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I ran across a story in the acclaimed “medical journal”, International Business Times, about how an old PMS medication from the 60s might be an Alzheimer's cure. Considering the source, I don't put a ton of stock in the story but it was interesting enough to look around a little more. That led me first to wikipedia to learn a little more about the drug in question (sounds like it has nasty side effects), which is when I got totally sidetracked:
Mefenamic acid is generic and is available worldwide under many brand names.[5]
In the USA, wholesale price of a week's supply of generic mefenamic acid has been quoted as $426.90 in 2014. Brand-name Ponstel is $571.70.[15] In contrast, in the UK, a weeks supply is £1.66, or £8.17 for branded Ponstan.[16] In the Philippines, 10 tablets of 500 mg generic mefenamic acid cost PHP39.00 (or the equivalent of $0.88USD) as of October 25, 2014.
The numbers in wikipedia may be extreme, but not by much. Looking online, I see that thirty 250mg tablets cost at least $111 at Walmart. In an almost direct reversal of the quantity and price numbers, one hundred 250mg tablets cost $35 from a UK manufacturer, but to get the drug at that price, you must break Federal law.
The rest of my comment would be a long string of expletives which I shall omit.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 15 2016, @02:35AM
WRONG... It's Obama's gift to the Insurance industry.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Bot on Monday August 15 2016, @02:21PM
If you let insurance companies cut deals with the health care industry, so that a broken bone costs $$$ to the uninsured and peanuts to the insurance, you have done away with the free market and all that shit.
A society with politically strong insurance companies is doomed, it devolves in a terrorist byzantine regime where you gotta buy insurance or the lady who cannot handle hot coffee sues you, the urologist that visits you needs insurance in case something goes wrong with your pee pee, your hat has instructions so the hat company is safe if you use it as a frying pan.
Account abandoned.