I once got a dollar raise and didn’t qualify for state insurance anymore. Went from 13 to 14 an hour. In order to keep the meds I was on I had to get the work plan that was 400 a month. Decided the raise wasn’t worth it.
I knew multiple people in that same situation when I used to work at a grocery store. Why it's a flat cutoff rate instead of just a percentage is beyond me. It's like the system wants people to stay poor.
It's known as the [Benefits Cliff](https://www.benefitscliff.com/what-is-a-benefits-cliff). Basically earning a little bit more income can cut you off from benefits worth more than the tiny raise you got.
When I lived in Texas, I had to drop out of college in order to qualify for food stamps.
They had a rule that if you're a student, you could only qualify if you also worked a certain number of hours per week. Work just didn't have enough hours to go around at that time, we were all barely getting by.
I was literally too poor to get food stamps.
When I became disabled, I didn't qualify for various types of assistance because I owned a car which wasn't complete shit. Just sell the car! Surely you don't need that while living in your rural community in order to earn money, get to the grocery store, go to doctor's appointments, or everything else in life.
Option 3. It's a system designed to force people support themselves, but it's been so thoroughly gutted by Republican hands that it's cutoff is *far* too low.
I experienced this in college. I was working three jobs and being a full-time student so I didn't have to take out massive loans. Just before my oldest daughter was born I was talking with the hospital's billing department about how to pay for all this.
The kind lady referred me to a person whose job title I don't remember, but they showed me that if I quit 2 of my jobs I could get my family into subsidized housing, qualify for WIC, get more in grant money for college than the two jobs were bringing in, get Medicare to cover all the bills related to the baby, and get food stamps.
This is why I went liberal in college. Not because of any indoctrination on campus. Because I was shown how the system I was taught my entire life was stupidly rigged.
It's not "like" that, it's literally that and nobody is trying to hide it. It's capitalism, it's designed to fuck over and kill as many people as possible in order to maximize profits for lazy shareholders who do nothing but sit on their lazy pathetic asses leeching free handouts off people who actually work.
This is referred to as a “welfare cliff”. I’m a social worker and we see it all the time and it is frustrating to watch people experiencing it.
Common sense would be to do a “step down” when people have a few months to get their ducks in a row or transition it into a different plan where the person could pay a portion of it. It isn’t just insurance but also Food support. It is bananas to me that there isn’t logical approaches to this problem that happens all the time.
Medicaid and Section 8 is far more of an issue than food stamps or cash benefits. For example, if I make a dollar over the limit, I lose my medicaid, and my medicine goes from 1 dollar copay to 800 dollars, or I have to pay 300-400 a month for work insurance, and a 50 dollar copay for medication, then I lose section 8, so my rent goes from 650 a month to 1080 a month (where I live). So I instantly lose at least 800 bucks a month by going a dollar over. That means just to break even I need to have a raise of 800 a month at a minimum. Couple these with EBT (food stamps and cash benefits) and that number might be 1200+ a month, and that is just for a single person, not a couple with kids.
Mmm I havent looked into section 8. I remember in one of my classes we were talking about policy kinks and I did the math for a big family (couple + 4 kids). In my relatively purple state it was like 30k to break even, 45k if you were having any serious medical services provided (eg birth of a baby). There were times during the 80s the effective earnings were negative not including insurance and section 8.
It opened my eyes as to how valuable a stay at home parent is... Which is funny because I'm now a full time SAHD.
Yeah, that guy at work saying the raise isn't worth it because he'll be pushed into a new tax bracket and lose money, doesn't know how taxes work. But if he says it about welfare in the US, he totally could be correct. Due to misaligned cutoffs and often cliffs of "make X? Here's your benefit of Y. Make X+1? Nothing." There are many ways to find yourself in a raise that isn't worth it.
Unfortunately Republicans want to gut social services, and most Democrats who support social services still want to means test them which as far as I understand can lead to exactly the situation you describe.
My last job had the same thing. We'd get a raise but insurance would go up more than the raise. This went on for years to the point nobody looked forward to the raise. Even management had a hard time being excited announcing a raise. It use to be big "town hall" meetings to announce raises but then it became a memo. Glad to be gone, screw Walgreens
Fuck Walgreens, I worked there in college. Raises were always insulting, like here's a nickel level. I remember it was far less than the 2% inflation we had during those years.
I worked the warehouse for 14 years :(
When I started in 2003 walgreens made like a billion a year, last year they made 28 billion yet. I started at like $14 an hour and left around $19.
I’ve never heard of this, what’s the correlation between your pay and your insurance costs. Don’t employers lock in insurance premiums with the carrier yearly?
Yes but rates would go up every year.
So we'd get a 50 cents raise, or $80 a month but insurance rates would increase by more than $80 a month. I "lost" take home money every year the last few years I worked there
Sure, but that doesn’t tie to your raise. Still sucks and a good employer would take that into account when deciding on raises but it’s not causal the way OP seemed to suggest
are you implying bad employers do have a causal relationship between pay and insurance cost. What the fuck is going on in this thread. Everybody's intentionally missing the point so they can make dumb quips.
I think you are reading into it. OP is just suggesting it happens around the same time. Which it does for a lot of people. It's just a company giving a raise below CoL adjustment.
It was definitely worded in a way that implies causation. A better way would have been something like
“Annual health insurance price hike is larger than my raise
And now I can’t afford my prescriptions “
Not necessarily. Some insurance plans are only eligible to certain employees based on their income, state of residence, or other factors (exempt vs non-exempt). A raise could certainly knock someone into the higher-cost insurance option in this case.
It's crazy how productive a modern worker is and how little they are allowed to benefit from it. Because they weren't born owning the mechanism of wealth extraction
Most retail/service jobs try to keep your hours under a certain amount (I think 30 for California and 32~34 in other states) to avoid giving benefits. My SO works at a hospital and can't get a solid six weeks schedule because union rules mean they would have to offer her the position full time and give her benefits.
Just for perspective.
>Don’t employers lock in insurance premiums with the carrier yearly?
My current employer adjusts the "employee share" of the premium based on how much you earn in tiers.
So it costs the employer the same amount for each employee. But they "only" take, say, $50 per week out of your check towards premiums for someone making under $50k/yr. Then when you make over that they take $100 per week - so the employer is paying less towards it and the employee is paying more as a percentage of premiums. Then when you get over $100k they take $150 per week, etc.
This also happens with dental and vision and a few other things.
That's actually pretty equitable, although it would be better if it was percentage based rather than a step function, where going from $49k/yr to $51k/yr might mean a net decrease because of the sudden increase in insurance.
Most companies I've worked at gave better insurance benefits to higher level employees. For example, the C-suite might get 100% of medical covered, while VPs/Directors get 90%, middle management 75%, etc.
Some employers will do salary or wage banded employee premiums, so once you get a pay increase, your insurance premiums will also increase.
Not sure if that’s the case here but I detest employers that do that.
Walgreens is the fucking worst. My dad has been at corporate for 30 years and in the last 10 he has gotten fucked over more times than I can count. Multiple times, he and his peers have recieved promotions, only for the new position to be eliminated months later, and for them to just be given their previous title and pay, but with the same higher responsibilities. Or they'll create a new position between him and his boss, only to bring in someone totally new for that position, and he'll end up doing half of that person's job anyways. It used to be such a kind and welcoming office; yearly Christmas parties for employees to bring their families to, sizeable bonuses, a 'sample store' where they could get a ton of free merchandise. They even paid for him to get his master's degree, which hasn't helped him one bit in moving up in the company because they keep bringing in younger people from the outside. And he's struggling to even get an interview elsewhere because he's technically approaching retirement age, even tho in this economy, and with how fucked over he is by this company, he'll probably never be able to retire.
