Nothing is Free: The Problem with Free Drug Samples

Many altruistic doctors give patient drug samples to uninsured patients; thereby, helping the patient to receive the proper medication and save the patient money. Doctors may not be aware that they are actually causing the cost of prescriptions to rise for the uninsured by having a plethora of prescriptions at hand in the office.

This problem does not affect Medicaid directly, as its common practice for Medicaid patients to receive generic prescriptions.

David P. Miller, M.D., lead researcher and internal medicine physician at Wake Forest Baptist said, that "One possible explanation, Miller said, is that because Medicaid patients rarely receive samples, doctors' prescribing decisions for these patients were based purely on what drug they thought was best and not on what samples happened to be available in the closet."

For the uninsured or those that receive free samples; they can be doing wonderfully on the prescribed drug given to them in sample form. But what happens when the samples at the doctor's office run out? Filling the prescription at the pharmacy would crash their budget and may cause health problems.

Overall, patients need to speak with their doctor about their financial and insurance situations. Doctors can then prescribe patients with low-cost/generic drugs for treatment; instead of what is readily available in the office supply closet.

How do you feel about free samples at the doctor's office? How do you think this will affect Medicare patients?

Sources:
News-Medical.Net
CNN
US News & World Report

Medicare Made Easy

In a latest release, Experion Systems has launched a new edition of their PlanPrescriber tool as reported by MarketWatch. Created by Glen Urban, a Professor at MIT, this new tool gives seniors access to “unbiased advice” for determining their Medicare Insurance plan. It is a free online tool designed to save seniors time, and money, and starts by simply entering a zip code. Those without access to Internet, can also call 877-900-4824. As Ross Blair, Experion Systems CEO, stated:

"The rising costs of prescription drugs is a real burden for seniors on a fixed income. PlanPrescriber allows seniors to switch to the optimal plan based on their individual needs. Seniors can typically save 25% to 50% of their annual prescription drug costs by joining the optimal insurance plan."

Marketing Documents for Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits is Confusing

The Wall Street Journal blog discusses how marketing brochures for Medicare prescription drug plans are doing a bad job of meeting guidelines set forth by the feds in this latest post.

A report published by the inspector general’s office in the Department of Health and Human Services found that 85% of marketing materials did not meet guidelines set out by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Some problems with the documents are that a lot of marketing documents that are produced in conjunction with an insurer and a pharmacy fail to mention that other pharmacies are available. This is required by law. Another problem is that some documents do not include required information on the subsidy that is available to beneficiaries with low incomes.

CDC and Columbia find no link between autism and MMR vaccine

According to this post at the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Columbia University did a study that found that there is no connection between the Measles, Mumps and Rebella vaccine and autism.

The two researchers conducted a study based on:

The measles virus from the vaccine could reproduce in the intestinal tract, leading to inflammation and bowel permeability. That leaky bowel could permit the release of chemicals that would make their way to the nervous system, causing trouble.

When conducting the research, they looked at children with gastrointestinal problems who had autism and children with gastrointestinal problems with no autism. Studies showed there was no difference between the two sets of children.

Satisfied Medicare Providers

In a survey conducted by CMS this year, which was administered to 35,000 randomly selected individuals and organizations including physicians, hospitals, and skilled nursing home facilities, Medicare health care providers are still satisfied with Medicare fee-for-service contractors. As indicated by this article, this shows that

"Medicare health care providers continue to be satisfied by Medicare fee-for-service contractors showing a relatively smooth transition to the new Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs)".

This year the aver score was 4.51 based on a scale from 1 to 6, which is very close to last years score of 4.56. How Medicare contractors dealt with “provider inquires” continued to be the leading sign of satisfaction. This is the third year in a row where this has been the case

Medicare and Medicaid Rise to the Top

The Wall Street Journal blog reports that while the share of Americans that got health insurance through work or bought it on the private market last year declined, the number of Americans insured through Medicaid and Medicare has increased. These are numbers based on the latest report from the US Census Bureau.

This change shows that there is an overall decline in the percentage of Americans who are uninsured, and this goes against recent trends of rising uninsurance rates. See the full report here.

“Billing balance” stirs up controversy

Business Week recently collaborated with the CBS Evening News educate the nation on the nature of “billing balance.” When an insurance company covers less of the medical payments than doctors want them to, they turn to the customer for the rest of the payment. Since patients think that their unpaid bills will turn their credit bad, many automatically pay the bills. This has resulted in patients paying $1 billion more a year in medical bills than they’re supposed to. The California Association believes that 1.76 million policy holders paid $5.28 million more than they were suppose to, including 56% of those who were billed