Rant about prescription costs

[Bob Denman]

I can't really complain too much about prescription costs. nojoke
My insulin pump and blood glucose monitoring system supplies run me about $116 per quarter; but they'd cost over 1400 bucks if I was buying them.
And the Missus takes over $5000 worth of immunosuppressants each Month, and they cost us about $170.

 

[wyliec]

I can't really complain too much about prescription costs. nojoke
My insulin pump and blood glucose monitoring system supplies run me about $116 per quarter; but they'd cost over 1400 bucks if I was buying them.
And the Missus takes over $5000 worth of immunosuppressants each Month, and they cost us about $170.

Bob,

I don't mean to take this off track, but to this day I still don't know quite how my daughter could pay for any of he liver transplant in Jan. 2016, and follow up drugs for the rest of her life; she had some minimal paying job at the time. I think NYS had something to do with that, the paying for hospitalization and drugs. My other daughter that gave up part of her liver is well insured.

 

[Bob Denman]

pps: We DO pay $25,000 per year for our health insurance... :shocked:

 

[billybovine]

" FREE ", :roflblack: only to those Canadians who " Don't Pay Any Taxes ".... Canadians are among the Highest taxed people on the planet. Annnnnnnnnd that's how the health care is FREE ..... Do the math ......... Mike :thumbup:

You're right Mike, Canadian healthcare is not free. But since you asked for the math. Here it is.

Note all currency values are in US dollars. Data from the OECD for 2016.

US Data
Total spent on healthcare per person per year is $9,892
Percentage of gross domestic product is 17.5%
Amount spent by government at all levels is $4,860 per person. The rest is out of pocket, health insurance premiums or copay, drugs, etc.

Canadian Data
Total spent on healthcare per person per year is $4,753
Percentage of gross domestic product is 11.5%
Amounts spent by government at all levels is $3,341 per person. The rest is out of pocket.

 

[UtahPete]

pps: We DO pay $25,000 per year for our health insurance... :shocked:

Don't you think that might pose a problem for workers in minimum-wage jobs to be able to afford that? THAT, I think, is the question this thread is all about.

 

[R FUN]

Thank you UTAHPETE for your understanding of our system.I will not answer Mike back as he will never understand, and I did not lie about our costs or system nor did I run down Mr Trump, all I said was he is working on the health care system and is going to fix it.
Have a good day
Roger

 

[UtahPete]

You're right Mike, Canadian healthcare is not free. But since you asked for the math. Here it is.

Note all currency values are in US dollars. Data from the OECD for 2016.

US Data
Total spent on healthcare per person per year is $9,892
Percentage of gross domestic product is 17.5%
Amount spent by government at all levels is $4,860 per person. The rest is out of pocket, health insurance premiums or copay, drugs, etc.

Canadian Data
Total spent on healthcare per person per year is $4,753
Percentage of gross domestic product is 11.5%
Amounts spent by government at all levels is $3,341 per person. The rest is out of pocket.

Whether as a percentage of GDP or as a per capita cost, our health care system is by far the world's most expensive. That has been so for over 20 years now, and just getting worse all the time. It will destroy our economy if we don't do something about it. nojoke

 

[Bob Denman]

Don't you think that might pose a problem for workers in minimum-wage jobs to be able to afford that? THAT, I think, is the question this thread is all about.

Minimum wage jobs should never be a goal for someone's life... Get an education, and work hard: you'll be able to earn MUCH more money. nojoke

We bought the best policy that we could: we both needed the best available coverage possible.
If you plan to work in jobs that won't provide for your needs: prioritize!

 

[UtahPete]

Minimum wage jobs should never be a goal for someone's life... Get an education, and work hard: you'll be able to earn MUCH more money. nojoke

That's the difference between a capitalistic approach and a socialistic one. The assumption that health care is a privilege for those who are 'winners'; the losers have only themselves to blame?

I worked hard (since I was 15), served in the military, got an education (MBA), did everything 'right'. But, I didn't achieve much in the way of economic 'success' (not complaining - it's just the way it is). Life just isn't that simple, Bob. If not for the VA I would have been without health insurance or any way to afford health care (and I'm relatively healthy). The capitalist approach to healthcare is callous and cold-hearted and ultimately will be a national disgrace, I think.

Would Jesus be a capitalist, do you think? Or a socialist?

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

So, which is worthy of more praise, great medical technology that 20% + of the population can't access, or mediocre care that everyone has access to? Guess which one has the lower infant mortality rate. In this list, https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat.../2091rank.html, out of 225 countries 54 have a lower infant mortality than the US.

Firstly, before I'm accused of hating kids, all children should have access to healthcare. Would you explain what I have bolded? Are you making an all encompassing statement that there are children in all states that don't have access to healthcare? Lately I've seen statements on various threads where comments seem to be all encompassing, all fit under the same umbrella type statements. In any case, in NYS children have access to healthcare at no cost or little cost based on family earnings. I'll admit that I don't know how this plays into other states, and was wondering if that's what you meant by access?

The reference to children's mortality rate is an example of the shortcoming in the healthcare delivery system. The 20% number is a guesstimate of how many people in this country do not have insurance or other ready access to medical care. The lack of care for mothers is a major contributor to the children's mortality rate. It would be interesting to see how children's mortality rate correlates with the parent's access to medical care. If parents have ready access to affordable medical care I dare say their children get better medical care simply due to the fact the parents are accustomed to seeking care when needed. Poor mothers who can't afford to go see the doctor for their own needs are going to be much less likely to take their children to the doctor even if the child is covered by insurance.