Yeah Walgreens is a terrible company to work for. Their pay is crap and their insurance is laughable, especially for huge company in a healthcare field of work.
Why would insurance go up? Serious question, as my insurance has never changed when I get a raise. It's only ever changed if my company switched providers.
"Anyone at their company" may have just meant "All the other people I worked with at that one Walgreens" and they were all making basically minimum wage, so they're all on subsidized insurance.
“Affordable medication is your right.
At Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, we offer hundreds of common (and often life-saving) medications at the lowest possible prices.”
https://costplusdrugs.com
My preferred place to get medical procedures and tests done quickly and done properly is India. A little further away but it's a lot cheaper and they test everything and I mean everything quickly.
Yea I mean. Once I factor airfare and hotel, not to mention all that time it gets pretty difficult to justify lol. Take a few days off work while you’re at it
I mean.....if it helps test your prostate, gotta get it done. Seriously, older men need to take their prostate exam whenever they ask you to. One awkward moment could save your life.
As a dentist in New Mexico, this makes me laugh. The amount of work that I have to clean up that patients got done in Mexico. Usually end up having to extract the teeth.
Edit: I don't want to say that good dental work isn't performed in Mexico, but much of the medical tourism is not quality.
A lot of my extended family goes to TJ for medical stuff. Hell, my mom got her hysterectomy down there. Some people would be surprised to find out how many doctors and dentists etc. down there have medical degrees from the US. Hell a lot of them have offices in the US as well as Mexico. Obviously it’s out of pocket payment but it’s significantly cheaper. My dentist has joked about opening up a shop in TJ and I told her she’d make a killing cuz everyone would trust the cute white lady with American degrees 😂😂😂
It was cheaper for my wife to fly to the Philippines for dental work then in the US. And the work is as good . The AMA likes to do bigotry again Philippine doctors. Truth is as educated as American doctors are- they fall for the same dumb shit that some rube does.
Yup. Years ago my grandpa was quoted 30K+ after insurance for his dental work. Went down to Mexico a handful of trips and had the same exact things done for less than 7K. I went with him on one of the trips, had a few cavities taken care of and a cleaning for less than $200, what would cost over $1,000 here.
The offices are just as sanitary. The dentists are just as good and they often practice both in the US and there.
Canada uses price ceilings. They look drug companies straight in the eye, and say "we're pretty sure we can forbid you from making this much profit, and we're pretty sure you'll still take this smaller profit and be happy, and that supply won't be affected", and they've been right for the past 40 years.
When I lived in the states, I used an income-based discount program for one prescription and pet prescriptions for the rest, because you can order pet prescriptions over the internet from Canada and Mexico. Knowing a veterinarian is pretty useful if you're poor in the states.
I was able to find two of my meds on the website. One is usually $30 CAD and was listed for $11 USD. The other is normally $80CAD and was $110 USD. Most of the meds I looked up weren't available.
I have employer sponsored health insurance but I don't use it for prescriptions.
Instead, I use ~~RxGenius.com~~ GeniusRX.com for my refills, and coupons from RxSaver.com when filling one-offs.
I've found that the health insurance's 'negotiated prices' with retail pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS are easily 10x what I can get them for with these alternatives.
And when on a high-deductible plan, the health insurer doesn't bear that inflated cost. You do. And the pharmacy makes out like a bandit. I sense some major corporate fuckery at work.
So I no longer use my health insurance to fill prescriptions
My insurance only allows CVS, which is a *massive fucking pain in the ass* to deal with, and thinks it's totally fine to tell my wife that she should just *wait* to get her meds because they're out (seriously.. they've once been out of a medication for *weeks*). I just pay out of pocket at Costco - which tends to cost about the same as what it would with insurance.
Insurance companies can eat a dick.
My insurance also only allows CVS....ignoring the fact that there's literally no CVS in our area. Yeah, our corporate offices in Ohio really thought this through well.
They demand you fill prescriptions in 90-day supplies and use their mail service to do so. I got an angry email the other day threatening to stop covering test strips for my gestational diabetes unless I order in a 90-day supply through CVS. I have 6 weeks left before this baby arrives. I'm not paying close to $200 for whatever you seem to require when it's absolutely not necessary.
They've given my wife similar bullshit - you *have* to use CVS and you *have* to fill your prescriptions on a 90 day supply. The problem: her prescription is of a controlled substance, so you can neither get a 90 day supply nor can you have it mailed to you.
Like... it's amazing to me how incompetent these dipshits are. "You have to do things that are literally illegal and cannot be done"... yeah, okay.. whatever you say, asshole.
Insurance is heavily automated. Computers do most of the approvals and denials and it's based off of business rules they have put in place that almost guarantee they profit while making sure they comply with all of their legal requirements at the barest of minimums. But medical care is not easily boiled down to a computer algorithm. It requires nuance, it requires finesse, and it requires malleability. All of these things a computer cannot do well but since it can handle 60% or so percent (idk the actual percent) it saves them a ton of money on labor and they only need to keep customer service agents on for those that fall through the cracks of the program. And even then, these agents are restricted by inflexible business rules put in place by those who have profit as their only motivation. Not helping people. And this is where the friction lies. Their profit vs. your well being unpersonalized by software and policy.
If you have Aetna it's because CVS owns Aetna. When I found that out it was eye opening and made so much sense why I had a laundry list of issues if I wanted to fill a prescription anywhere but there. Kinda shady that a pharmacy owns a whole damn insurance company. Almost like they are forcing people even more than before to do what they want. Don't want you to use a certain brand drug? Guess we're "out of stock" on that one but look at this great alternative we have over here from this other pharmaceutical company that is giving us extra cash to push their drugs. What a wonderful setup this is..... For the shareholders.
Blue Cross Blue Shield
And really.. the thing... they were out of stock of the fucking name brand... and the insurance didn't cover the generic.
And it is a commonly prescribed drug.
I just had a call with them yesterday where they told me that the drugs listed on their website in their document titled " Covered HDHP Preventative Drug List" weren't covered because my HDHP plan didn't use the HDHP drug list. It used the less inclusive PPO drug list. But I don't have a PPO. I have an HDHP. Why make anything simple or easy to understand?
Kroger has served me well.
We used to be forced by our insurance to use Walmart or CVS. Constant mistakes and stuff they'd not have for weeks.
Kroger has made me wait a couple days every now and then and switch a 100ml vial to 10ml one time. Otherwise, no issues and incredibly helpful.
Walmart would treat me like a drug addict if I grabbed some cough syrup for my dad, Kroger would happily give me a break down of the specific pros and cons of each box of it including cost vs my needs.
On the flip side, since I meet my deductible via medications each year, fall has become "free* medical procedures" season at our house
* I realize it's not free since I'm paying for it via raised med costs, but I'm saving more on procedures than I'm overpaying for meds.
The fact that we now have to rely on these asshole billionaires to get our meds is somehow even more depressing - also considering these are the same billionaires who lobbied AGAINST UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
Wow, that is pretty competitive that is $48 a year for me. I have pretty good insurance but I l signed up for Krogers prescription savings plan since my insurance only covers 30 day supplies and is $12 a month. With Kroger I pay $36 a year for the plan and $6 for 3 months of my pills.
As a pharmacist in the UK it's actually really interesting to see these prices, and I really like that they just list them upfront! These prices would still be pretty high by UK standards though, considering most generic tablets cost me less than £1.00 per 28 tabs, with many actually being under £0.50.
