Obamacare cost...

[byu71]

I have been warming up to Warren Buffet lately... anyone that is a major stock owner of AAPL can't be all that bad.

He is a Johnny come lately to that party. One of my boys bought Apple at $56. I don't know for sure, but I think Buffet paid a higher price than that. I think I heard he has finally bought some Microsoft too.

[Nakoma]

Obamacare may be a disaster for you but for the millions of people who didn't have insurance but now do, I would imagine it has been a welcomed blessing. Did/does it have faults? Sure. But the situation before was unsustainable. Republicans should realize their fault in all of this. They could have made it better at the outset. They could have fixed parts after it had been enacted. They refused to do this for political reasons and now continue to refuse to recognize reality. We aren't going to go back to where we were, nor should we.

You mean the low-income people who pay little to no premiums because of being subsidized? Couldn't these people have been covered by a simple expansion of Medicaid instead of enacting the Obamacare monstrosity?

[Eddie]

...they all believed that the law would prove to be immensely popular once everyone saw what was in it....

"We have to pass it to see what's in it!"

Ugggh.

[Nakoma]

More good news from the Fed confirming Obamacare is an economic albatross.

http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2016/08/16/...s-to-cut-jobs/

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Anyone choosing to read this should remember the caveat about all those millions of people that now have health insurance because of the ACA.

Of course if you believe that more people actually have health insurance aside from the Medicaid expansion and that this Obamacare system is sustainable, then you should be flogged.
https://reason.com/blog/2016/08/17/t...e-death-spiral

[Jeff Lebowski]

Speaking of health care costs, any of you following the epipen story?

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/23/1260831...en-price-mylan

Be sure to note the part about the Sovaldi pills. $1000 each. Not due to a costly manufacturing process or scarce ingredients, but because they can. $3.5B in sales from this drug in one quarter.

This has nothing to do with ObamaCare, btw. Curious to hear people's thoughts on the issue.

[Northwestcoug]

Speaking of health care costs, any of you following the epipen story?

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/23/1260831...en-price-mylan

Be sure to note the part about the Sovaldi pills. $1000 each. Not due to a costly manufacturing process or scarce ingredients, but because they can. $3.5B in sales from this drug in one quarter.

This has nothing to do with ObamaCare, btw. Curious to hear people's thoughts on the issue.

My socialist-leaning daughter and I were discussing this today. She has PCOS and has actually seen some success with a diabetes drug, but our insurance company doesn't cover it for her condition. It would cost upwards of $1000 per month to get it without insurance. Lo and behold, the patent on the drug runs out next year, so of course the pharm company is trying to maximize all their profits. Her doc has started the appeals progress with the insurance company, but until we hear an answer, she is stuck scrounging samples from a drug rep.

Sovaldi is as close a miracle drug as we will ever see in our lifetimes. It has a cure rate of ~95%, and it is a one-time treatment lasting a few months. This is compared to the current lifetime screening of hepatitis C patients, and less effective treatments when their disease progresses. The benefit for these patients is clear, yet insurance companies are balking at the ~100,000 price tag of a single treatment. There is no way that price is set solely to recoup their R&D costs. Incidentally, this podcast has a good discussion about it: http://www.radiolab.org/story/worth/

The pharmaceutical economy is a huge mess, yet there is truth to the talking point that the rapid innovation in better treatments is due in part to capitalism. But c'mon, a 400% hike in epipen price and a near 20 million a year salary for the CEO? Obscene.

[byu71]

My socialist-leaning daughter and I were discussing this today. She has PCOS and has actually seen some success with a diabetes drug, but our insurance company doesn't cover it for her condition. It would cost upwards of $1000 per month to get it without insurance. Lo and behold, the patent on the drug runs out next year, so of course the pharm company is trying to maximize all their profits. Her doc has started the appeals progress with the insurance company, but until we hear an answer, she is stuck scrounging samples from a drug rep.

Sovaldi is as close a miracle drug as we will ever see in our lifetimes. It has a cure rate of ~95%, and it is a one-time treatment lasting a few months. This is compared to the current lifetime screening of hepatitis C patients, and less effective treatments when their disease progresses. The benefit for these patients is clear, yet insurance companies are balking at the ~100,000 price tag of a single treatment. There is no way that price is set solely to recoup their R&D costs. Incidentally, this podcast has a good discussion about it: http://www.radiolab.org/story/worth/

The pharmaceutical economy is a huge mess, yet there is truth to the talking point that the rapid innovation in better treatments is due in part to capitalism. But c'mon, a 400% hike in epipen price and a near 20 million a year salary for the CEO? Obscene.

Do you know what you would have to pay if you were in Canada, Sweden, France, the UK, etc.?

From what I hear we pay a lot more for the same drugs here than they do there. It is my understanding the US companies develop far more life saving and other types of drugs than anywhere else. Why sell them cheaper elsewhere? Why are we subsidizing other countries or do I have this all wrong?

[Uncle Ted]

Speaking of health care costs, any of you following the epipen story?

