Good article. My wife and I needed some Simethicone when we were in Portugal last month and definitely noticed it was more expensive there than here in Colorado. Your article explained why.
Keep in mind, if you are a temporary resident or citizen and covered by the national health system then medications on the formulary are very cheap. Many "over the counter meds" in the US fall into this category if filled from a written prescription.
I think I recall reading and/or hearing on more than one occasion that the reasoning behind the higher costs in the US is due to the R&D costs (which, without price controls, the US market bears disproportionately) and without those higher costs there would be much less development of new remedies to mend our ailments … right … pay no attention to the man behind the curtain … please carry on with glibness and cynicism!
Once in the US I urgently needed a drug that you can buy here in Portugal in any farmacy without prescription for 8 euros and for the same medication I had to go to a doctor to prescribe it. In the end it cost me over 300 dollars….unbelievable!
Great article! I appreciate the detail. My husband and I took our US prescriptions into the pharmacy in Porto. What cost over $300 in the US, cost us €24 here.
On the weird side, I take a children’s dosage of one of my meds - small amount. When I looked at what I was given, it was double the dosage. It’s a capsule, so I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to cut it. And another med was only temporary, for two weeks. They handed by a pre-packaged blister box with 3 times the amount of medication (€12). Is it the pharmacy or common practice? Gotta find a Dr….
Good article. My wife and I needed some Simethicone when we were in Portugal last month and definitely noticed it was more expensive there than here in Colorado. Your article explained why.
Keep in mind, if you are a temporary resident or citizen and covered by the national health system then medications on the formulary are very cheap. Many "over the counter meds" in the US fall into this category if filled from a written prescription.
I think I recall reading and/or hearing on more than one occasion that the reasoning behind the higher costs in the US is due to the R&D costs (which, without price controls, the US market bears disproportionately) and without those higher costs there would be much less development of new remedies to mend our ailments … right … pay no attention to the man behind the curtain … please carry on with glibness and cynicism!
Really enjoyed this article. Our system is broken and no one seems interested in fixing it.
The squeaky wheel? Keep trying
Once in the US I urgently needed a drug that you can buy here in Portugal in any farmacy without prescription for 8 euros and for the same medication I had to go to a doctor to prescribe it. In the end it cost me over 300 dollars….unbelievable!
Yikes. I am sorry that happened to you.
Great article! I appreciate the detail. My husband and I took our US prescriptions into the pharmacy in Porto. What cost over $300 in the US, cost us €24 here.
On the weird side, I take a children’s dosage of one of my meds - small amount. When I looked at what I was given, it was double the dosage. It’s a capsule, so I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to cut it. And another med was only temporary, for two weeks. They handed by a pre-packaged blister box with 3 times the amount of medication (€12). Is it the pharmacy or common practice? Gotta find a Dr….
My medication comes in blister packs as well...but the prescribed number is provided. I write about the experience of going to a pharmacy next week.