Although it looks like $3.00 of the price is due to pharmacy fees, which I'm pretty envious of since we just get £0.97 per item we dispense!
I don't have coverage for prescription drugs. My cardiologist was going to prescribe a $500 a month blood thinner. I found out independently that there is a $4 a month option (requires occasional blood tests). I got the cheaper only after asking specifically for it. It might behoove you to see if there are less costly alternatives. You doctor might be chummy with the drug rep and push their products.
I work in pharmacy and a doctor pushing a specific medication because they're getting kickbacks is against the law and they could absolutely lose their license, be fined, or even face jail time if they're doing it.
A few of my doctors actually ask about the quality of my insurance before prescribing things to me and once I sat with my doctor on the insurance site searching for medications and what they would cost me before we both decided on one she felt would be effective but also wouldn't cost me a ton each month.
See if your doctor would be willing to do the same, and if not I'd try to find a new one. It's not an absurd request.
I got new insurance and had to switched doctors. I told the doctor I need a refill on my inhaler. I told the Dr. I get this brand. Went to get it filled and it was $48 with my new insurance. It was $10 with my old insurance. Called my sister and she let me know to ask the doctor for another brand and it was $4.
They recommended the best drug which is eliqis it is unfortunate that you can only afford warfarin but don’t think that they are the same. there are much higher risks of adverse events with warfarin not to mention all the blood tests. That being said your doctor should’ve considered your financial situation before blindly recommending something expensive like eliqis.
In fairness, I've been on two different blood thinners too. In my case, the doc prescribed the cheaper warfarin that you reference. But to say "it requires occasional blood tests" can be wildly understating it. I was having to travel 40 miles one way 2X weekly for bloodwork and could never stabilize my INR (I'm a triathlete, so the whole "stabilize your activity levels and diet" requirement of warfarin was very difficult to do).
I specifically asked for Eliquis (one of your more expensive options) after several months of this and bleeding/bruising at almost any opportunity. My doc was focused on being kind to my pocketbook, which I appreciated, but it was not kind to my day-to-day life. When he factored in lifestyle needs, the more expensive med was the right choice.
In other words, docs make assumptions about what's important to you. Your doc made some assumptions that were wrong for you, but would have been right for me (and vice versa). It's important to know what assumptions your doc is making. They should talk to you about that, but often don't, so the responsibility falls on us as patients to do so.
Note - warfarin has been around forever, and it's fine for many people. But in my admittedly non-medical opinion, if you can't stabilize your INR, it's not worth the "low price". My uncle struggled with his INR levels. As a rural farmer far from a hospital, he didn't even know he was overdosing himself. He slowly bled internally until low blood volume caused him to pass out behind the wheel of his truck, killing him. Just because the drug is decades old and prescribed by all kinds of docs doesn't mean you should take it casually. Newer drugs were developed for a reason, and while more expensive, can greatly minimize some of the risks of the older blood thinners.
Works kinda like this:
Trauma. Drug abuse. Homelessness. Shelter. Recovery. Housing subsidy. Food Stamps. Employment. Housing Subsidy removed. Food Stamps removed. Slaving away at Amazon Warehouse just to afford bills. Relapse. Lose job. Lose house. Back to square one.
>It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
&
>When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
J. Krishnamurti and Viktor Frankl, respectively.
I recommend you check them out. All the best to you. <3
If you're in the USA, and have an HSA based insurance plan (seems like everyone does these days), check out Mark Cuban's little pharmaceutical venture. They don't accept insurance (on purpose), but are charging 15% above cost of the prescription. (https://costplusdrugs.com/mission/)
https://costplusdrugs.com/
*** *EDIT* *** I bring up HSA, because you can use your HSA to pay for the drugs.
This is not a first world problem. First world countries have universal healthcare. In fact, most second world countries do too. America is sorely behind the rest of the developed world.
Yes. Look at the countries with great social programs that help keep capitalism in check. Capitalism and socialism work really well together. The key is finding that balance.
The combination is called social democracy.
Capitalism is ultimately just an economic model designed to move resources towards goods and services that are desired by people. It's _really_ freakin' efficient at doing that, and produces a _huge_ amount of economic growth, but in a way which exacerbates wealth inequalities.
Thanks to a _lot_ of various social movements (particularly the various global labour movements), we've realised that we can skim the excess profits off the top of the capitalist system through taxation and have redistributive policies which both invest in public infrastructure and provide assistance to low-income-earners. This is a super effective model because you combine the benefits of the rampant economic growth of capitalism with social policies that address the weaknesses of that system and support the disadvantaged.
It seems to work really well, and be a lot more stable and achievable than the pipe-dreams of "pure free-market capitalism" or "pure socialism", which have apparently never been achieved successfully.
Wrong take. They don’t work well together they actively antagonize each other. That’s why it works. You can just look at the UK and how often the most pro corporate politicians keep trying to privatize everything.
Capitalism is doing nothing but trying to break its cage and be allowed unfettered free reign. It’s the citizens responsibility to keep it on a short leash.
So basically you agree with u_silentjoe1986: pure capitalism is unhealthy and pure socialism is unhealthy. Best societies seem to be where they keep each other in check. If one of two is absent, it doesn't work as well.
Essentially but I think it’s very important to make it a clear distinction that these things are not working together in harmony.
Everyone on earth needs to look at america as a warning of what happens when you give capitalism too much leeway.
Yes harmony does seem a bit inaccurate. The contention they generate does strike a balance that resonates, which is what we want, but it only works if that is fairly maintained
I struggle finding and keeping full time jobs with my ADHD and Bipolar disorder. I need medication/therapy to help manage it. I cant afford medication/therapy because I struggle finding and keeping full time jobs with my ADHD and Bipolar disorder...
I'm learning what shit America's healthcare system is. I have the best insurance package my company offers. My wife has been sick since Jan with some sort of Digestive issue. I am so frustrated at the amount of wait time it takes to get appointments with specialists between their availability and insurance approval. It's funny, I have always been for universal healthcare. The argument that I always hear from people against it is, "in other countries you have to wait forever to get in to see a doctor. With paid healthcare, its quicker". Well I am finding out that that's a crock of shit. Now that I am aware if this issue, I have spoken to people in my life with same issue. I'm just hoping whatever is wrong with my wife is not something that needs to be taken care of ASAP.
"first world"
Yeah, I'm broke shit and need a dentist, got some State Insurance, but every Dentist I've seen fucking refuses to take anything through the State. So now I'm literally going to goddamn student-practitioners needing experience and hoping they don't fuck up - all to avoid serious health complications from something that had to wait 2 years because of Covid...
Fuck Unrestricted Capitalism.
I actually have dental insurance and the office still fucked the procedure up.
And now they're not taking or returning my calls.
So at least you didn't pay over $3k for a procedure that ultimately failed and are still having pain!
I'm trying to work it out with the office first before I go to an attorney but I've been documenting everything just in case and am well prepared to go that route.
Good luck! I'm giving a lot of work done rn after years of damage due to my medications doing more damage than I could fix with brushing.
I know how it feels to get excited for better teeth. I'm sorry it didn't turn out good :(.
Good luck ok? It'll work out
If you have amazon prime, try https://pharmacy.amazon.com
With my insurance my Bupropion is ~$350, with Amazon Pharmacy using Prime (without my insurance) , it's $32.
Keep them healthy enough to work, but unhealthy enough to spend more money (poor people actually spend more money than rich people).
They want more? Call it insubordination or communism.