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/23/1260831...en-price-mylan

Be sure to note the part about the Sovaldi pills. $1000 each. Not due to a costly manufacturing process or scarce ingredients, but because they can. $3.5B in sales from this drug in one quarter.

This has nothing to do with ObamaCare, btw. Curious to hear people's thoughts on the issue.

Most people didn't even care about the rising cost of epipens until their deductible significantly increased. (Of course, Obamacare had nothing to do with that.) It is the American drug cartel.

epinephrine is cheap as dirt... It's the fancy pen injector that is not. (Hasn't the patent on that thing run its course yet?)

While epinephrine is more than 100 years old and cost just pennies, it's the EpiPen's injector with its precise measurement that is unique and under patent protection. One competitor had to recall all of its products late last year, and in March another had to delay the introduction of its generic option likely until next year.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...rose/89123786/

On Sovaldi, I have already discussed the solution to that problem...

http://www.cougarstadium.com/showthr...=1#post1261447

Let me know if I can help fix you up with your Hep-C problem.

[The_Douger]

Speaking of health care costs, any of you following the epipen story?

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/23/1260831...en-price-mylan

Be sure to note the part about the Sovaldi pills. $1000 each. Not due to a costly manufacturing process or scarce ingredients, but because they can. $3.5B in sales from this drug in one quarter.

This has nothing to do with ObamaCare, btw. Curious to hear people's thoughts on the issue.

People are flying to India to get Sovaldi because the entire course of the medication, which is curative for Hep C, is 900 dollars in India. That is what I'd do if I had the disease.

[Northwestcoug]

Do you know what you would have to pay if you were in Canada, Sweden, France, the UK, etc.?

From what I hear we pay a lot more for the same drugs here than they do there. It is my understanding the US companies develop far more life saving and other types of drugs than anywhere else. Why sell them cheaper elsewhere? Why are we subsidizing other countries or do I have this all wrong?

No idea, but my guess is that the price is markedly cheaper in those countries. And I really don't know the details of how and why the subsidies occur.

[Eddie]

I'm probably remembering this wrong, so maybe my rant is misplaced...but the drug companies seem like evil blood sucking vampires to me.

I think what bothers me the most, is that countries with socialized medicine have cost controls in place - so unless the pharmaceutical company wants to lose the entire country as a market, they have to fall in line. Which means that here in the US, where there are no such cost controls, we are paying for all of those alleged "R&D costs".

I get that it takes a lot of trial and error to find new medications. I get that doing that takes money. I also have nothing against people making a good living. But this goes beyond that. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around them making as much money as they do on the backs of people who are sick and have no choice but to purchase what they are selling. Right about now is when I add one of Wuap's favorite volcano shots.

[Uncle Ted]

My socialist-leaning daughter and I were discussing this today. She has PCOS and has actually seen some success with a diabetes drug, but our insurance company doesn't cover it for her condition. It would cost upwards of $1000 per month to get it without insurance. Lo and behold, the patent on the drug runs out next year, so of course the pharm company is trying to maximize all their profits. Her doc has started the appeals progress with the insurance company, but until we hear an answer, she is stuck scrounging samples from a drug rep.

Sovaldi is as close a miracle drug as we will ever see in our lifetimes. It has a cure rate of ~95%, and it is a one-time treatment lasting a few months. This is compared to the current lifetime screening of hepatitis C patients, and less effective treatments when their disease progresses. The benefit for these patients is clear, yet insurance companies are balking at the ~100,000 price tag of a single treatment. There is no way that price is set solely to recoup their R&D costs. Incidentally, this podcast has a good discussion about it: http://www.radiolab.org/story/worth/

The pharmaceutical economy is a huge mess, yet there is truth to the talking point that the rapid innovation in better treatments is due in part to capitalism. But c'mon, a 400% hike in epipen price and a near 20 million a year salary for the CEO? Obscene.

If insurance companies were smart they would offer vacation "get well" trips to countries where you can buy Sovaldi for fractions of the price. You could go get your Hep-C treatment and do a little site seeing at the same time. Screw the drug companies at their own game.

[Northwestcoug]

People are flying to India to get Sovaldi because the entire course of the medication, which is curative for Hep C, is 900 dollars in India. That is what I'd do if I had the disease.

I know someone with Hep C, who despite working for the hospital his insurance company wouldn't cover Sovaldi. He has a friend with Hep C who did get covered for Sovaldi. Both of them have relatively indolent forms of the disease, so the covered guy gave half of his Sovaldi dose to the guy I know. This type of drug rationing/sharing is a reality in the US. That, in and of itself, is a shame, no matter what side of the political spectrum you reside on.

I'm not sure if either one of them have been 'cured', but it will be interesting to find out if half the dose does it for them.

[Uncle Ted]

No idea, but my guess is that the price is markedly cheaper in those countries. And I really don't know the details of how and why the subsidies occur.

$1,500 in India (for the complete $84,000+ treatment).