Obamacare cost...

[snowcat]

True. There is technically some regulation. But it is a different set of rules that is so gutless as to be meaningless and ineffective. The supplement industry can quite literally peddle snake oil and get away with it.

If true, (which I somewhat agree) it is due to enforcement not regulation. The supplement industry has some shady actors and the marriage of supplement with MLMs is especially troubling.

[beefytee]

True. There is technically some regulation. But it is a different set of rules that is so gutless as to be meaningless and ineffective. The supplement industry can quite literally peddle snake oil and get away with it.

Literally peddling snake oil isn't the issue. The issue is peddling something claimed to be snake oil or peddling rancid snake oil.

Edit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/fi...ts-and-safety/

I enjoyed watching this frontline episode on the subject.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Literally peddling snake oil isn't the issue. The issue is peddling something claimed to be snake oil or peddling rancid snake oil.

Come on. They are both an issue. Supplement companies are often caught substituting fake ingredients for the real supplement ingredient, but when the real ingredient has show zero efficacy in clinical trials, what difference does it make? The consumers are getting scammed either way.

[beefytee]

Come on. They are both an issue. Supplement companies are often caught substituting fake ingredients for the real supplement ingredient, but when the real ingredient has show zero efficacy in clinical trials, what difference does it make? The consumers are getting scammed either way.

Sorry, I worded it poorly. It's not that it isn't an issue. It's just that it isn't an issue with snake oil. It's pretty well shown (including clinical trials) that oils high in Omega-3 fatty acids reduce joint inflammation. Of course getting oil from Chinese water snakes is much more costly than getting it from fish oil. And today we are running into similar issues with fish oil that we ran into with snake oil back in the day.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supp...e/HRB-20059372

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/26/215761377/a-history-of-snake-oil-salesmen

[Jeff Lebowski]

Sorry, I worded it poorly. It's not that it isn't an issue. It's just that it isn't an issue with snake oil. It's pretty well shown (including clinical trials) that oils high in Omega-3 fatty acids reduce joint inflammation. Of course getting oil from Chinese water snakes is much more costly than getting it from fish oil. And today we are running into similar issues with fish oil that we ran into with snake oil back in the day.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supp...e/HRB-20059372

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswit...e-oil-salesmen

Fish oil is a rare exception. It actually does make a difference and has performed well in clinical trials.

[Uncle Ted]

Fish oil is a rare exception. It actually does make a difference and has performed well in clinical trials.

But a fish is just a snake with fins.

[Northwestcoug]

Then buy the more expensive one that got a 4.4 rating or not one at all.

What about when the ratings are rigged by the manufacturer? Do I really want to worry about all these variables when the medicine can literally be the difference between life and death?

[Uncle Ted]

What about when the ratings are rigged by the manufacturer? Do I really want to worry about all these variables when the medicine can literally be the difference between life and death?

Compared to a system that we have now that seems to be rigged by the government so that a manufacturer has a monopoly. The Epipen is a good example:

- The CEO of Mylan is the daughter of a democrat senator. (A daddy in high places is always nice...)

- The CEO didn't even get a MBA but was given one as a favor to the dad by the president of WVU. (How the hell does someone that is relatively young and doesn't even have a MBA or a MBA from WVU get a CEO position at a multi-billion dollar company?)

- Mylan and the CEO lobbies in the form of large donations both to the Clinton family foundation and democrats such as clinton (that we know about). I have a feeling if you dig deep enough you will find that Mylan and the CEO also donated to other key democrats.

- The FDA kills all of Mylan's competition by pulling Auvi-Q and not approving other similar products, products that are happily being used in other countries. https://mises.org/blog/lack-epipen-c...ors-fdas-fault

- The government even increased the demand: Obama gives schools funding to buy Epipens. Mylan's stock jumps 20%. I am sure a lot of Politicians that had insider information (of course, they are immune from being charged trading as an insider) cashed in on this one. How do you think folks like Harry Reid got so rich on a public servant salary all his life?

Right now it seems the "system" rewards those who "pay to play" and are not necessarily acting in my best interest. A much better system would be a system of choices and open information. I would much rather have my doctor to have lots of options to recommend to me rather than just the limited choices we have now thanks to lobbyists and the politicians that our paid nicely (in the form of campaign donations, foundation donations, insider stock tips, etc.) to listen to them.

[Moliere]

Embedded Tweet

Funny, but not haha funny


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[Joe Public]

Now back to work to pay for the corresponding increase in subsidies.

[Uncle Ted]

Now back to work to pay for the corresponding increase in subsidies.

Good thing Hillary is all over these premium increases due to Obamacare. She will fix it.

[Topper]

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Funny, but not haha funny


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This system is designed to fail, just like design obsolescence in products. The actual aim is to push a singer payer system. You design a "cure", which is designed to fail, and then cry wolf again to institute an even more faulty, and expensive, plan.

[imanihonjin]

We just found out our premiums jumped another 20%. Not going to end the world but a 50% jump over the last three years has me increasingly worried about the future.

[PaloAltoCougar]

My premium rises by a reasonable 3.6% next year, but then my monthly cost is around $740 (my wife's is slightly lower) so let's not gush. Over the past fifteen years or so I think my premium has risen an average of 12%, compounded annually. We know that the salaries of the care providers and staff (which should comprise the lion's share of medical expenses) have risen at a MUCH smaller pace than that. So that means that other components (drugs, physical facilities and equipment, and executive/administrative expenses) are climbing at a much faster rate than even the 12%. I'd like to learn more about what's causing these increases but I'm too tired to look around, as I'm working hard to pay my premiums.

[Flystripper]

premiums for my family are still zero...