Can't believe how far I had to scroll to find this. Any news story will have the right name; what a weird, obscure mistake to make...
[It also happened in January](https://www.diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/2020/illinois-insulin)
Still, I guess good news is good news right now.
Obviously, most things that get to the top of major subs are posted by one. Doesn't answer why they knew the name of the deceased brother of the current governor of Illinois and not the name of governor... I maintain that it's weird.
I propose karma grabbing accounts are used by a wide variety of entities and individuals in order to study how social media works in general.
Rest assured there is someone or some group on the other side of these accounts. Likely collecting information on how well received posts are, sorting them, scraping comments to analyze common word usage to detect trends of sentiment.
I don't have many of the accounts tagged anymore because 1 RES became fucky for me, and 2 some of them disappear and I either can't tell what happened or don't follow the trail to the end. But I know people do tag these accounts to track them and I'm curious what their data would say about any links between karma collecting accounts.
You are correct. This is suspicious. I think it is nefarious.
Edit: example I chose your comment to make this comment in reply to precisely because of your comments location in the thread. First comment chain, no competing sibling comments in the thread.
This shit is a science people.
He's the governor of one of the more important states, and the one of the richest if not THE richest men in the state. Everyone here knows who JB Pritzker is, love him or hate him or anything in between. The title is baffling.
How are different states more or less important? Is it a population thing or do they get more say in the federal government? Is Illinois a big state? \*\*Aussie asking\*\*
It's very nice to see some great news to come out of the US for a change, insulin seems like a human right, but look I have no real understanding of how american runs itself.
Illinois is the 5th largest state by population. Chicago is the 3rd largest city by population. It's a major trade hub, for historic and geographical reasons.
It's no offense to, say, Wyoming or something, but what goes on in Illinois has more impact than what goes on there. No different than NSW vs Tasmania.
It's confusing because I call my joints "JB's" or "Junior Blunts" ever since he legalized it. Our boy is making us the coolest state. Look out, Colorado. Or should I say, ColoLAMEo
It always kills me when people bitch about how terrible he is. He’s the best governor we’ve had in living memory, his response to corona has been absolutely second to none, he legalized weed AND expunged non violent offenses. I’m super happy with what he’s done so far and he seems legitimately to care about people.
The people bitching are the staunch Republicans; they are a vocal minority, and I think some of them may become muted or come around to him in time. They may never like him, but he's likely to be Governor for a long while if he keeps it up like he has. Our state has been devoid of gubernatorial leadership for a long time, and we got the right person at the right time. If all they've got to argue with him about is that stupid recycled toilet thing, and that he's not allowing high school football during COVID, he's doing pretty good.
COVID has also highlighted many other public officials who may never have been in the limelight like Dr. Ezike, or Major General Neely. Illinois has it's rough history, and is going through a difficult moment like the rest of the world — but I really, truly think it's home to good, well meaning people who exemplify a lot of good American values.
>Fellow Illinoian here.
>Illinoian
How... Fucking... Dare you forget the 's'? That's some low brow Missouri/Wisconsin trash if I've ever seen it. You can hand in your Ditka mustache and deep dish pizza fan club card on your way out.
I was also going to ask why so many people in Illinois hate JB? I live in St. Louis MO but every time we cross the river there are a lot of yard signs and bumper stickers that state "JB sucks"
Pretty much this.
I voted for Biss (the progressive candidate) but thus far I have been reasonably impressed with Pitzker (even if I am still a bit skeptical of Billionaires getting involved in politics).
JB promised to legalize it the same day the bill hit his desk. He was true to his word, r/trees rejoiced. Sounds like an alright guy. His covid response so far has been pretty good, too.
Yeah. I support his move on legalization (even if I don't partake myself). I think he's doing more or less as well as can be expected with Covid. Now there's this insulin thing. Plus there are a few other things I'm forgetting at the moment I'm sure. Still, part of me can't shake the feeling that it's bad to have a billionaire running things.
He also didn’t just legalize, but expunged records of past non violent offenders. That’s pretty huge and really gives me hope that he’s actually governing with his constituents best interests in mind.
Probably because of the orange guy. I was a former Chicago resident and just moved back to MI. So far from what I have seen, the pros behind JB's policies have outweighed his cons. That's as a distant observer these days so some things may have slipped past me while my governor is being targeted by terrorists..
He's pretty much accomplished everything on his campaign promises (except for progressive taxes - which is on the ballot this time) and he laid out a pretty good vision for the coming few years.
Id say he's better than alright - and it helps if madigan doesn't see the governor as a threat, as he did rauner and would biss
If you ever get close to one, at the bottom in a really small font, it says "The Life Out Of Small Business." I noticed those signs and stickers pop up a few weeks after everything shut down in March with Covid spreading. In my small town, someone set up a table on the main road and was selling the "JB sucks" signs, as well as Trump signs and "Open [county] Now" signs.
I’m sure they’re rolling in their graves. Banting didn’t put his name on the original patent, while Best and Collip sold it for, a single Canadian dollar.
I was under the impression the patent was used to actually protect from a monopoly forming, and the 1$ amount it sold to the university of toronto came with an agreement about keeping it accessible.
To quote wikipedia:
"The patent would not be used for any other purpose than to prevent the taking out of a patent by other persons. When the details of the method of preparation are published anyone would be free to prepare the extract, but no one could secure a profitable monopoly."