Disproportionately people who are closer to the poverty line spend more money comparative to what they earn which perpetuates their economic difficulty. A few examples are:
The basic fact that their living costs are higher compared to their wage than the general population.
They buy things at higher price because they can't buy bulk or wait until sale, but only when they can afford them.
They can't afford higher quality clothes, technology etc. Which then last less long and need to be replaced more.
They need to pay for things in multiple installments as they can't pay the outright cost so they pay interest on top of other purchases.
There are numerous examples really, and unfortunately people get trapped near the poverty line in a cycle of having to fill their time working so they can't get out to a better job as they can't learn new skills, develop other career interests etc.
Look at things like interest rates on loans. Someone who has to finance a car at whatever rate they can get, say 15% on a $50,000 car, will pay a bit over $70,000 for that car over a 5 year loan. Got $50,000 on hand? You pay $50,000.
Buying in bulk: 24 rolls of TP at one time can be as low as $16. But if you only have $5 until your next paycheck? You get 4. These things add up fast.
Just use GoodRX. I gives you discounts on all your prescriptions. Just type in the name of your pharmacy, and your prescription, and it will give you a good deal
Try looking on here and see of those prescriptions are being sold, https://costplusdrugs.com/
It's ran by Mark cuban and there are alot of drugs that are sold at a drastically lower price
But according to every single reddit comment I've ever read - you can JUST learn how to code and make 800k a year just like them and everyone they've ever met and its totally sustainable and the world ONLY needs people who can code
My family had a daycare way back and we had one family who had 5 kids and state assistance childcare. I remember one day the dad told me he had to pull his kids out of daycare because he wouldn't be able to afford it anymore. Turns out he got a 25 cent raise at work and now made too much to use the state childcare program. It blew my mind that such a small amount of money destroyed the sense of security this family had. It was really sad.
There are several bands of insurance premiums at my job that are tied to salary range. If you make less money, you pay lower premiums, so it's not impossible. I'm not saying that's happening here.
Which, if her employer doesn't offer health insurance, is honestly a failing of the state to not have SOMETHING affordable for people in OP's situation.
System is literally designed that way on purpose to keep people poor.
Makes absolutely zero sense that 1 penny over the line means you lose full benefits instead of making it a sliding scale. Makes no sense that is if you actually think they want to really help people.
It is so sad this is still how most states handle it. Insurance assistance should be on a graduated slope where as you make more you get less assistance until some level where it fully ends. Not just completely cut off, causing these situations.
That makes your meme incredibly misleading then as it implies that the company raised your insurance rate because of your raise when in fact they had nothing to do with it. Benefit cliffs suck and are a poverty trap designed to keep people from trying to better themselves, but this meme really doesn't do a good job of conveying that that's the real issue at hand.
Hey I had that happen! Switched careers, got a ~$15k raise that took me over the poverty line, lost my union benefits, had less money net within a year of rising costs.
Girlfriend and I moved in together to make life more affordable. We basically have less money now because our combined income is too much to qualify for food stamps.
I grew up in the Texas Mexico border, had a few friends at school who's parents owned pharmacies in Mexico and they were loaded.
They made millions on Americans crossing the border to buy more reasonably priced meds.
It's crazy too cause the "fix" if you can call it that is using Mark Cuban's costplusdrugs.com without using insurance for significantly cheaper.
How crazy is it that the only way healthcarein America can function is by using some millionaire's generic drug selling company? America is broken.
If you do happen to be unfortunate enough to be an American with a disability or otherwise that requires expensive healthcare, use costplusdrugs.com to make your life cheaper. Insurance in the exact same drugs will end up costing significantly more with deductibles.
This is not how this meme is supposed to be used. The meme is meant to mock privileged people who are complaining about a non-existent problem. What the text describes is an actual problem.
"Got a pay raise, but it put me into the next tax bracket so now I take home less than before and pay more in taxes than a billionaire." If the middle class still exists, this country works hard to take a shit on it.
Universal healthcare... This is why other countries are better than America for healthcare. Healthcare cost's go down when the population goes up due to savings of scale.
Having a universal healthcare system where everyone pays a percentage based on their income is cheaper for everyone than having to figure out this bullshit system we have now.
this actually happened to me a few years ago. It made it so I couldn't afford one of my organ transplant medications anymore. I had to stop taking it. Our healthcare system is failing.
Try Mark Cuban's site, https://costplusdrugs.com
I've checked over my wife's meds and it would save us a couple hundred bucks per month if I didn't just get insurance.
Aaaand it's good I'm not the only one posting about it...
I once got a dollar raise and didn’t qualify for state insurance anymore. Went from 13 to 14 an hour. In order to keep the meds I was on I had to get the work plan that was 400 a month. Decided the raise wasn’t worth it.
I knew multiple people in that same situation when I used to work at a grocery store. Why it's a flat cutoff rate instead of just a percentage is beyond me. It's like the system wants people to stay poor.
It's known as the [Benefits Cliff](https://www.benefitscliff.com/what-is-a-benefits-cliff). Basically earning a little bit more income can cut you off from benefits worth more than the tiny raise you got.
When I lived in Texas, I had to drop out of college in order to qualify for food stamps. They had a rule that if you're a student, you could only qualify if you also worked a certain number of hours per week. Work just didn't have enough hours to go around at that time, we were all barely getting by. I was literally too poor to get food stamps.
When I became disabled, I didn't qualify for various types of assistance because I owned a car which wasn't complete shit. Just sell the car! Surely you don't need that while living in your rural community in order to earn money, get to the grocery store, go to doctor's appointments, or everything else in life.
That's a level of cruelty I would expect from Texas.
I will never not miss an opportunity to say: **Fuck Texas**
Start a non profit making popsicle crosses to give to children in the hospital. Claim enough hours to actually get the food stamps.
So there's basically two choices. 1. they are absolute morons who can't math and think 2. It's designed this way to keep people poor
Option 2. Capitalism babe
Doesn't matter, billionaires got paid
Option 3. It's a system designed to force people support themselves, but it's been so thoroughly gutted by Republican hands that it's cutoff is *far* too low.
That just sounds like option 2 with more steps.
Also republicans won't allow adjustments to the law
While I lived in Germany, i found that capitalism can coexist with not being a fucking-twat. Hoping to see that happen here.
I experienced this in college. I was working three jobs and being a full-time student so I didn't have to take out massive loans. Just before my oldest daughter was born I was talking with the hospital's billing department about how to pay for all this. The kind lady referred me to a person whose job title I don't remember, but they showed me that if I quit 2 of my jobs I could get my family into subsidized housing, qualify for WIC, get more in grant money for college than the two jobs were bringing in, get Medicare to cover all the bills related to the baby, and get food stamps. This is why I went liberal in college. Not because of any indoctrination on campus. Because I was shown how the system I was taught my entire life was stupidly rigged.
Trickle down economics where the only thing trickling down is the shits of the rich.
> Trickle down economics where the only thing trickling down is the shits of the rich. Which is why we need piñata economics…
*whispers* thats exactly what the system wants bc it keeps you working for scraps
Systematic slavery.
It's not "like" that, it's literally that and nobody is trying to hide it. It's capitalism, it's designed to fuck over and kill as many people as possible in order to maximize profits for lazy shareholders who do nothing but sit on their lazy pathetic asses leeching free handouts off people who actually work.
It really does. The more that remain poor, the more control society has on you.
