The Health Shopper

A New York Times editorial notes that two recent studies have found that older anti-psychotic drugs-used to treat schizophrenia and other mental health concerns-are just as effective as newer and far more expensive drugs in children ages 8 to 19.  The studies, which looked at Zyprexa, Risperdal and an older generic drug, "found no clear difference… in relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia." There was one major difference, however: Side effects. On average, children taking Zyprexa and Risperdal gained anywhere from eight to 13 pounds along with "changes in cholesterol and insulin levels that can increase the risk of diabetes."

So, to recap: The newer drugs are far more expensive, no more helpful, and more likely to cause detrimental side effects.

Via The Health Care Blog comes news that Take Care Clinics will be offering $25 back to school physicals at their nearly 200 retail clinics. Although Take Care Clinics notes that the back to school physicals should not take the place of a traditional physical, the clinics will certify that students are up to date on immunizations-offering a nice savings opportunity for folks who would prefer not to spend more money on asking their doctors to fill out some paperwork.  

Via Jason Kottke comes news of ultra cheap, over the counter generic drugs available at Amazon. The online retailing giant offers over the counter drugs in bulk at a fraction of the price of Wal-Mart, Target and other large retail stores. For example, according to some numbers from Matt Thompson, regular Benadryl costs $0.22 a pill, the Wal-Mart equivalent costs $0.16 a pill, while the Amazon generic costs just $.02 a pill. 

Medtral, a New Zealand based hospital, is one of the latest entrants into the growing medical tourism market, where officials hope that U.S. consumers will be attracted to low prices despite the country's higher standard of living. According to the Washington Post, patients at the privately owned hospital receive greater privacy and improved care coordination from nurses, along with follow-up care that is often superior to American follow-up care. Although prices are higher than in common medical tourism destinations such as India, hospital officials say that prices are still below costs in Europe and the United States and that they hope patients will be attracted to the higher standard of living and opportunities to see the country.

Over at Freakonomics, health writer Julie Salamon tells the story of a college student who, in response to a high fever, went to an emergency room, was given some Tylenol and charged $1,089.50. Naturally, Salamon points out that $1,000 for a Tylenol seems a bit excessive. In defense of the hospital, prominent doctor and medical blogger Kevin, M.D. argues that the patient wasn't just paying for the Tylenol, but for the doctor's opinion and space in the hospital itself, and that the charge for the space and labor was fair.

Regardless of one's feelings on the matter, it's important to remember that hospitals-particularly emergency room visits-are expensive. As Consumer Reports points out in a new article on managing hospital visits: Save the ER for emergencies. For minor aches and illnesses, it's a better idea to look for an urgent care facility or call the family doctor first.

On the other hand, in a true emergency-such as sudden, severe chest pain, shortness of breath dizzying headaches, major blood loss-get to the hospital as soon as possible.  And don't drive yourself.

Check out the rest of Consumer Reports' advice here.

Via Consumerist comes a list of supermarkets, pharmacies and other retailers who have begun offering customers low-cost generic drugs. At the moment, in addition to Target and Wal-Mart, the following pharmacies offer low-cost-in the neighborhood of $4 for a month's prescription-drugs:

• Safeway
• Kroger
• Fred Meyer
• Giant Foods
• Ralph's
• QFC
• Meijer
• K-Mart
• Walgreens

According to commenters on the website, several other regional chains offer similar programs including:

• Wegman's Stores
• HEB
• Hannaford Supermarkets
• Publix

Something to keep in mind with these programs: Some insurance plans have set co-pays, even for generic drugs, that are actually higher than the out-of-pocket costs on drugs at these stores. If, for example, you have a $10 co-pay for a month's generic drug supply, you'll end up saving by buying the drugs independent of your insurance.

Consumer Reports latest health analysis focuses on the growing trend of banks offering credit cards specifically to cover medical costs. While these credit cards routinely offer no interest financing for up to two years, consumers who do not pay off this debt in full during the teaser period, or miss a payment, can be hit with retroactive interest rates of up to 27.99 percent. Consumer Reports also notes that once consumers have arranged financing through a credit card, they may not be able to qualify for charity care or negotiate lower costs with a hospital or doctor. The organization does note that these cards can be valuable for consumers who pay off their bills within the no-interest time period, however.

Their point-by-point break-down of common medical credit cards is available here.

Add Safeway to the growing list of grocers and retailers who are selling $4 generic medications. According to the Washington Post, Safeway will be offering the prices on a variety of drugs including antibiotics and generic blood pressure medicine, though thus far, the grocer has only rolled out $4 prices on the east coast. The grocery chain Kroger, along with Target and Wal-Mart, all offer some version of $4 generic drug pricing.

The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans announced that many of the state's carriers will provide plan members with tools to estimate out-of-pocket costs before seeking treatment. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, and UnitedHealthCare Wisconsin are among the 17 participating insurance carriers that will be rolling out this program by September 1. Association officials note that providing these estimates is becoming increasingly important as more people move to high deductible plans.

Business Week has a long feature that suggests that many colleges and universities offer inadequate coverage to their students. Many insurance plans have low caps on insurance reimbursements-for example, Connecticut College enrolls its students in an Aetna sponsored plan that caps its reimbursements at $10,000, while other colleges, such as Ross University, have plans with daily reimbursement limits that don't cover hospital expenses. According to a recent report by the General Accounting Office, more than 50 percent of college students have health plans with benefit limits of $30,000 or less.

Business Week also notes that in many instances, college students and their families are spending nearly as much on these inadequate plans as they would spend buying coverage in the individual market.