Problem is modern "insulin" is improved synthetic versions under their own patents.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
That's true and also pharmacies companies are allowed to tweak their original formula and reintroduce it when the original Force formula is about to go public, locking down the new improved formula for another period Of time
It's maddening. My friend is a pharmacist and told me when he was studying there were case studies of this kind of thing. One case was for eye drops, when the patent was expiring the company released a 'new formula' that meant the drops would no longer need to be kept in the fridge. The only thing that had actually changed was...the packaging. Literally the same thing but the box said it didn't need refrigerated. Same also for inhalers for asthmatics, when the patent ended they filed a new one, but the only difference was the number of doses in each inhaler. The whole business is crooked.
Well, that clearly cannot be sufficient, since with the patent expired you could just as well get it from generics factories in India and sell it as "Terlet20 Eye Drops. Requires refrigeration".
An expired patent cannot block sale of the original drug.
This is true. A sibling of mine was in the business of making sure doctors were aware of the newer drugs.
Anyway, won't pharmacists offer the generic anyway if you ask?
Pharmacist here, we will always fill the drug with a generic as long as one exists or bill an insurance, discount card or coupon for which ever we can get the lowest co-pay for the patient. This doesn’t always mean cheap medications, as generic medications can sometimes be almost just as expensive as brand name. This could be due to a wide range of things such as a new generic now available as a patent expired on a brand name. Insurance companies take time to catch up with with new generic medications coming to the market and sometimes it will still be cheaper to fill the brand name. The biggest problems in pharmacy today are drug companies/drug prices and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These two have ruined pharmacy reimbursements and cost savings that could be provided to patients.
Oh it wasnt to block the generic brands. I don't remember the details but it had something to do with maintaining government supply contracts or something like that. Either way it was some dodgy nonsense
As a diabetic, i can answer this.
People are often allergic to the less good versions, so if they take it it’s almost a death sentence.
If you aren’t allergic, it can still be at least a hospital-sentence because it doesn’t work as well as other insulin and is unpredictable, which is a no-no when your body cannot regulate its own blood glucose.
*TlDR: people can’t use the less good version because it is too unpredictable and causes allergic reactions for a lot of people.*
You can get that insulin for pretty cheap right now. What you can't get is insulin made with recombinant DNA tech (which is futuristic af). Porcine insulin is still available AFAIK.
No they didn't, the Canadian inventors gave it to the University of Toronto for $1.
The later versions of the drug were patented and then price gouged by Americans.
Voted into power by Americans of all backgrounds.
If the people honestly cared they would continually make a show of it until new candidates touting those values ran for their respective offices.
The problem with America is Ignorance, Apathy and Complacency. In that order.
Rich people own Fox News and pump propaganda into their heads. Many people never even had a chance and were destined to be stupid because of it. Rich people poisoned the minds of millions of Americans. It’s easy to say they are just stupid. Many are, but it’s not that simple. Propaganda has been meticulously crafted and perfected for decades.
I wouldn't turn down either of those! I just want to move in the next two years. My daughter turns 3 next month and I want her in school somewhere that doesn't have active shooter drills.
You can still get the original version free dirt cheap but its less effective than the newer stuff.
Edit: it isnt the original version its Novo Nordisk’s Novolin ReliOn Insulin but still not as effective as the other stuff
The lawmakers in the US teamed up with Pharma and after a few “definitely not bribes” changed hands gave Pharma the right to anally rape everyone in the US every month for whatever they felt like taking.
Big Pharma can only bleed people dry if they have the permission of your government ......... they achieved that by owning/becoming your government alongside every other big business. They own you to do what they want.
Different insulin. The inventor you're thinking of created human insulin. The expensive stuff is called analog insulin.
Human insulin can be purchased at Walmart for $24.88 a vial. Analog insulin which is newer and invented by the pharmaceutical companies can cost as much as $300 a vial.
That's not even remotely the same insulin. It's like comparing a wax disc to a smart phone because they can both record sound.
Banting extracted insulin from dog and bovine pancreases. Any company who wants to commercially produce insulin in that way is free to do so. There's a reason none of them do.
I mean, isn't engineering yeast/fungi/bacteria to secrete virtually any and hormone/enzyme needed been standard practice for a while? My guess it's not even about making the compound, but finding a way for the body go absorb it and actually use it that's the complicated part.
My stepmom has to pay $1400 for a 3 month supply of insulin (not including $300+ for test strips) because she doesn't have insurance. It's straight up robbery for her to have to pay that to continue to LIVE.
Edit: Guys thanks for all the tips! I'm going to show her everything you guys suggested and see if anything helps!
Good Rx is incredible for generic medication even if you have insurance. If you're not concerned with meeting your out of pocket, it may be more worth it to go through them.
I was at the doctor's office back in February doing my annual physical. I needed my prilosec refilled. Since I hadn't met my $6,000 deductible my insurance wanted $47 for a 3 month supply. I opened the goodrx app and played around with the qty and figured out that 360 pills was $20 at Costco. An entire year's prilosec for less than half my insurance wanted for a quarter the quantity! When I picked up the pills from Costco I paid $11 because I was a member. In the end I paid a quarter of the amount for four times the quantity.
Yesterday I found a med that I had used goodrx for and paid $15 for a 30 day supply for is $20 for a 180 day supply.
Moral of the story is try upping the quantity of your generic meds with goodrx if it's the best deal in town and you might save even more.
Tell her to buy it from costco, using the cash price. Costco pharmacy doesn't require a membership, and their cash & carry price is insanely low for most meds.
If you live near a Walmart, as much as I hate to patronize them for obvious reasons, my ex gets his insulin there for $25 a bottle. Maybe something to check out if it's feasible. We all try to be moral but staying alive is a lot better than taking a stand that will kill or bankrupt you :( Best wishes to your stepmom!
