we are 138
we are one thirty eight
we are one thirty eight
we are one thirty eight
– We may never see the insanely high cost of being alive, if we stay relatively healthy with insurance to cover occasional mishaps. However, if someone (who doesn’t have what we have) develops, say, a mental health problem, what then?
– Yes, “too many people struggle to pay for medicines and end up waiting to fill a prescription, taking less medicine so it lasts longer, or deciding not to fill the prescription at all. Unless costs come down, people will not be able to afford medicines they need, leading to poorer health and higher health care costs. Why do drugs cost so much?
– I hear you.
– Really? That is, if someone has to choose between paying for medicine or food or rent, what can be done? Are there options of which medication to buy?
– No, we do not choose the product, but our health care providers. They write prescriptions for the drugs they are most familiar with, based on information they get from drug manufacturers, who spend billions a year marketing them:
“The amount you pay for a brand name drug will depend on your insurance plan; the plan’s formulary or list of drugs that it prefers and covers; the size of your deductible; and the treatment that your insurance company has reached with the manufacturer of the medication, among dozens of other variables. The way in which such discounts are negotiated is proprietary, carefully guarded by the various players in the system.”
– Wow and then we are told that we have free will. Sure, free will to choose between what is already being chosen for us:
“Pharmaceutical companies have become adept at devising strategies to extend their monopoly on a drug beyond the expiration of its original patent. [… ] or creating therapies that combine two existing drugs into one pill.” Why do drugs cost so much?
– Good. But if you want, say, an iPhone (if you have the means to pay for it), you would shop around (if you have the means to pay for internet connection) and pick one at a price you can afford, thereby creating competition that pushes up iPhone prices. down. In the US prescription drug market, it doesn’t work that way.; “Other countries deal a much tougher deal with drug companies,” but “the United States allows drug companies to pretty much set their own prices.” Why do drugs cost so much?
– Indeed. As long as the pharmaceutical companies maintain their monopoly, they will continue to charge whatever they want for their products.
the jokes are gone
We are stripped of everything we were
in the eyes of the tiger