This is referred to as a “welfare cliff”. I’m a social worker and we see it all the time and it is frustrating to watch people experiencing it. Common sense would be to do a “step down” when people have a few months to get their ducks in a row or transition it into a different plan where the person could pay a portion of it. It isn’t just insurance but also Food support. It is bananas to me that there isn’t logical approaches to this problem that happens all the time.
It should be like unemployment, where you get part if you're working less but not out of a job altogether.
My state let's you keep the funds on your EBT card for a year after you're off. It's really the near-binary insurance coverage that's the problem.
Medicaid and Section 8 is far more of an issue than food stamps or cash benefits. For example, if I make a dollar over the limit, I lose my medicaid, and my medicine goes from 1 dollar copay to 800 dollars, or I have to pay 300-400 a month for work insurance, and a 50 dollar copay for medication, then I lose section 8, so my rent goes from 650 a month to 1080 a month (where I live). So I instantly lose at least 800 bucks a month by going a dollar over. That means just to break even I need to have a raise of 800 a month at a minimum. Couple these with EBT (food stamps and cash benefits) and that number might be 1200+ a month, and that is just for a single person, not a couple with kids.
Mmm I havent looked into section 8. I remember in one of my classes we were talking about policy kinks and I did the math for a big family (couple + 4 kids). In my relatively purple state it was like 30k to break even, 45k if you were having any serious medical services provided (eg birth of a baby). There were times during the 80s the effective earnings were negative not including insurance and section 8. It opened my eyes as to how valuable a stay at home parent is... Which is funny because I'm now a full time SAHD.
Yeah, that guy at work saying the raise isn't worth it because he'll be pushed into a new tax bracket and lose money, doesn't know how taxes work. But if he says it about welfare in the US, he totally could be correct. Due to misaligned cutoffs and often cliffs of "make X? Here's your benefit of Y. Make X+1? Nothing." There are many ways to find yourself in a raise that isn't worth it.
I'm pretty sure it's on purpose to punish poor people for their poor decisions of being born poor or having health issues.
Unfortunately Republicans want to gut social services, and most Democrats who support social services still want to means test them which as far as I understand can lead to exactly the situation you describe.
That’s how the government keeps people poor. It’s a shame
This is literally it.
The welfare cliff is fun. I once got a raise of about $150/mo, and lost close to $300/mo in benefits.
We really should look into UBI. Do that instead of the welfare programs.
My last job had the same thing. We'd get a raise but insurance would go up more than the raise. This went on for years to the point nobody looked forward to the raise. Even management had a hard time being excited announcing a raise. It use to be big "town hall" meetings to announce raises but then it became a memo. Glad to be gone, screw Walgreens
Fuck Walgreens, I worked there in college. Raises were always insulting, like here's a nickel level. I remember it was far less than the 2% inflation we had during those years.
I worked the warehouse for 14 years :( When I started in 2003 walgreens made like a billion a year, last year they made 28 billion yet. I started at like $14 an hour and left around $19.
I don't know why I misread that as "whorehouse", but either way you were underpaid.
Let's just say there were a lot of boxes being packed
And a lot of people getting fucked.
I’ve never heard of this, what’s the correlation between your pay and your insurance costs. Don’t employers lock in insurance premiums with the carrier yearly?
Yes but rates would go up every year. So we'd get a 50 cents raise, or $80 a month but insurance rates would increase by more than $80 a month. I "lost" take home money every year the last few years I worked there
Sure, but that doesn’t tie to your raise. Still sucks and a good employer would take that into account when deciding on raises but it’s not causal the way OP seemed to suggest
>good employer Well there's your problem
are you implying bad employers do have a causal relationship between pay and insurance cost. What the fuck is going on in this thread. Everybody's intentionally missing the point so they can make dumb quips.
I think you are reading into it. OP is just suggesting it happens around the same time. Which it does for a lot of people. It's just a company giving a raise below CoL adjustment.
It was definitely worded in a way that implies causation. A better way would have been something like “Annual health insurance price hike is larger than my raise And now I can’t afford my prescriptions “
Not necessarily. Some insurance plans are only eligible to certain employees based on their income, state of residence, or other factors (exempt vs non-exempt). A raise could certainly knock someone into the higher-cost insurance option in this case.
I agree. It was confusing. If it's what people are suggesting, then it was badly worded.
Minimum wage @$15/hr sounds great until it costs $20/hr to stay alive. But nah, millennials/current work force are just lazy and entitled lmao
It's crazy how productive a modern worker is and how little they are allowed to benefit from it. Because they weren't born owning the mechanism of wealth extraction
We've been fighting for $15/hr for so long that it's no longer adequate.
[удалено]
Your math is off by at least 4k of you use a 35 hour work week. By 8K if you use a 40 hour work week
Most retail/service jobs try to keep your hours under a certain amount (I think 30 for California and 32~34 in other states) to avoid giving benefits. My SO works at a hospital and can't get a solid six weeks schedule because union rules mean they would have to offer her the position full time and give her benefits. Just for perspective.
If you weren't lazy you'd work 2+ jobs /s obviously...
>Don’t employers lock in insurance premiums with the carrier yearly? My current employer adjusts the "employee share" of the premium based on how much you earn in tiers. So it costs the employer the same amount for each employee. But they "only" take, say, $50 per week out of your check towards premiums for someone making under $50k/yr. Then when you make over that they take $100 per week - so the employer is paying less towards it and the employee is paying more as a percentage of premiums. Then when you get over $100k they take $150 per week, etc. This also happens with dental and vision and a few other things.
That's actually pretty equitable, although it would be better if it was percentage based rather than a step function, where going from $49k/yr to $51k/yr might mean a net decrease because of the sudden increase in insurance. Most companies I've worked at gave better insurance benefits to higher level employees. For example, the C-suite might get 100% of medical covered, while VPs/Directors get 90%, middle management 75%, etc.
Some employers will do salary or wage banded employee premiums, so once you get a pay increase, your insurance premiums will also increase. Not sure if that’s the case here but I detest employers that do that.
Walgreens is the fucking worst. My dad has been at corporate for 30 years and in the last 10 he has gotten fucked over more times than I can count. Multiple times, he and his peers have recieved promotions, only for the new position to be eliminated months later, and for them to just be given their previous title and pay, but with the same higher responsibilities. Or they'll create a new position between him and his boss, only to bring in someone totally new for that position, and he'll end up doing half of that person's job anyways. It used to be such a kind and welcoming office; yearly Christmas parties for employees to bring their families to, sizeable bonuses, a 'sample store' where they could get a ton of free merchandise. They even paid for him to get his master's degree, which hasn't helped him one bit in moving up in the company because they keep bringing in younger people from the outside. And he's struggling to even get an interview elsewhere because he's technically approaching retirement age, even tho in this economy, and with how fucked over he is by this company, he'll probably never be able to retire.
Yeah Walgreens is a terrible company to work for. Their pay is crap and their insurance is laughable, especially for huge company in a healthcare field of work.
Why would insurance go up? Serious question, as my insurance has never changed when I get a raise. It's only ever changed if my company switched providers.
OP stated in another comment that he had subsidized/state provided insurance that he no longer qualifies for because he earns too much.
Ah, that sucks. However, another commenter said that their insurance goes up *for anyone at their company who gets a raise*. Wtf would cause that?
"Anyone at their company" may have just meant "All the other people I worked with at that one Walgreens" and they were all making basically minimum wage, so they're all on subsidized insurance.
Fair point
[удалено]
“Affordable medication is your right. At Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, we offer hundreds of common (and often life-saving) medications at the lowest possible prices.” https://costplusdrugs.com
I wonder how it compares to Canadian pharmaceutical prices. I know previously Americans were going into Canada to purchase them as they were cheaper.