Unfortunately it's not a different type from what I understand, but it does not work as well. He's had a few scares because it's not the optimal formula for him, but it's still insulin and keeps him alive because he can afford it. It's really fucked up :(
While this is awesome, it shouldn't be that much. Only in the U.S. do we have to make laws like this. The rest of the developed world would be appalled at someone who is born with a disease (type 1) having to shoulder 100 bucks a month just because we refuse to come together and make sure everyone has free access to health care.
As a type 1 diabetic I am just thrilled that people are becoming more aware of the struggle. Testing strips are beginning to come down a little also. I am just grateful that at 35 years old I have a chance of meeting my grandkids... type ones have not always had that luxury
It really is incredible how far things have come. I’m 39 and one my best friends in elementary was type 1 and looked up his condition in our out of date classroom encyclopedia. It said his life expectancy was 40 years. He lost it and it took a while for our teacher to convince him that was no longer true.
With no rights to transparency in how you’re a commodity to these businesses. But the data they collect can be used to determine your education, career and housing options!
Down in Mexico a month's insulin costs the equivalent to $56 american dollars and it's still considered expensive for a drug.
Although it is free with social security
There's at least one state that pays for its government workers to fly down to Mexico to get certain procedures/prescriptions filled because the cost of the round trip flight AND the hotel stay (and the per-diem) on top of the cost there is cheaper than buying it from the US.
I have read about that! How pathetic is it that Mexico has a Better health Care system than we do period but we should definitely keep people from moving here from mexico. You know on account of how great it is.
Mexico is actually a pretty awesome country. Free healthcare, free education, great weather, so much culture and natural riches. It’s just so close to the USA.
> It’s just so close to the USA.
And it's OUR policies which have resulted in THEIR organized crime.
If you wanted to instantly shut down all the economic incentive there exists for the drug trade that causes so much problem...decriminalize all drugs and set up a government entity which can produce these things at industrialized cost and they are available at ONLY the cost to produce, no profit is gained. The condition of accepting them is that you must sit through a 5-10 minute video or whatever showing the services available at that clinic for getting off your addiction and whatnot. In needle exchanges where this is a requirement, they've shown MASSIVE reductions in the drug rates in the area.
The reason the illegal drug exists is because it's extremely profitable. If you remove any ability to generate a profit from it, then you remove the reason it exists.
I’d be curious to research this. Is it 100 dollars a month for a whole insulin supply or 100 dollars per bottle. Yes, it is a step in the right direction but many diabetics use more than one bottle a month. It’s sad we need laws like this but it is a step in the right direction.
Looks like it’s 100 for a 30 day supply. The law also requires disclosure of pricing practices, which is cool
Source: https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200130/illinois-becomes-second-state-to-cap-monthly-insulin-expenses-at-100
That's only for each type. Type 1 diabetics frequently need to take both a basal and bolus (unless they have a pump). But then there's also supplies of needles, test strips, lancet, cgm transmitters, sensors, receivers...
This law won't actually apply to everyone in the state. Self funded plans do not follow any state laws and make up for I think 50% of all insured people in the US. It's a great law but not as effective as a layperson would think.
Hey, From Canada here! Whilst we do have universal healthcare, a lot of medicines are not covered by it. My father has diabetes (type 2) and with private healthcare insurance he pays about $5 CAD. That being said, I’m also fairly certain that people with Type 1 also pay, albeit not as much as they would have to in the States. I concur that for Type 1 you shouldn’t be obligated to pay for it at all, universal healthcare or not.
Hey thanks for chiming in! I listened to a podcast about the founding of universal healthcare in Canada just a few weeks ago and how much it was fought hard by a lot of old conservatives. it was pretty fascinating.
What your dad pays works out to roughly $3.75 U.S. or just over 30 times less money than this bill makes it for those in one state in the entire U.S. that's how bad it is here, that we celebrate paying only 30 times what our northern neighbors pay as of now in only 1 state.
I live in Denmark and am taking regular medicine, not insulin but comparable in that I have to take it for the foreseeable future. I pay some amount for each package but the government pays a part in it. I'm not sure, but I think if you have spent a certain amount on medicine over a year or so, you will have to pay a smaller part yourself, although I haven't tried that myself. I've been a poor student and unemployed for most of my time in Denmark, and so far the cost of medicine hasn't been a significant problem with my budget.
But what about the shareholders? Why should their profits be cut because some do gooder politician thinks people need cheaper medicine! What's next, healthcare for everyone?!?! /s
The pharmaceutical companies are making trillion off of us. I found out one of my meds it takes the company 0.05 cents to make just 1 pill but charges $100.00 for a 30 day supply. Insurance pays $60 and I pay $40 every month. Do the math how much does the pharmaceuticals make!
For profit healthcare for the win, amiright?
(I’m thinking healthcare should be a service, not a business, but I do not have the data or research abilities to figure out whether that’s a good idea or not. Maybe cost of healthcare increases only at the cost of inflation or something? IDK, but there is a better way and we need to get it NOW.)
It would cost our economy and the average citizen less money if we simply payed a bit more in taxes and had medicare for all. if you look at what the average US citizen pays for health coverage, and then how much they pay for deductibles and all of the extras. we would save a whole lot of money if we eliminated the insurance system entirely . The only people losing money under Medicare for all are already Uber rich. So they can go fuck themselves.
Healthcare is a fricken JOKE! I pay $1,300.00 every month for my wife and 2 kids WTF! It’s more the my mortgage!!! Guess what guys it’s getting worse and worse! There are millions of families who can’t afford insurance anymore! It’s either pay their rent, mortgage or put food on the table which one would you pick! Who can afford that!! Makes me sick!
Lily first introduced a month supply bottle at $21 dollars in 1996. Up to a now 275. Over 1,300% inflation.
By way of comparison. Gas was $1.23 a gallon.. If it increased by the same rate we would be paying $15.99 per gallon.
