Yikes. I came on here to do a little research for my blog about pain pill addiction and its treatment. I've read the biggest pile of steaming feces on here, from addicts and RB employees.
About a third of my 100 patients are self-pay. They sacrifice much to be able to stay in treatment. For those who have been doing well, I switched to the generic film as the Suboxone prices went up, and after the tabs were discontinued. Yes, the monoproduct has a higher risk of diversion (but isn't diversion-proof, as we know) but it's a reasonable option for someone doing well in recovery. Were it not for the generic, many people doing very well in recovery would have dropped out of treatment.
All of this is to say that at first, I admired the work RB did for addicts. Not too many drug companies are willing to market a drug for addicts. But now, my goodwill towards RB is wearing very thin. And they have somehow convinced BCBS not to cover a CHEAPER generic. WTF??
And it does grieve me to read addicts putting down the very people who want to help them, saying they gouge people for money, make money off other people's illness...yada yada. Reality check: in this country, healthcare is a business. It's not a right, it's a privildge. I'm not saying I agree, but that's the way it is. Every other person with a medical illness has to pay for mes and treatment. If they don't have insurance or Medicaid they do without or pay out of pocket. Most do without, until they become critically ill, then show up at the hospital ER. I know what I'm talking about - I was a primary care doctor for over ten years until I got sick of it and decided to treat addicts, since they actually get better.