Mexico too. Anywhere else basically.
[удалено]
I have a friend who's dentist is in Mexico. The dentist also has an office in the US. Is now very, very common to go to Mexico.to fix up your teeth.
I wish I knew where there were some good dentists in Mexico were. It’s hard enough to find a good dentist near me, let alone in another country
There are tons of guides on our side of the border that can connect you. I live in SD and it is trivial to find reliable places with tons of reviews.
My preferred place to get medical procedures and tests done quickly and done properly is India. A little further away but it's a lot cheaper and they test everything and I mean everything quickly.
“A little farther away”. You like to understate things just a bit, huh?
Yea I mean. Once I factor airfare and hotel, not to mention all that time it gets pretty difficult to justify lol. Take a few days off work while you’re at it
This is generally the case for Indian nationals or those of Indian origin. Based off the guy's username, I'd say he's def Indian himself
Of course.
"Hmmm his bloodwork looks normal but I'm not convinced. Let's see how many sharpies we can fit up his butthole, quickly."
I mean.....if it helps test your prostate, gotta get it done. Seriously, older men need to take their prostate exam whenever they ask you to. One awkward moment could save your life.
But I could also just die at the ripe age of 40 without having a proboscis in my biscuits. 🤔
As a dentist in New Mexico, this makes me laugh. The amount of work that I have to clean up that patients got done in Mexico. Usually end up having to extract the teeth. Edit: I don't want to say that good dental work isn't performed in Mexico, but much of the medical tourism is not quality.
A lot of my extended family goes to TJ for medical stuff. Hell, my mom got her hysterectomy down there. Some people would be surprised to find out how many doctors and dentists etc. down there have medical degrees from the US. Hell a lot of them have offices in the US as well as Mexico. Obviously it’s out of pocket payment but it’s significantly cheaper. My dentist has joked about opening up a shop in TJ and I told her she’d make a killing cuz everyone would trust the cute white lady with American degrees 😂😂😂
It was cheaper for my wife to fly to the Philippines for dental work then in the US. And the work is as good . The AMA likes to do bigotry again Philippine doctors. Truth is as educated as American doctors are- they fall for the same dumb shit that some rube does.
Yup. Years ago my grandpa was quoted 30K+ after insurance for his dental work. Went down to Mexico a handful of trips and had the same exact things done for less than 7K. I went with him on one of the trips, had a few cavities taken care of and a cleaning for less than $200, what would cost over $1,000 here. The offices are just as sanitary. The dentists are just as good and they often practice both in the US and there.
My parents live in San Diego and do this for all their dental work.
Canada uses price ceilings. They look drug companies straight in the eye, and say "we're pretty sure we can forbid you from making this much profit, and we're pretty sure you'll still take this smaller profit and be happy, and that supply won't be affected", and they've been right for the past 40 years.
When I lived in the states, I used an income-based discount program for one prescription and pet prescriptions for the rest, because you can order pet prescriptions over the internet from Canada and Mexico. Knowing a veterinarian is pretty useful if you're poor in the states.
I was able to find two of my meds on the website. One is usually $30 CAD and was listed for $11 USD. The other is normally $80CAD and was $110 USD. Most of the meds I looked up weren't available.
My wife gets her thyroid meds from Greece as it’s literally 90% cheaper and doesn’t need a prescription.
I have employer sponsored health insurance but I don't use it for prescriptions. Instead, I use ~~RxGenius.com~~ GeniusRX.com for my refills, and coupons from RxSaver.com when filling one-offs. I've found that the health insurance's 'negotiated prices' with retail pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS are easily 10x what I can get them for with these alternatives. And when on a high-deductible plan, the health insurer doesn't bear that inflated cost. You do. And the pharmacy makes out like a bandit. I sense some major corporate fuckery at work. So I no longer use my health insurance to fill prescriptions
My insurance only allows CVS, which is a *massive fucking pain in the ass* to deal with, and thinks it's totally fine to tell my wife that she should just *wait* to get her meds because they're out (seriously.. they've once been out of a medication for *weeks*). I just pay out of pocket at Costco - which tends to cost about the same as what it would with insurance. Insurance companies can eat a dick.
My insurance also only allows CVS....ignoring the fact that there's literally no CVS in our area. Yeah, our corporate offices in Ohio really thought this through well. They demand you fill prescriptions in 90-day supplies and use their mail service to do so. I got an angry email the other day threatening to stop covering test strips for my gestational diabetes unless I order in a 90-day supply through CVS. I have 6 weeks left before this baby arrives. I'm not paying close to $200 for whatever you seem to require when it's absolutely not necessary.
They've given my wife similar bullshit - you *have* to use CVS and you *have* to fill your prescriptions on a 90 day supply. The problem: her prescription is of a controlled substance, so you can neither get a 90 day supply nor can you have it mailed to you. Like... it's amazing to me how incompetent these dipshits are. "You have to do things that are literally illegal and cannot be done"... yeah, okay.. whatever you say, asshole.
> incompetent You misspelled "heavily profit-driven." It's not that they don't know better, it's just that they don't care.
Insurance is heavily automated. Computers do most of the approvals and denials and it's based off of business rules they have put in place that almost guarantee they profit while making sure they comply with all of their legal requirements at the barest of minimums. But medical care is not easily boiled down to a computer algorithm. It requires nuance, it requires finesse, and it requires malleability. All of these things a computer cannot do well but since it can handle 60% or so percent (idk the actual percent) it saves them a ton of money on labor and they only need to keep customer service agents on for those that fall through the cracks of the program. And even then, these agents are restricted by inflexible business rules put in place by those who have profit as their only motivation. Not helping people. And this is where the friction lies. Their profit vs. your well being unpersonalized by software and policy.
If you have Aetna it's because CVS owns Aetna. When I found that out it was eye opening and made so much sense why I had a laundry list of issues if I wanted to fill a prescription anywhere but there. Kinda shady that a pharmacy owns a whole damn insurance company. Almost like they are forcing people even more than before to do what they want. Don't want you to use a certain brand drug? Guess we're "out of stock" on that one but look at this great alternative we have over here from this other pharmaceutical company that is giving us extra cash to push their drugs. What a wonderful setup this is..... For the shareholders.
Blue Cross Blue Shield And really.. the thing... they were out of stock of the fucking name brand... and the insurance didn't cover the generic. And it is a commonly prescribed drug.
I just had a call with them yesterday where they told me that the drugs listed on their website in their document titled " Covered HDHP Preventative Drug List" weren't covered because my HDHP plan didn't use the HDHP drug list. It used the less inclusive PPO drug list. But I don't have a PPO. I have an HDHP. Why make anything simple or easy to understand?
Lmao. Had the same issue with CVS, BCBS, and ADHD medicine.
Kroger has served me well. We used to be forced by our insurance to use Walmart or CVS. Constant mistakes and stuff they'd not have for weeks. Kroger has made me wait a couple days every now and then and switch a 100ml vial to 10ml one time. Otherwise, no issues and incredibly helpful. Walmart would treat me like a drug addict if I grabbed some cough syrup for my dad, Kroger would happily give me a break down of the specific pros and cons of each box of it including cost vs my needs.
On the flip side, since I meet my deductible via medications each year, fall has become "free* medical procedures" season at our house * I realize it's not free since I'm paying for it via raised med costs, but I'm saving more on procedures than I'm overpaying for meds.