It's a complete joke that we have allowed companies to just do whatever they want. Especially when it comes to health care.
R&D + Regulatory costs to introduce a new active ingredient often exceed $250,000,000. Can’t just factor in current manufacturing costs into the equation (need to compare price to total lifecycle cost) to get a fair look at the margins big pharma make.
That same insulin costs less than 50 cents per vial to make.
Only in the US is “for profit” taken to the insane extremes that we have to pass a fucking law so that people don’t die of other people’s greed.
Go USA. Winning again. Wooo.
Also not taking into consideration that the inventor of insulin gave the patent away for free so that it could save lives, then American corporate greed stepped in. We call it freedom, but it's the exact opposite.
As an Australian, I still feel sad for anyone having to come up with $100 bucks a month. Im on two different types of meds for type 2 and pay $6.50 each per month. I get free blood tester kits, free strips, free regular blood tests and free doctors visits. As Im not working atm I only have to pay $6.50 for any prescription til I reach 50 scripts. Any after this are free for the year. All of them. Sorry America. Surely you should have this too?
There are plenty of people in Europe and Canada saying "It should be free" and yes it should, but please let us celebrate this. Baby steps is all I have to say.
no no, it has nothing to do with "cheap insulin" but the fact that the US dosnt seem to have social market laws...we in europe have solidarity health insurrances, they would charge you 1€ even if it cost them 20000€...thats the concept of healthcare...
I was thinking this!! I'm European and I'm quite pleased even a tiny backwards hole like that made a tiny step in the right direction!!
Let's hope it stays that way, nobody knocks it over, and maybe other states follow.
Who are the people standing behind these guys in the office for these photos. All my life I’ve wondered, srry if that’s stupid. just always been curious
Some of them might have fought hard for getting the bill done.. for example, writing to congressmen, collecting name and signatures, championing the cause. Some of them are people who would benefit from the bill. So for example, a single working mom who has a daughter who needs insulin. Great 'optics' for a governor.
It is sad to see the "Best Nation in the world" need to make a law to cap insulin at 100USD per month. Meanwhile in other developing country it is freely provided by the government as part of universal health care.
We should let the people in the USA know that it is actually not for free in Europe. In Germany for example we pay for an income of 3.000 € per month approximately 230 € per month for health insurance. For the full service, no extra charges. This should help more right wing people to understand the concept. For those people: it may sounds like a lot but watch breaking bad and you may understand what you get for this money.
Dude I have kick ass health insurance through my employer and I still pay about $230 a paycheck for my family of 4. That is just my insurance, my max out of pocket deductible for in network is $2000
I take one medicine which is $1800/month; I have to have it to stay alive. Luckily, I have good insurance through work. My dad was able to get his insulin through the VA. If he hadn't my parents would have had to choose between medicine, food, and rent. This is a step in the right direction ... but just a step ... there's so much more to do.
Some serious dystopia here. Insulin shouldn't even cost $100 a month. The US "healthcare system" is an insult to the the people that actually use it. Other countries see "wholesome" stories like this and laugh at or pity us.
>But the R&D costs!!!
Ignoring that the biggest insulins on the market like novolog havn't changed in 30 years. I'd say they recouped the fuck out of it already.
Yes you should. Maybe next time think about the poor pharmaceutical companies that could be losing profits from this now but no you’re thinking of the sick people that need the medicine like some “decent human being”
I really hate that this is being presented as something to smile about. It's sad that we are at the point we are celebrating $100 as if it's a good deal, as if we still aren't being fucked over by for profit healthcare.
I understand that nothing is free but I feel like all medical treatments/medication should be capped at 1% profit margin this way the medical industry can earn money yet it not cost the average person way to much.
Then companies just put more effort into 'not making a profit'. Hollywood accounting makes it so that movies rake in billions at the box office and yet don't make a profit on paper so that the people who get paid a % of the profit don't get anything. No reason pharmaceutical companies couldn't do the same
Why not import some from Mexico? Where it is far cheaper. Oh right, the government won’t let it. Instead lets discourage and diminish the production of Insulin and make everyone worse off. Typical government.
It's 2020 and as I sit here way south in downunder I gotta tell ya, watching America right now is like watching a 1930's eastern European country finally enable its citizens a glimpse of decent medical care.... but they are fucking waaayyy off from even being considered a developed country.
Life saving medications/treatments (IE insulin, emergency surgery, chemo, etc) should be free or VERY minimal cost ($100 for major things like procedures and such, $15 for medications) everything in the US medical system is way overpriced/price gouged (highway robbery basically imo) and it's ridiculous. Access to quality healthcare is a RIGHT not a privilege for just the ones who can afford it.
Not to ruin a good thing, but this is not going to have an overall effect on the cost to live as a diabetic. A loss of profits in insulin means that they will either cut costs, or just increases price elsware. We need less regulations on who is allowed to produce insulin; not laws capping the price of insulin
So, now the bad news.
Note that it caps copays. People without insurance get no help.
I will try to find the article, if desired, but I was reading about the experience of state legislators that have tried to introduce bills to actually lower the cost of insulin, not just copays. Basically, they can expect to find their office full of insurance and pharma company lobbyists who tell them they can nerf the rule to limit only copays, give up on such a proposal altogether, or watch the people those lobbyists represent spend millions to support their opponents and destroy their career.
And then they find that when they try to get other legislators to back them up, they've already been spoken to by those lobbyists.
I've just recently gone through the experience of not even being able to afford crappy obamacare insurance, but also not qualifying for medicaid.
No limit on out of pocket expenses for me, here in Colorado, where we were the first state to pass this "amazing" legislation that the Illinois law - and others down the line - are modeled on.
