Opinion - Letters to the Editor

POSTED: Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Medications a good place to reform care

In regards to health care reform, why haven't the astronomical markups on prescription medications. from the pharmacies been addressed? I was watching Keith Olbermann the other night and was stunned to hear that a pharmacist friend of his told him that anti-fungal cream costs $60, yet he is forced to sell it for more than $200, and if he didn't he would be fired.

Olbermann also related a story of going to the pharmacy to get his father's medications and the woman ahead of him couldn't get her medications because she had maxed out her Medicare limit for the month. The cost was then $60, there was nothing the pharmacist could do. Olbermann said the woman left with-out medication.

Upon further research I find that pharmacies markup medications by up to 3,000 percent in some cases. They substitute generic drugs because they cost less and with the markup, the more they sell the more they make. Seems to me if we need money to fund a health care reform that would be a good place to look for it.

Deonna Tucker

Maple Falls