dagblog - Comments for "Bring Supply-Side Economics to Health Care"

Insulin was invented ~100

artappraiser — Thu, 06 May 2021 03:43:43 +0000

In reply to Bring Supply-Side Economics to Health Care

Insulin was invented ~100 years ago, and its patent sold for $1.

“Do you know the reason why [insulin is] $1,000 with insurance?” ~@AOC

There is no reason for insulin to cost $21 in Canada for a 10 ml bottle, while it costs a mortgage payment in the US.pic.twitter.com/K5XRJDTpJq
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

2) atrocious amount of big pharma price gouging on insulin. Absolutely atrocious. Heartbreaking atrocious. Shamefully atrocious. https://t.co/ipPVpcSoD5
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

3) Let this sink in:

In 2018:
J&J CEO made $30M
Pfizer CEO made $28M
Merck CEO made $18M
Eli Lilly CEO made $16M
Gilead CEO made $16M

While:

Americans spent $535B on Rx drugs

1/4 of diabetics rationed insulin to survive

500K Americans went bankrupt from medical bills. pic.twitter.com/gDefuD5YWH
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

4) Did you know? Medicare, the government health program for those over age 65 (also the nation’s largest buyer of drugs)—is barred from negotiating drug prices. That gives pharma more leverage, and it leads to the kind of price surges of EpiPens, opioid antidotes, & insulin.
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

5) There are many more reasons for the high cost of insulin. Dr @VincentRK of Mayo Clinic lays out the reasons why. It’s a damn crisis in the US

…rivaling even #COVID19. There I said it!

Really good article… https://t.co/OSnv5gYtlA pic.twitter.com/2kSW1X1WDU
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

6) Hell yes… waive the patents. Not just for #COVID19, but for insulin too. Diabetes epidemic is just as bad worldwide. pic.twitter.com/wNqBaLtg6v
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2021

$24 million (in Medicaid

artappraiser — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:04:26 +0000

In reply to Bring Supply-Side Economics to Health Care

$24 million (in Medicaid funds) spent on Fort Worth toddler’s life support; hospital says Texas may intervene

By Kaley Johnson @ Ft. Worth Star-Telegram via Yahoo News, April 29, 2021

Texas has spent $24 million in Medicaid funds to help keep a toddler alive at Cook Children’s Medical Center, the Fort Worth hospital said in an appeal filed April 16 in the ongoing court case surrounding Tinslee Lewis.

Two-year-old Tinslee has been at Cook Children’s for most of her life. Born with a rare heart condition, Tinslee has been kept alive with medical care and “extreme efforts,” the hospital said in the appeal, in which it asked the 48th District Court of Fort Worth to quickly schedule a trial date to decide whether life support care should be removed from Tinslee.

“Although this case has never been about money — and Cook Children’s has never considered finances when making an end-of-life decision,” the appeal says, “the State of Texas (through its manager of a Medicaid care program) is now threatening to interject the issue into this dispute.”

Tinslee’s mother, joined by family members and activist groups, has argued for two years that her daughter deserves to live and she alone has the right to decide if or when medical care should end. Trinity Lewis says there is a possibility that her daughter will get better and the hospital should not be able to decide her fate.

Tinslee breathes with the assistance of a ventilator and is sedated but conscious, Lewis said at a press conference in January 2020 and responds to touch and stimulation as any baby would. Lewis previously described her daughter’s “sassy” personality and said she likes having her nails painted.

But the hospital says that Tinslee cannot feel anything except pain. In multiple court proceedings, doctors testified that Tinslee has no chance of recovery and each day is tortuous for her.

“This child should not be forced to endure this fate for months on end while this matter continues its creep through the legal system,” the appeal filed April 16 said [....]

MUST WATCH. Then, organize to

artappraiser — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 15:23:04 +0000

In reply to Bring Supply-Side Economics to Health Care

MUST WATCH. Then, organize to build stronger, more powerful organizations so we can win universal healthcare. Great video.
‘That’s Heartbreaking’: How American Health Care Looks From Abroad https://t.co/d1b58mGnYT
— Jane McAlevey (@rsgexp) April 29, 2021

Byzantine health plans. Impoverishing deductibles. Exorbitant drug costs. Soul-crushing surprises lurking in the fine print.

The American health care system is — to put it mildly — totally perplexing, an exercise in patience and a test of financial resilience.

And that’s for its participants.

So imagine what the system must look like to people from other countries, especially those with universal health care, where citizens don’t live in fear that the next bout of the sniffles might somehow lead to bankruptcy.

In the video above, we gathered people from around the world and introduced them to the American health care system. We presented them with dizzying examples of insurance plan options. We showed them how much medical services cost. And we revealed some of the survival strategies of the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured (drug purchases in Mexico, GoFundMe campaigns, consultations with “Dr. Google”).

Their reaction? Astonishment, horror, anger and disgust.

One woman spoke about intensive care she received as a child in Britain to treat a brain virus. “All for free,” she recalled. “I couldn’t have survived if I was in America.”