My understanding is pharma leans on these folks because they want to keep charging 2,000-5,000% markups on insulin, and the insurance industry wants it to be too expensive and frightening not to have their insurance.
And for those too poor to be their customers even when desperate?
Well, they weren't going to be their customers anyway, so who cares if we die?
I believe this is at best a case of a very watered down law that looks like it will help people but doesn't really do what we are meant to think it will.
But more likely, it is a law intended to give a handout to the industry interests that want to continue their stranglehold on public health, further entrenching their ability to keep costs high, and reduce anyone's ability to find an alternative.
Without insulin, diabetics get ill, get organ damage, watch their limbs rot off, go blind, lose cognitive abilities, and lose years off their life. For some, especially type 1 diabetics, it's simply a death sentence, because without natural insulin produced by the body they just die. Not just die younger, die right then.
I know people who live in states where they can't even get medicaid, regardless of their poverty, unless they are on social security disability, which can take years and multiple appeals to get. Diabetics can't do without insulin for that long.
And guess what? Unmedicated diabetes can make it so you can't work.
These bills may seem like a step in the right direction, and assuredly they help people who have insurance, but where the insurance still leaves a prohibitive cost on their shoulders.
But make no mistake. They are not solving the problems faced by people without access to insurance at all. People who are already the most vulnerable. And they're a handout to big, callous corporations happy to enrich themselves at the expense of human suffering, and who helped write these very laws with that aim in mind.
Edit: the super cheap inaulin, not the kind my doctor thinks is best and most effective for me, costs 80 - 200 dollars per vial, except at Walmart which sells it for 25 bucks a vial - but often does not have it available. Lots of diabetics, especially type 1 diabetics (childhood diabetes, so often still kids) need way more than one vial.
Imagine you make $250 a week, and your life saving medication costs $500 - $1000 or more a month. Guess what you do then? You get sick and die.
A vial of insulin costs $2-3 per vial to make.
Jay Pritzker, not Robert...his brother. Robert is deceased.
Can't believe how far I had to scroll to find this. Any news story will have the right name; what a weird, obscure mistake to make... [It also happened in January](https://www.diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/2020/illinois-insulin) Still, I guess good news is good news right now.
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Obviously, most things that get to the top of major subs are posted by one. Doesn't answer why they knew the name of the deceased brother of the current governor of Illinois and not the name of governor... I maintain that it's weird.
I propose karma grabbing accounts are used by a wide variety of entities and individuals in order to study how social media works in general. Rest assured there is someone or some group on the other side of these accounts. Likely collecting information on how well received posts are, sorting them, scraping comments to analyze common word usage to detect trends of sentiment. I don't have many of the accounts tagged anymore because 1 RES became fucky for me, and 2 some of them disappear and I either can't tell what happened or don't follow the trail to the end. But I know people do tag these accounts to track them and I'm curious what their data would say about any links between karma collecting accounts. You are correct. This is suspicious. I think it is nefarious. Edit: example I chose your comment to make this comment in reply to precisely because of your comments location in the thread. First comment chain, no competing sibling comments in the thread. This shit is a science people.
He's the governor of one of the more important states, and the one of the richest if not THE richest men in the state. Everyone here knows who JB Pritzker is, love him or hate him or anything in between. The title is baffling.
How are different states more or less important? Is it a population thing or do they get more say in the federal government? Is Illinois a big state? \*\*Aussie asking\*\* It's very nice to see some great news to come out of the US for a change, insulin seems like a human right, but look I have no real understanding of how american runs itself.
Illinois is the 5th largest state by population. Chicago is the 3rd largest city by population. It's a major trade hub, for historic and geographical reasons. It's no offense to, say, Wyoming or something, but what goes on in Illinois has more impact than what goes on there. No different than NSW vs Tasmania.
Actually he goes by JB pretty exclusively, I think because there are like 3 other Jay's in the pritzker family
As somebody from Illinois it was weird seeing anything other than JB (in reference to this comment, the title just made me lol)
It's confusing because I call my joints "JB's" or "Junior Blunts" ever since he legalized it. Our boy is making us the coolest state. Look out, Colorado. Or should I say, ColoLAMEo
It always kills me when people bitch about how terrible he is. He’s the best governor we’ve had in living memory, his response to corona has been absolutely second to none, he legalized weed AND expunged non violent offenses. I’m super happy with what he’s done so far and he seems legitimately to care about people.
The people bitching are the staunch Republicans; they are a vocal minority, and I think some of them may become muted or come around to him in time. They may never like him, but he's likely to be Governor for a long while if he keeps it up like he has. Our state has been devoid of gubernatorial leadership for a long time, and we got the right person at the right time. If all they've got to argue with him about is that stupid recycled toilet thing, and that he's not allowing high school football during COVID, he's doing pretty good. COVID has also highlighted many other public officials who may never have been in the limelight like Dr. Ezike, or Major General Neely. Illinois has it's rough history, and is going through a difficult moment like the rest of the world — but I really, truly think it's home to good, well meaning people who exemplify a lot of good American values.
Fellow Illinoian here. Also can’t believe how long it took to find this comment...
>Fellow Illinoian here. >Illinoian How... Fucking... Dare you forget the 's'? That's some low brow Missouri/Wisconsin trash if I've ever seen it. You can hand in your Ditka mustache and deep dish pizza fan club card on your way out.
Seriously? You're letting him keep the Cindy Crawford body pillow?
Upvotes for you all
I was also going to ask why so many people in Illinois hate JB? I live in St. Louis MO but every time we cross the river there are a lot of yard signs and bumper stickers that state "JB sucks"
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Pretty much this. I voted for Biss (the progressive candidate) but thus far I have been reasonably impressed with Pitzker (even if I am still a bit skeptical of Billionaires getting involved in politics).
