Walk-in clinics; Remote monitoring systems for aging-in-place; UnitedHealth to stop paying for Nexium

Many of you may have heard about, read, or even visited one of the new walk-in clinics that are popping up in your local drugstore chain-- namely CVS, Wal-Mart, Walgreen, and Duane Reade. These are not such a bad idea especially if you just need a quick prescription (or even over the counter medication) to get rid of a cold, sore throat, skin rash (eg. poison ivy), insect bite, diarrhea, etc --- ie. mostly non-severe medical conditions. They even provide vaccinations (now you don’t have to wait for a doctor’s appointment to get your child the vaccination s/he still needs for school). Another big plus--- most stores are open 7 days a week. Please note, these walk-in clinics should not replace following up with your physician for a thorough examination. You should still see your doctor regularly so s/he can monitor your progress/health through the years.

For those who need to see their doctors regularly to monitor their medical conditions, such as heart problems, diabetes, etc, usually due to aging, now won’t have to. As a result of the new technologies available, the elderly can now age-in-place (just in time for the aging Baby Boomers, too). The article in the NY Times, Remote Control for Health Care, describes the case of an elderly woman with heart, circulatory, and kidney problems who can age in her home and have longer periods of time without having to be hospitalized for her conditions. This is due to the remote monitoring system she has at home which allows her doctors to take in important daily data (such as blood pressure, etc) and which alerts the doctors to any changes in her conditions.

With the aging Baby Boomers, these remote monitoring systems are very much needed and we believe will become a staple in each home in the years to come. Constant monitoring will allow the doctors to prevent a medical setback (eg. in the case of the elderly woman in the article, the system alerted the doctors of an irregularity which, after speaking with her and performing a CAT scan, revealed she had the beginnings of pneumonia). This will reduce the number of hospital and emergency room vists, thus lowering the cost of overall healthcare. Perhaps the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the insurance companies will help cover the cost of these systems in the near future.

As we all know, most, if not all, brand name prescription drugs are overpriced. Pharmaceutical companies just keep raising the prices because they believe insurance companies, and consumers, will pay for it. What other choice do we all have right?

Wrong.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, UnitedHealth Group has decided to not cover Nexium because “there are less expensive, equally effective options available.” This move may finally force pharmaceutical companies to start lowering the prices of their brand name drugs if they want to compete with the generic drugs. Perhaps other insurance companies will follow suit.

In addition, United Health is expected to save about $150 million. OK, now… this is fine, as long as the savings are passed onto the consumer. Why should only the health insurance companies benefit? Ultimately, it’s the consumer who is paying for the drugs.