Pfizer says it will price Covid treatment Paxlovid at nearly $1,400 for a five-day course, which researchers estimate only costs Pfizer $13 to produce. That's a 10,000%+ markup. Shameful.

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Dr. Lucky Tran :verified: (@luckytran@med-mastodon.com)
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But isnt this just kind of a negotiation price? In reality insurance companies will negotiate and make deals with lower prices, and people will still be covered for the same insurance cost, right?

Disclaimer: Not from US and I dont understand much about your insurance based health care system.

Not sure why so many downvotes. Other than the last statement I don't think you're wrong. Insurance will negotiate with providers and drug manufacturers to get discounts on top of whatever amount they're willing to pay. The result is that patients may get billed for anywhere from the full amount to zero. Regardless it kind of misses the point that US pharma companies are unregulated in their pricing and they are taking advantage of people in life threatening situations.

I almost had a similar issue with my son and a liquid medication that cost $600 for a 3 month supply. Thankfully he was old enough to take pills and the generic pill form was only $12.

Right. So insurance will cover parts of the cost, depending on the insurance. Thanks, I didnt know.