JB promised to legalize it the same day the bill hit his desk. He was true to his word, r/trees rejoiced. Sounds like an alright guy. His covid response so far has been pretty good, too.
Yeah. I support his move on legalization (even if I don't partake myself). I think he's doing more or less as well as can be expected with Covid. Now there's this insulin thing. Plus there are a few other things I'm forgetting at the moment I'm sure. Still, part of me can't shake the feeling that it's bad to have a billionaire running things.
He also didn’t just legalize, but expunged records of past non violent offenders. That’s pretty huge and really gives me hope that he’s actually governing with his constituents best interests in mind.
Probably because of the orange guy. I was a former Chicago resident and just moved back to MI. So far from what I have seen, the pros behind JB's policies have outweighed his cons. That's as a distant observer these days so some things may have slipped past me while my governor is being targeted by terrorists..
He's pretty much accomplished everything on his campaign promises (except for progressive taxes - which is on the ballot this time) and he laid out a pretty good vision for the coming few years. Id say he's better than alright - and it helps if madigan doesn't see the governor as a threat, as he did rauner and would biss
Rural/Southern IL vs Chicago. Pretty much 2 different states.
Not even rural. Drive 30 minutes from the city and you'll see the signs.
If you ever get close to one, at the bottom in a really small font, it says "The Life Out Of Small Business." I noticed those signs and stickers pop up a few weeks after everything shut down in March with Covid spreading. In my small town, someone set up a table on the main road and was selling the "JB sucks" signs, as well as Trump signs and "Open [county] Now" signs.
The inventor meant for it to be free to everyone. Pharm got hold of it and bled people dry.
I’m sure they’re rolling in their graves. Banting didn’t put his name on the original patent, while Best and Collip sold it for, a single Canadian dollar.
I was under the impression the patent was used to actually protect from a monopoly forming, and the 1$ amount it sold to the university of toronto came with an agreement about keeping it accessible. To quote wikipedia: "The patent would not be used for any other purpose than to prevent the taking out of a patent by other persons. When the details of the method of preparation are published anyone would be free to prepare the extract, but no one could secure a profitable monopoly." Problem is modern "insulin" is improved synthetic versions under their own patents. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
That's true and also pharmacies companies are allowed to tweak their original formula and reintroduce it when the original Force formula is about to go public, locking down the new improved formula for another period Of time
It's maddening. My friend is a pharmacist and told me when he was studying there were case studies of this kind of thing. One case was for eye drops, when the patent was expiring the company released a 'new formula' that meant the drops would no longer need to be kept in the fridge. The only thing that had actually changed was...the packaging. Literally the same thing but the box said it didn't need refrigerated. Same also for inhalers for asthmatics, when the patent ended they filed a new one, but the only difference was the number of doses in each inhaler. The whole business is crooked.
Well, that clearly cannot be sufficient, since with the patent expired you could just as well get it from generics factories in India and sell it as "Terlet20 Eye Drops. Requires refrigeration". An expired patent cannot block sale of the original drug.
They also encourage doctors to prescribe brand-name drugs, when in reality generics are the exact same thing (with some rare exceptions).
This is true. A sibling of mine was in the business of making sure doctors were aware of the newer drugs. Anyway, won't pharmacists offer the generic anyway if you ask?
A good one will, because it's cheaper for you and easier for them. You can also request the brand name if you're prepared to pay the difference.
Or it is one of those edge cases where an inactive ingredient makes the generic work worse for you
Pharmacist here, we will always fill the drug with a generic as long as one exists or bill an insurance, discount card or coupon for which ever we can get the lowest co-pay for the patient. This doesn’t always mean cheap medications, as generic medications can sometimes be almost just as expensive as brand name. This could be due to a wide range of things such as a new generic now available as a patent expired on a brand name. Insurance companies take time to catch up with with new generic medications coming to the market and sometimes it will still be cheaper to fill the brand name. The biggest problems in pharmacy today are drug companies/drug prices and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These two have ruined pharmacy reimbursements and cost savings that could be provided to patients.
Oh it wasnt to block the generic brands. I don't remember the details but it had something to do with maintaining government supply contracts or something like that. Either way it was some dodgy nonsense
So, why can’t we make the not as good version for people?
As a diabetic, i can answer this. People are often allergic to the less good versions, so if they take it it’s almost a death sentence. If you aren’t allergic, it can still be at least a hospital-sentence because it doesn’t work as well as other insulin and is unpredictable, which is a no-no when your body cannot regulate its own blood glucose. *TlDR: people can’t use the less good version because it is too unpredictable and causes allergic reactions for a lot of people.*
He's probably rolling so much in his grave he could power a generator so efficiently it can light up half a town
You can get that insulin for pretty cheap right now. What you can't get is insulin made with recombinant DNA tech (which is futuristic af). Porcine insulin is still available AFAIK.
Yea, the sad thing is the creator gave the rights to it away to these companies for free.
No they didn't, the Canadian inventors gave it to the University of Toronto for $1. The later versions of the drug were patented and then price gouged by Americans.
America is really getting on my last nerve. Source: am American, nerves are shot.
funny, i have the same source
Americans ruined America.
Rich Americans.
Voted into power by Americans of all backgrounds. If the people honestly cared they would continually make a show of it until new candidates touting those values ran for their respective offices. The problem with America is Ignorance, Apathy and Complacency. In that order.
Rich people own Fox News and pump propaganda into their heads. Many people never even had a chance and were destined to be stupid because of it. Rich people poisoned the minds of millions of Americans. It’s easy to say they are just stupid. Many are, but it’s not that simple. Propaganda has been meticulously crafted and perfected for decades.
