American Health Care is Amazing

[Minimalist]

Fucking drug ads.

I normally mute al commercials but that does not prevent them from running on the screen and this time, in the course of about 10 minutes today it seemed that the drug ads were non stop.  I wrote down the names of five of them and then looked them up.

For most of them I also had to look up what they were supposed to treat in addition to how much they cost.

Humira:  $5,800/mo     Supposedly treats rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

Enbrel     $4,800/mo     For psoriasis

Xeljanz    $5,157/mo    rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis

Xarelto         $500/mo    blood thinner

Ozempic       $900/wk    does something for diabetics.

And the commercials show lots of attractive women running through fields or umpiring softball games or doing carpentry ( I kid you not!).

"Ask you doctor if Humira is right for you!"  Then tell your doctor to go fuck himself!

In Mexico:

Humira    1,750 pesos/mo or about $100.

Enbrel       11,000 pesos or $592/ mo.

Xeljanz       18,016 pesos or $1,016/mo

Xarelto       1,818 pesos or $101

Ozempic     $125/wk in Canada*


Yeah.  We got a great system.  Someone has to pay for all those stupid fucking ads!

[Phaedrus]

Someone's husband got sick with the Big C. They're drowning in bills and debt because there are so many doctors to see and the health care system in this country is shite.

[Aroura]

Today I got a call from the surgery center that performed a minor procedure last month.
My main (private) insurance refuses to cover any of it, all of it will be applied to our outrageous deductible. Some 3k (edited to add, this is our bill, not our deductible, which is actually 14k).

I do have Medicare, but Medicare claims they don't have my private insurance info (despite this my giving it to them 2 years ago and all billing going through fine for the last 2 years), but they've updated the info and the surgery center is resubmitting the bill, and Medicare will likely cover between 50 and 80%. Most people my age don't have medicare, and would have been stuck with the full $3,125 bill. And we have what is considered GOOD private insurance.  It's beyond outrageous.

[Minimalist]

Watch Michael Moore's Sicko.

He does not even deal with people who lack insurance.  He concedes at the start that those people are totally screwed.

Instead he concentrates on how the industry fucks over the people who DO have insurance.

[Aegon]

Fucking drug ads.

I normally mute al commercials but that does not prevent them from running on the screen and this time, in the course of about 10 minutes today it seemed that the drug ads were non stop.  I wrote down the names of five of them and then looked them up.

For most of them I also had to look up what they were supposed to treat in addition to how much they cost.

Humira:  $5,800/mo     Supposedly treats rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

Enbrel     $4,800/mo     For psoriasis

Xeljanz    $5,157/mo    rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis

Xarelto         $500/mo    blood thinner

Ozempic       $900/wk    does something for diabetics.

But you can get a coupon for 10% off your first dose so it's fine.

[Minimalist]

LOL.


Yeah, drug dealers always give the mark a break to get them hooked!

[Aroura]

LOL.


Yeah, drug dealers always give the mark a break to get them hooked!

The 10% off isn't the hook.  that's so they can say "If you are having trouble affording your prescriptions, we can help!" and sound like some sort of hero.

The hook is the piles of free samples they hand out to doctors, along with the bribes, I mean, lunches and other perks, if the doctors give out those samples and prescribe their drugs.

If a group of crooks sat down and tried hard to design the most corrupt healthcare system they could, in order to pocket as much money as possible, they could hardly come up with something better (or worse), than what we currently have.

My husband turns 50 next month, and I told him he needs to go in for a check-up.  Most preventative health care is covered, it's one of the few things ours do actually cover, pre-deductible.  He refused, because he doesn't trust them to cover anything, even if they say they will.  He also has a deep distrust of the healthcare system in general, including doctors, who he sees as acting for profit, not for betterment of patients health.
He's not wrong for a lot of doctors, but I don't think everyone is that way.

[Minimalist]

If a group of crooks sat down and tried hard to design the most corrupt healthcare system they could,

Um, yeah.  That is what they did.