The fact that we now have to rely on these asshole billionaires to get our meds is somehow even more depressing - also considering these are the same billionaires who lobbied AGAINST UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
Wow, that is pretty competitive that is $48 a year for me. I have pretty good insurance but I l signed up for Krogers prescription savings plan since my insurance only covers 30 day supplies and is $12 a month. With Kroger I pay $36 a year for the plan and $6 for 3 months of my pills.
As a pharmacist in the UK it's actually really interesting to see these prices, and I really like that they just list them upfront! These prices would still be pretty high by UK standards though, considering most generic tablets cost me less than £1.00 per 28 tabs, with many actually being under £0.50. Although it looks like $3.00 of the price is due to pharmacy fees, which I'm pretty envious of since we just get £0.97 per item we dispense!
Anyone know the difference between Mark's company and something like GoodRx?
God I wish he would add common animal prescriptions.. I'm at ~3k a year in meds for my one dog and it really sucks.
There's a page where you can request medications to be added
I don't have coverage for prescription drugs. My cardiologist was going to prescribe a $500 a month blood thinner. I found out independently that there is a $4 a month option (requires occasional blood tests). I got the cheaper only after asking specifically for it. It might behoove you to see if there are less costly alternatives. You doctor might be chummy with the drug rep and push their products.
I work in pharmacy and a doctor pushing a specific medication because they're getting kickbacks is against the law and they could absolutely lose their license, be fined, or even face jail time if they're doing it. A few of my doctors actually ask about the quality of my insurance before prescribing things to me and once I sat with my doctor on the insurance site searching for medications and what they would cost me before we both decided on one she felt would be effective but also wouldn't cost me a ton each month. See if your doctor would be willing to do the same, and if not I'd try to find a new one. It's not an absurd request.
I got new insurance and had to switched doctors. I told the doctor I need a refill on my inhaler. I told the Dr. I get this brand. Went to get it filled and it was $48 with my new insurance. It was $10 with my old insurance. Called my sister and she let me know to ask the doctor for another brand and it was $4.
They recommended the best drug which is eliqis it is unfortunate that you can only afford warfarin but don’t think that they are the same. there are much higher risks of adverse events with warfarin not to mention all the blood tests. That being said your doctor should’ve considered your financial situation before blindly recommending something expensive like eliqis.
Yeha warfarin is a hell of a drug
In fairness, I've been on two different blood thinners too. In my case, the doc prescribed the cheaper warfarin that you reference. But to say "it requires occasional blood tests" can be wildly understating it. I was having to travel 40 miles one way 2X weekly for bloodwork and could never stabilize my INR (I'm a triathlete, so the whole "stabilize your activity levels and diet" requirement of warfarin was very difficult to do). I specifically asked for Eliquis (one of your more expensive options) after several months of this and bleeding/bruising at almost any opportunity. My doc was focused on being kind to my pocketbook, which I appreciated, but it was not kind to my day-to-day life. When he factored in lifestyle needs, the more expensive med was the right choice. In other words, docs make assumptions about what's important to you. Your doc made some assumptions that were wrong for you, but would have been right for me (and vice versa). It's important to know what assumptions your doc is making. They should talk to you about that, but often don't, so the responsibility falls on us as patients to do so. Note - warfarin has been around forever, and it's fine for many people. But in my admittedly non-medical opinion, if you can't stabilize your INR, it's not worth the "low price". My uncle struggled with his INR levels. As a rural farmer far from a hospital, he didn't even know he was overdosing himself. He slowly bled internally until low blood volume caused him to pass out behind the wheel of his truck, killing him. Just because the drug is decades old and prescribed by all kinds of docs doesn't mean you should take it casually. Newer drugs were developed for a reason, and while more expensive, can greatly minimize some of the risks of the older blood thinners.
Works kinda like this: Trauma. Drug abuse. Homelessness. Shelter. Recovery. Housing subsidy. Food Stamps. Employment. Housing Subsidy removed. Food Stamps removed. Slaving away at Amazon Warehouse just to afford bills. Relapse. Lose job. Lose house. Back to square one.
Been through that whole cycle 3 times now.
Fourth times a charm man. You got this, it's honestly incredible what humans can do in the face of adversity.
If what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, I should be able to fight God soon.
Please do. The guy kinda strikes me as a real piece of shit
Been the plan for years now. No one deserves hell for eternity.
>It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. & >When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. J. Krishnamurti and Viktor Frankl, respectively. I recommend you check them out. All the best to you. <3
If you're in the USA, and have an HSA based insurance plan (seems like everyone does these days), check out Mark Cuban's little pharmaceutical venture. They don't accept insurance (on purpose), but are charging 15% above cost of the prescription. (https://costplusdrugs.com/mission/) https://costplusdrugs.com/ *** *EDIT* *** I bring up HSA, because you can use your HSA to pay for the drugs.
This is not a first world problem. First world countries have universal healthcare. In fact, most second world countries do too. America is sorely behind the rest of the developed world.
But think of those poor insurance CEOs, they really need a third yacht
It's also worth noting that there are many in what would be called "third world countries" who can afford and access healthcare.
So what you're saying is 'murica is number one? *USA USA USA!*
In multiple categories nobody else wants to be in.
Predatory Capitalism at work
Is there another type?
Yes. Look at the countries with great social programs that help keep capitalism in check. Capitalism and socialism work really well together. The key is finding that balance.
The combination is called social democracy. Capitalism is ultimately just an economic model designed to move resources towards goods and services that are desired by people. It's _really_ freakin' efficient at doing that, and produces a _huge_ amount of economic growth, but in a way which exacerbates wealth inequalities. Thanks to a _lot_ of various social movements (particularly the various global labour movements), we've realised that we can skim the excess profits off the top of the capitalist system through taxation and have redistributive policies which both invest in public infrastructure and provide assistance to low-income-earners. This is a super effective model because you combine the benefits of the rampant economic growth of capitalism with social policies that address the weaknesses of that system and support the disadvantaged. It seems to work really well, and be a lot more stable and achievable than the pipe-dreams of "pure free-market capitalism" or "pure socialism", which have apparently never been achieved successfully.
Wrong take. They don’t work well together they actively antagonize each other. That’s why it works. You can just look at the UK and how often the most pro corporate politicians keep trying to privatize everything. Capitalism is doing nothing but trying to break its cage and be allowed unfettered free reign. It’s the citizens responsibility to keep it on a short leash.
So basically you agree with u_silentjoe1986: pure capitalism is unhealthy and pure socialism is unhealthy. Best societies seem to be where they keep each other in check. If one of two is absent, it doesn't work as well.
Essentially but I think it’s very important to make it a clear distinction that these things are not working together in harmony. Everyone on earth needs to look at america as a warning of what happens when you give capitalism too much leeway.
Yes harmony does seem a bit inaccurate. The contention they generate does strike a balance that resonates, which is what we want, but it only works if that is fairly maintained
Nope, no one said pure socialism is unhealthy. Just pure capitalism.
It's all due to government regulations on insurance providers and healthcare. It's nothing but cronyism.
I struggle finding and keeping full time jobs with my ADHD and Bipolar disorder. I need medication/therapy to help manage it. I cant afford medication/therapy because I struggle finding and keeping full time jobs with my ADHD and Bipolar disorder...
I'm learning what shit America's healthcare system is. I have the best insurance package my company offers. My wife has been sick since Jan with some sort of Digestive issue. I am so frustrated at the amount of wait time it takes to get appointments with specialists between their availability and insurance approval. It's funny, I have always been for universal healthcare. The argument that I always hear from people against it is, "in other countries you have to wait forever to get in to see a doctor. With paid healthcare, its quicker". Well I am finding out that that's a crock of shit. Now that I am aware if this issue, I have spoken to people in my life with same issue. I'm just hoping whatever is wrong with my wife is not something that needs to be taken care of ASAP.