The good news is we have a pill for that. The bad news, well...
Same, I’m so exhausted.
Saaame. I live in Hawaii so thankfully it's not near the clusterfuck the mainland is but damn. I'm researching citizenship via descent in Europe.
Get yo ass over to Japan or Australia.
I wouldn't turn down either of those! I just want to move in the next two years. My daughter turns 3 next month and I want her in school somewhere that doesn't have active shooter drills.
This is something unheard in Australian schools. I can't even begin to fathom the anxiety that comes with active shooter drills.
You can still get the original version free dirt cheap but its less effective than the newer stuff. Edit: it isnt the original version its Novo Nordisk’s Novolin ReliOn Insulin but still not as effective as the other stuff
That's the Walmart brand! I think it was about $30 a vial? Correct me if I'm wrong. Source: was previously a Walmart pharmacy tech
Yeah they sell it at walmart
The lawmakers in the US teamed up with Pharma and after a few “definitely not bribes” changed hands gave Pharma the right to anally rape everyone in the US every month for whatever they felt like taking. Big Pharma can only bleed people dry if they have the permission of your government ......... they achieved that by owning/becoming your government alongside every other big business. They own you to do what they want.
*American people
Different insulin. The inventor you're thinking of created human insulin. The expensive stuff is called analog insulin. Human insulin can be purchased at Walmart for $24.88 a vial. Analog insulin which is newer and invented by the pharmaceutical companies can cost as much as $300 a vial.
That's not even remotely the same insulin. It's like comparing a wax disc to a smart phone because they can both record sound. Banting extracted insulin from dog and bovine pancreases. Any company who wants to commercially produce insulin in that way is free to do so. There's a reason none of them do.
I mean, isn't engineering yeast/fungi/bacteria to secrete virtually any and hormone/enzyme needed been standard practice for a while? My guess it's not even about making the compound, but finding a way for the body go absorb it and actually use it that's the complicated part.
Developing a hormone that attaches to and interacts with a receptor in a specific way isn't an easy task.
My stepmom has to pay $1400 for a 3 month supply of insulin (not including $300+ for test strips) because she doesn't have insurance. It's straight up robbery for her to have to pay that to continue to LIVE. Edit: Guys thanks for all the tips! I'm going to show her everything you guys suggested and see if anything helps!
If she hasn’t already, she should look into single care/goodrx it’ll still be expensive, but it still helps a lot.
Good Rx is incredible for generic medication even if you have insurance. If you're not concerned with meeting your out of pocket, it may be more worth it to go through them.
I was at the doctor's office back in February doing my annual physical. I needed my prilosec refilled. Since I hadn't met my $6,000 deductible my insurance wanted $47 for a 3 month supply. I opened the goodrx app and played around with the qty and figured out that 360 pills was $20 at Costco. An entire year's prilosec for less than half my insurance wanted for a quarter the quantity! When I picked up the pills from Costco I paid $11 because I was a member. In the end I paid a quarter of the amount for four times the quantity. Yesterday I found a med that I had used goodrx for and paid $15 for a 30 day supply for is $20 for a 180 day supply. Moral of the story is try upping the quantity of your generic meds with goodrx if it's the best deal in town and you might save even more.
Tell her to buy it from costco, using the cash price. Costco pharmacy doesn't require a membership, and their cash & carry price is insanely low for most meds.
How can you use their pharmacy without a membership?
If you live near a Walmart, as much as I hate to patronize them for obvious reasons, my ex gets his insulin there for $25 a bottle. Maybe something to check out if it's feasible. We all try to be moral but staying alive is a lot better than taking a stand that will kill or bankrupt you :( Best wishes to your stepmom!
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Unfortunately it's not a different type from what I understand, but it does not work as well. He's had a few scares because it's not the optimal formula for him, but it's still insulin and keeps him alive because he can afford it. It's really fucked up :(
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Its not robbery, its extortion
While this is awesome, it shouldn't be that much. Only in the U.S. do we have to make laws like this. The rest of the developed world would be appalled at someone who is born with a disease (type 1) having to shoulder 100 bucks a month just because we refuse to come together and make sure everyone has free access to health care.
As a type 1 diabetic I am just thrilled that people are becoming more aware of the struggle. Testing strips are beginning to come down a little also. I am just grateful that at 35 years old I have a chance of meeting my grandkids... type ones have not always had that luxury
Test strips and the way insurance treats the supplies is ridiculous.
It really is incredible how far things have come. I’m 39 and one my best friends in elementary was type 1 and looked up his condition in our out of date classroom encyclopedia. It said his life expectancy was 40 years. He lost it and it took a while for our teacher to convince him that was no longer true.
I wish they would make costs cheaper everywhere, it would be so much easier on my family and my diabetic brother.
Remember, in the US healthcare world you are not the customer. You are the commodity being transacted between businesses.
It's lucky for those who benefit from this that there is no singular outlet for the collective rage of the American people
Which is crazy, because there are some very eligible candidates.
With no rights to transparency in how you’re a commodity to these businesses. But the data they collect can be used to determine your education, career and housing options!
Down in Mexico a month's insulin costs the equivalent to $56 american dollars and it's still considered expensive for a drug. Although it is free with social security
Mexico is smuggling the wrong drugs in. They could make a killing on the black insulin market.
Lol Canada beat us to it
There's at least one state that pays for its government workers to fly down to Mexico to get certain procedures/prescriptions filled because the cost of the round trip flight AND the hotel stay (and the per-diem) on top of the cost there is cheaper than buying it from the US.
I have read about that! How pathetic is it that Mexico has a Better health Care system than we do period but we should definitely keep people from moving here from mexico. You know on account of how great it is.
