"The fight against re-importation of drugs is a fight to continue to charge our uninsureds full price while giving everyone else a rebate.

"People today have to choose between drugs and food. [Big Pharma's Dirty Little Secret, Pfizer VP Peter Rost 12/26/2004] "

Okay, I can't keep it in any longer: I told you so.

But it's not just the drug companies - health care providers are a major part of the problem. A new law here in California has forced hospitals to open their "chargemasters," books showing what they charge.

"An examination of chargemasters at several hospitals shows that pricing strategies fluctuate wildly — on everything from brain scans to painkillers to leeches. Depending on a hospital's pricing method, the charge for the same commodity or service, such as a blood test, can vary by as much as 17-fold from one institution to another.

"At some California hospitals, a tablet of Tylenol, or its generic version, acetaminophen, is billed at $5 or $5.50. Others charge $7, or even $9, for a single pill. One Los Angeles hospital charges just 12 cents a tablet, while at a few facilities it's free. The retail price of brand-name Tylenol is about eight or nine cents each. The generic goes for a nickel or less. [California Hospitals Open Books WSJ 12/27/04 subscription]"

And if you want to do something about the situation, you should tell your Senators and House Representative.

Tell them to kick their drug habit and come up with a system that's good for us.

[Print version (now accelerated so it's useable with dial-up)]