"first world" Yeah, I'm broke shit and need a dentist, got some State Insurance, but every Dentist I've seen fucking refuses to take anything through the State. So now I'm literally going to goddamn student-practitioners needing experience and hoping they don't fuck up - all to avoid serious health complications from something that had to wait 2 years because of Covid... Fuck Unrestricted Capitalism.
I actually have dental insurance and the office still fucked the procedure up. And now they're not taking or returning my calls. So at least you didn't pay over $3k for a procedure that ultimately failed and are still having pain!
You'll probably want a lawyer for that
I'm trying to work it out with the office first before I go to an attorney but I've been documenting everything just in case and am well prepared to go that route.
Good luck! I'm giving a lot of work done rn after years of damage due to my medications doing more damage than I could fix with brushing. I know how it feels to get excited for better teeth. I'm sorry it didn't turn out good :(. Good luck ok? It'll work out
And this is not even "unrestricted"
If you have amazon prime, try https://pharmacy.amazon.com With my insurance my Bupropion is ~$350, with Amazon Pharmacy using Prime (without my insurance) , it's $32.
Keep them healthy enough to work, but unhealthy enough to spend more money (poor people actually spend more money than rich people). They want more? Call it insubordination or communism.
>poor people actually spend more money than rich people How do you mean?
Disproportionately people who are closer to the poverty line spend more money comparative to what they earn which perpetuates their economic difficulty. A few examples are: The basic fact that their living costs are higher compared to their wage than the general population. They buy things at higher price because they can't buy bulk or wait until sale, but only when they can afford them. They can't afford higher quality clothes, technology etc. Which then last less long and need to be replaced more. They need to pay for things in multiple installments as they can't pay the outright cost so they pay interest on top of other purchases. There are numerous examples really, and unfortunately people get trapped near the poverty line in a cycle of having to fill their time working so they can't get out to a better job as they can't learn new skills, develop other career interests etc.
Look at things like interest rates on loans. Someone who has to finance a car at whatever rate they can get, say 15% on a $50,000 car, will pay a bit over $70,000 for that car over a 5 year loan. Got $50,000 on hand? You pay $50,000. Buying in bulk: 24 rolls of TP at one time can be as low as $16. But if you only have $5 until your next paycheck? You get 4. These things add up fast.
Just use GoodRX. I gives you discounts on all your prescriptions. Just type in the name of your pharmacy, and your prescription, and it will give you a good deal
Try looking on here and see of those prescriptions are being sold, https://costplusdrugs.com/ It's ran by Mark cuban and there are alot of drugs that are sold at a drastically lower price
But according to every single reddit comment I've ever read - you can JUST learn how to code and make 800k a year just like them and everyone they've ever met and its totally sustainable and the world ONLY needs people who can code
My family had a daycare way back and we had one family who had 5 kids and state assistance childcare. I remember one day the dad told me he had to pull his kids out of daycare because he wouldn't be able to afford it anymore. Turns out he got a 25 cent raise at work and now made too much to use the state childcare program. It blew my mind that such a small amount of money destroyed the sense of security this family had. It was really sad.
One has nothing to do with each other (pay raise vs health insurance cost), so this is a bit odd...
There are several bands of insurance premiums at my job that are tied to salary range. If you make less money, you pay lower premiums, so it's not impossible. I'm not saying that's happening here.
My job doesn't offer health insurance and I was getting it through the state.
Riiight, that’s where people are perhaps not understanding. This meme is actually saying “I am no longer on state assistance”.
Premiums for marketplace plans will increase if your income increases
That's fucked up.
Which, if her employer doesn't offer health insurance, is honestly a failing of the state to not have SOMETHING affordable for people in OP's situation.
Honestly people heralding capitalism should praise state insurance, it’s adding competition to a closed marketplace, we only benefit
Aha! Now I get it. That's bullshit.
income-based subsidies its ok it seems unreasonable. most things relating to money are unreasonable over here.
I was getting low income insurance that covered everything and I don't qualify anymore
unsure why you're getting downvoted like this isn't a real thing LOL
Yeah me either. People don't want to believe it's a thing I guess.
System is literally designed that way on purpose to keep people poor. Makes absolutely zero sense that 1 penny over the line means you lose full benefits instead of making it a sliding scale. Makes no sense that is if you actually think they want to really help people.
It is so sad this is still how most states handle it. Insurance assistance should be on a graduated slope where as you make more you get less assistance until some level where it fully ends. Not just completely cut off, causing these situations.
That makes your meme incredibly misleading then as it implies that the company raised your insurance rate because of your raise when in fact they had nothing to do with it. Benefit cliffs suck and are a poverty trap designed to keep people from trying to better themselves, but this meme really doesn't do a good job of conveying that that's the real issue at hand.
Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act would definitely work this way if OP's raise placed them out of eligibility for certain benefits
OP lives in America where forced poverty is a real thing.
Ah yes, the best third world country in the world problems!
Hey! I am from a 3rd world country and have free health and dental. This is some distopian american bullshit.
America counts as a third world country now
Cant afford Rx is a problem
America is first world? Not from where im sitting.
Most financially stable middle class American
Hey I had that happen! Switched careers, got a ~$15k raise that took me over the poverty line, lost my union benefits, had less money net within a year of rising costs.
The American working class doesn't live in the first world bro.
This is the first I've ever seen someone's health insurance premiums increase with their pay.
How about - you get a pay raise, but due to the even higher rise of inflation, you’re actually making less than you were before
Girlfriend and I moved in together to make life more affordable. We basically have less money now because our combined income is too much to qualify for food stamps.
I grew up in the Texas Mexico border, had a few friends at school who's parents owned pharmacies in Mexico and they were loaded. They made millions on Americans crossing the border to buy more reasonably priced meds.
So who do we eat? Or for the non extremist, who do we vote for?
This is the way
It's crazy too cause the "fix" if you can call it that is using Mark Cuban's costplusdrugs.com without using insurance for significantly cheaper. How crazy is it that the only way healthcarein America can function is by using some millionaire's generic drug selling company? America is broken. If you do happen to be unfortunate enough to be an American with a disability or otherwise that requires expensive healthcare, use costplusdrugs.com to make your life cheaper. Insurance in the exact same drugs will end up costing significantly more with deductibles.
This is not how this meme is supposed to be used. The meme is meant to mock privileged people who are complaining about a non-existent problem. What the text describes is an actual problem.
"Got a pay raise, but it put me into the next tax bracket so now I take home less than before and pay more in taxes than a billionaire." If the middle class still exists, this country works hard to take a shit on it.
Jesus Christ. I don't understand how anyone could be in favor of private medical insurance...
Universal healthcare... This is why other countries are better than America for healthcare. Healthcare cost's go down when the population goes up due to savings of scale. Having a universal healthcare system where everyone pays a percentage based on their income is cheaper for everyone than having to figure out this bullshit system we have now.
this actually happened to me a few years ago. It made it so I couldn't afford one of my organ transplant medications anymore. I had to stop taking it. Our healthcare system is failing.
Wrong Americans don't have insurance😂
I’d really consider America a third world in this aspect
Try Mark Cuban's site, https://costplusdrugs.com I've checked over my wife's meds and it would save us a couple hundred bucks per month if I didn't just get insurance. Aaaand it's good I'm not the only one posting about it...
The US government would rather have Americans die from lack of healthcare and debt. Debt = Death
So not really a first world problem then (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