High Co-Pays Keeping Chronically Ill From Their Meds
Many are waiting years after a diagnosis to fill a first prescription, study finds
Reader Comments
Only split double-strength tablets
The National Center for Policy Analysis was not suggesting patients should take half the dose their physician prescribed. Rather we were pointing out that some medications can be prescribed in double-strength doses and the tablet split in half. Often the savings approaches 50%. I wrote a section on this in my policy report “Shopping for Drugs” http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st293?pg=6
One case study focused on the beta blocker Tenormin, which found that the annual cost could be reduced from more than $500 to about $20 by switching to a generic, bulk buying double-strength doses and splitting them in half. Here is the calculations: http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st293?pg=10
Cutable pills vs cutable doses
Just because pills can be cut doesn't mean that the daily dose can be cut in half without reducing drug action to the level of ineffectiveness.
Some drugs do come into the marketplace with recommended doses set too high, but the most recent data suggest that such dose reductions are possible in less than 1 in 4 drugs.
It's a wrong message for the "National Center for Policy Analysis" to be sending to patients. Rendering a medicine ineffective by cutting its dose in half is a bad bargain.
