Medications More Affordable for Organizations & Individuals | A Practical, People-First Solution that Makes a Daily Impact in Our Subscribers Lives | Enjoys Traveling!
Greed, an excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves, significantly impacts healthcare costs. ?While ambition can drive innovation, unchecked greed distorts the system, prioritizing profit over patient well-being. This summary explores greed's multifaceted role in escalating healthcare and prescription drug expenses.
Understanding Greed: Greed manifests differently across various perspectives: economically, as a catalyst for productivity but also market instability; philosophically, as a vice opposing virtues like altruism; psychologically, rooted in insecurities and fears; and religiously, as a negative character trait hindering spiritual growth. Its consequences range from individual financial ruin to widespread social unrest and environmental damage.
Greed's Impact on Healthcare: Within the healthcare industry, greed's influence is pervasive. ?Insurance companies, driven by profit maximization, often employ practices that compromise patient care. ?This includes:
Prioritizing cost-cutting: ?Higher premiums, restrictive formularies limiting medication choices, narrow provider networks, and complex administrative processes all prioritize shareholder returns over comprehensive patient care.
Claim denials: ?Unjustified claim denials increase insurance company profits at the expense of patients facing substantial medical debt.
Political lobbying: ?Insurance companies use their influence to block policies that would increase access to affordable healthcare, further protecting their financial interests.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) represent another significant area where greed influences drug costs. ?Their practices contribute to inflated prices through:
Spread pricing: ?PBMs negotiate lower drug prices from manufacturers but retain the difference as profit, increasing costs for patients and payers.
Rebates and spread manipulation: The lack of transparency in rebate negotiations and complex relationships between PBMs, manufacturers, and insurers enables manipulation and profit maximization that doesn't always translate to lower patient costs.
Restrictive formularies: ?PBMs' power to limit medication access favors drugs yielding higher rebates, restricting patient choice and potentially forcing them onto more expensive or less effective treatments.
Lack of transparency: The opaque nature of PBM operations hinders assessment of their practices' true benefit to patients.
The Result: The combined effects of greed in both insurance and PBM practices create a system characterized by:
·?????? Exorbitant healthcare costs: Patients and taxpayers shoulder the burden of inflated prices and inefficient practices.
领英推荐
·?????? Restricted access to care: High costs and restrictive policies limit access to necessary healthcare services and medications.
·?????? Ethical dilemmas: Profit-driven choices often contradict ethical considerations of patient well-being and equitable access to care.
Addressing the problem requires a multi-pronged approach involving increased transparency, stricter regulations, and a shift in focus from profit maximization to patient-centered care. ?Only by acknowledging and addressing the role of greed in the healthcare system can we hope to create a more equitable and affordable healthcare landscape.
So, what’s a solution to replace the greed factor in the cost of prescription drugs?? Well, first, we must consider what our goal is.? Let’s say our goal is to create a program that:
·?????? is non-insured, bypassing insurance restrictions and exclusions???
·?????? offers the best pricing at a local pharmacy for all FDA approved medications
·?????? has no deductibles, copays, pre-authorizations, coupons or step therapy requirements
·?????? has USA-based pharmacy experts to help subscribers get the best prices on high-cost medications
·?????? has direct contracts with pharmacies, providing consistent pricing
·?????? provides access to pharmacies throughout the USA and its territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, US-Virgin Islands and Washington D.C.
·?????? offers a low-cost subscription fee that can easily be embedded any time of the year without interrupting existing relationships
Great News! Our goal has been achieved! The solution: TotalRx.net---available now for employer groups, insurers, health share organizations, chambers of commerce, associations, unions and PEOs for a ridiculously low price per subscriber/month (including dependents).
"In a recent evaluation involving a test group of 62 members, drawn from an overall membership of 52,000, significant findings emerged over a three-month period. Of the members who used?TotalRx.net, members with approved prescriptions achieved an impressive average savings of $763.51 each, with the average savings per prescription amounting to $241.11!"
For details, call or email: 214-850-1069 [email protected]