[SYZ]

...The hook is the piles of free samples they hand out to doctors, along with the bribes, I mean, lunches and other perks, if the doctors give out those samples and prescribe their drugs.

Oh yes... same downunder.  Shelves full of free prescription drug inducements... uh... for clinical
advancement and research. Next to the bottles of Scotch, airline tickets, hotel vouchers, gold pens,
iPhones, Dior wallets etc.  There were some feeble moves here to outlaw drug companies giving
doctors free gifts, but it seems to have died a natural death.      I wonder why?       

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, if you don't mind killing shit loads of people you could have access to the VA medical system. Not perfect, but free and worth every penny.

[Minimalist]

Amusing reactions from Brits exposed to American drug ads while watching that stupid interview!

https://www.rawstory.com/prescription-ad...tion_start

[Minimalist]

Lookee here..... 'Murricans do want health care... when shitheads like Fuckface aren't making it impossible!


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/upsho...gnups.html

Nearly one million people signed up for Obamacare coverage this spring.

The increase most likely reflects increased publicity about the opportunity, the availability of more financial help with premiums, and health fears related to the pandemic. The Trump administration made deep cuts in advertising and marketing for Healthcare.gov. The Biden administration reversed many of those changes, committing to spending $100 million to advertise this new enrollment period.

The new subsidies make a substantial difference in the affordability of insurance for many Americans. About four million Americans who are currently uninsured can qualify for plans that will cost them no premium, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (the government subsidy would cover the entire monthly cost).

[Minimalist]

Another example of our wonderful health care system for you European-type people to envy!

And the rich motherfuckers will do whatever they have to to keep it this way.


https://www.rawstory.com/parents-shocked...-newborns/

'My jaw dropped': Parents being slapped with surprise medical bills for treating newborns

Three years ago, the insurance giant Aetna sued Mednax and Pediatrix, saying they inflated charges by more than $50 million, performing unneeded tests and treatments and diagnosing babies as being sicker than they really were.
Mednax denied Aetna’s allegations, and the case ended in July when Aetna withdrew it as part of a confidential agreement. Neither Aetna nor Mednax would disclose the terms.
As part of the proceedings, Mednax admitted in court that it destroyed internal emails Aetna had sought as potential evidence of corporate coaching to nudge physicians to engage in “upcoding” to higher-value procedures.

[Astreja]

...this is our bill, not our deductible, which is actually 14k)...

WTAF?  14K is double what I pay in income tax, before factoring the USD -> CDN $ conversion.

[adey67]

My mother is on Xarelto she pays £0:00. You folks in the US are seriously being ripped off when it comes to medication especially.

[Antonio]

Capitalism fucking the working class but we'll support it from our death beds Just an arm of  christianity

[Minimalist]

Oh we know.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1237...countries/

In 2020, the estimated U.S. net price for a one-month supply (30 tablets) of Xarelto Oral Tablet (15mg) was roughly four times higher than gross prices paid in the other three countries. These differences were even more pronounced when using U.S. gross prices of Xarelto for comparisons. Xarelto is an anticoagulant medication (blood thinner) used to treat and prevent blood clots. This statistic shows Xarelto's net and gross prices in the United States compared to gross prices in Australia, Canada, and France as of 2020.

And that's just the way the Big Pharma Motherfuckers and the congressmen/senators they own want things.

[Minimalist]

And Big Pharma and their stable of republiKKKunt whores that they own gear up to wreck drug price controls.

https://www.rawstory.com/big-pharma-and-...e-reforms/

Big pharma and GOP allies aim to sabotage Medicare drug price reforms
December 29, 2022

The pharmaceutical industry and its Republican allies in Congress are openly signaling their plans obstruct at every turn as the Biden administration looks to begin implementing a recently passed law that will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in its history.

And who is their point man?  Why none other than that useless little scumbag, Marco Rubio.

[Minimalist]

Isn't this just special?  Health Insurers routinely den claims without even reading them.

https://www.rawstory.com/cigna-health-insurance/

How Cigna saves millions by having its doctors reject claims without reading them

And you can bet these motherfuckers aren't the only ones doing it.