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Over the weekend, my allergies went on full alert, causing me to stay home from work today. Thanks to the miracle of VPNs, I've gotten some work done, and hope to be at work tomorrow, albeit at lower productivity.
In other news, as previously reported, I have gout. Unfortunately, I have discovered that I am allergic to allopurinol, the cheap drug to treat gout. So I'm on uloric. US TV viewers will remember that's the drug with the wall-to-wall commercials featuring some sad sack carrying a beaker of green stuff.
Well, those commercials aren't free, apparently - uloric costs around $5 / pill, vs. $0.20 / pill for allopurinol. That's over 40 times more expensive. Having said that, I've noted that part of the rapid voice-over at the end of the commercial is the line "if you can't afford, we can help." So I went to the website, and by giving the manufacturer my name and address, I can get the same drug for $1 / pill.
On the one hand, I do feel a bit guilty - I can afford the full price of the drug. On the other hand, there's a certain "let's screw the customer" baked into that pricing structure. Also, libertarian theory tells me that I should do whatever it takes to maximize my personal gain. So, I'm on the reduced cost program.
In other news, as previously reported, I have gout. Unfortunately, I have discovered that I am allergic to allopurinol, the cheap drug to treat gout. So I'm on uloric. US TV viewers will remember that's the drug with the wall-to-wall commercials featuring some sad sack carrying a beaker of green stuff.
Well, those commercials aren't free, apparently - uloric costs around $5 / pill, vs. $0.20 / pill for allopurinol. That's over 40 times more expensive. Having said that, I've noted that part of the rapid voice-over at the end of the commercial is the line "if you can't afford, we can help." So I went to the website, and by giving the manufacturer my name and address, I can get the same drug for $1 / pill.
On the one hand, I do feel a bit guilty - I can afford the full price of the drug. On the other hand, there's a certain "let's screw the customer" baked into that pricing structure. Also, libertarian theory tells me that I should do whatever it takes to maximize my personal gain. So, I'm on the reduced cost program.