Aren't nearly all state sponsored children's insurance programs all just part of CHIP, the current subject of Congressional battling? I believe children's coverage is pretty much universal under CHIP.

The point that I really want to make is that in spite of the fact that we have top notch medical technology available in this country, the delivery system is lacking as evidenced by our dismal showing in children's mortality rate. That is just one of many possible examples.

I just did a Google search. About 1/3 of Americans have either no, or inadequate, medical insurance.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Minimum wage jobs should never be a goal for someone's life... Get an education, and work hard: you'll be able to earn MUCH more money. nojoke

....
If you plan to work in jobs that won't provide for your needs: prioritize!

Your assertions can easily be the subject of a whole nother discussion. Let's just say my observation of many, many, conscientious and hard working people who are employed in jobs that the American society and economy demand be performed do not support your viewpoint. They also do not adequately support the workers performing them even at wage levels well above minimum wage.

 

[Easy Rider]

The medical pricing scheme in this country is broken, badly.

Let's see if we can discuss this without becoming all roiled! It's a serious problem for our country. We need a rational solution.

Well the basis for that is an unfettered (unregulated) free enterprise system: Capitalism.

There are several major things that are badly broken in our country .........but the Government (politicians) is too tied up with meddling in things that it shouldn't to take care of the things that it SHOULD.

Attempts were made to start fixing it.
Those changes are now being attacked by those who would have no regulations on business at all.

All hail King Donald.

(Sorry but I couldn't resist giving my real opinion.)

Edit: And I don't hate anybody.

 

[RinconRyder]

Those changes are now being attacked by those who would have no regulations on business at all.

If you think things were better during the era of no regulations then you do not know your history.

 

[Easy Rider]

If you think things were better during the era of no regulations then you do not know your history.

You COMPLETELY missed my point; got it backwards in fact.

 

[UtahPete]

You COMPLETELY missed my point; got it backwards in fact.

That was my first thought. But, in re-reading it, I realized that he could be agreeing with you.

 

[RinconRyder]

You COMPLETELY missed my point; got it backwards in fact.

Guilty as charged. Read it too fast methinks. My apologies.

 

[47ModelBrit]

Mortailiy rates

The reference to children's mortality rate is an example of the shortcoming in the healthcare delivery system. The 20% number is a guesstimate of how many people in this country do not have insurance or other ready access to medical care. The lack of care for mothers is a major contributor to the children's mortality rate. It would be interesting to see how children's mortality rate correlates with the parent's access to medical care. If parents have ready access to affordable medical care I dare say their children get better medical care simply due to the fact the parents are accustomed to seeking care when needed. Poor mothers who can't afford to go see the doctor for their own needs are going to be much less likely to take their children to the doctor even if the child is covered by insurance.

There's another possible reason for the high infant mortality rate in the USA. The numbers reported refer only to live births and do not include any stillbirths. It's been suggested that medical personnel here often make heroic efforts to save any newborn and often succeed even if the infant survives just for a few hours; thus infants that may have been recorded as stillborn in other countries will be reported as a live birth here. I have no statistics to back this up but it's an interesting thought.

Regardless, it doesn't change the main point of the thread - the disconnect between medical charges and the amount actually paid.

 

[Mazo EMS2]

Admittedly I haven't read all the replies...but in my opinion, all of the "Big Pharama" companies have waaay too big of a grip on us. How do they justify the costs of what is formulated and sold? I know we have some awesome science and capabilities in research here in the US, but to hose people for life saving drugs is ridiculous. Two drugs that come to mind are Naloxone, and Epinepherine. Naloxone can be essentially had for free to stop the effects of a drug overdose....which is typically a voluntary act by a drug addict......on the other hand, epi pens which save folks in anaphylaxis, cost an arm and a leg for those who may have allergic reactions to things that might be unknown to them or bee stings etc......It drives me crazy that I have to save some overdose slob multiple times with naloxone, but yet the little kid down the street gets stung by bees while playing with friends, and his parents get socked for the cost of the epi pen that saved him.....grrrrr...:banghead:

The war on drugs should start with Big Pharma!!! Corporate Greed is all it is!

 

[pitzerwm]

Having been in private practice ... if your lawyer is charging $340 an hour for work actually done by his/her legal secretary, that is absolutely fraud and you have a legitimate complaint to the local Bar association. You are entitled to an itemized bill showing what the lawyer did to earn the $340 an hour. Not only that, but they would have to produce time slips showing what they did, when they did it, and how long it took them. I'd bet that if you asked for such an accounting, the first response you'd get is an offer to simply cut the bill in half. Thing is, most people are too shy to ask for such an accounting ... and there are some lawyers who know this and depend on it. When I was licensed back in 1982, we had an honorable profession. Now it's 90% ambulance chasers. This kind of thing drove me crazy in short order which is why I spent most of my career in the Army and Air Force, both in uniform as a JAG and as a civilian attorney.

In 1990 I hired a lawyer to write a letter, the bill was $1000, I did ask for an itemized bill. They had sent the letter back and forth to an associate until it added up to $1000. I told him that I dared him to send me another bill, he didn't.

Even though I have finally found an ethical lawyer, I taught myself enough law that I was able to go into Federal court and win. I was also successful in getting the other lawyer disbarred IMO that is a trick. I'm just surprised that more of them aren't blown away.