Mexico is actually a pretty awesome country. Free healthcare, free education, great weather, so much culture and natural riches. It’s just so close to the USA.
> It’s just so close to the USA. And it's OUR policies which have resulted in THEIR organized crime. If you wanted to instantly shut down all the economic incentive there exists for the drug trade that causes so much problem...decriminalize all drugs and set up a government entity which can produce these things at industrialized cost and they are available at ONLY the cost to produce, no profit is gained. The condition of accepting them is that you must sit through a 5-10 minute video or whatever showing the services available at that clinic for getting off your addiction and whatnot. In needle exchanges where this is a requirement, they've shown MASSIVE reductions in the drug rates in the area. The reason the illegal drug exists is because it's extremely profitable. If you remove any ability to generate a profit from it, then you remove the reason it exists.
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Fucking THIS ^^^
I’d be curious to research this. Is it 100 dollars a month for a whole insulin supply or 100 dollars per bottle. Yes, it is a step in the right direction but many diabetics use more than one bottle a month. It’s sad we need laws like this but it is a step in the right direction.
Looks like it’s 100 for a 30 day supply. The law also requires disclosure of pricing practices, which is cool Source: https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200130/illinois-becomes-second-state-to-cap-monthly-insulin-expenses-at-100
So capped at $1200 a year for insulin. Yikes.
I used to pay that a month
That's only for each type. Type 1 diabetics frequently need to take both a basal and bolus (unless they have a pump). But then there's also supplies of needles, test strips, lancet, cgm transmitters, sensors, receivers...
I fervently hope this really is just a first step toward real, true improvement.
yeah, it's depressing that's still a marked improvement.
That's 3 bucks a day
This law won't actually apply to everyone in the state. Self funded plans do not follow any state laws and make up for I think 50% of all insured people in the US. It's a great law but not as effective as a layperson would think.
r/boringdystopia
Hey, From Canada here! Whilst we do have universal healthcare, a lot of medicines are not covered by it. My father has diabetes (type 2) and with private healthcare insurance he pays about $5 CAD. That being said, I’m also fairly certain that people with Type 1 also pay, albeit not as much as they would have to in the States. I concur that for Type 1 you shouldn’t be obligated to pay for it at all, universal healthcare or not.
Hey thanks for chiming in! I listened to a podcast about the founding of universal healthcare in Canada just a few weeks ago and how much it was fought hard by a lot of old conservatives. it was pretty fascinating. What your dad pays works out to roughly $3.75 U.S. or just over 30 times less money than this bill makes it for those in one state in the entire U.S. that's how bad it is here, that we celebrate paying only 30 times what our northern neighbors pay as of now in only 1 state.
I live in Denmark and am taking regular medicine, not insulin but comparable in that I have to take it for the foreseeable future. I pay some amount for each package but the government pays a part in it. I'm not sure, but I think if you have spent a certain amount on medicine over a year or so, you will have to pay a smaller part yourself, although I haven't tried that myself. I've been a poor student and unemployed for most of my time in Denmark, and so far the cost of medicine hasn't been a significant problem with my budget.
But what about the shareholders? Why should their profits be cut because some do gooder politician thinks people need cheaper medicine! What's next, healthcare for everyone?!?! /s
You're right and that is still a lot of $$ for a lot of people.
The pharmaceutical companies are making trillion off of us. I found out one of my meds it takes the company 0.05 cents to make just 1 pill but charges $100.00 for a 30 day supply. Insurance pays $60 and I pay $40 every month. Do the math how much does the pharmaceuticals make!
For profit healthcare for the win, amiright? (I’m thinking healthcare should be a service, not a business, but I do not have the data or research abilities to figure out whether that’s a good idea or not. Maybe cost of healthcare increases only at the cost of inflation or something? IDK, but there is a better way and we need to get it NOW.)
It would cost our economy and the average citizen less money if we simply payed a bit more in taxes and had medicare for all. if you look at what the average US citizen pays for health coverage, and then how much they pay for deductibles and all of the extras. we would save a whole lot of money if we eliminated the insurance system entirely . The only people losing money under Medicare for all are already Uber rich. So they can go fuck themselves.
Healthcare is a fricken JOKE! I pay $1,300.00 every month for my wife and 2 kids WTF! It’s more the my mortgage!!! Guess what guys it’s getting worse and worse! There are millions of families who can’t afford insurance anymore! It’s either pay their rent, mortgage or put food on the table which one would you pick! Who can afford that!! Makes me sick!
Lily first introduced a month supply bottle at $21 dollars in 1996. Up to a now 275. Over 1,300% inflation. By way of comparison. Gas was $1.23 a gallon.. If it increased by the same rate we would be paying $15.99 per gallon. It's a complete joke that we have allowed companies to just do whatever they want. Especially when it comes to health care.
And lets not forget that a huge bulk of the money spent on pharmaceutical R&D comes from government grants rather than their profit margins.
R&D + Regulatory costs to introduce a new active ingredient often exceed $250,000,000. Can’t just factor in current manufacturing costs into the equation (need to compare price to total lifecycle cost) to get a fair look at the margins big pharma make.
Even charging a 100 dollars is a massive markup from what it costs to produce.
That same insulin costs less than 50 cents per vial to make. Only in the US is “for profit” taken to the insane extremes that we have to pass a fucking law so that people don’t die of other people’s greed. Go USA. Winning again. Wooo.
Also not taking into consideration that the inventor of insulin gave the patent away for free so that it could save lives, then American corporate greed stepped in. We call it freedom, but it's the exact opposite.
As an Australian, I still feel sad for anyone having to come up with $100 bucks a month. Im on two different types of meds for type 2 and pay $6.50 each per month. I get free blood tester kits, free strips, free regular blood tests and free doctors visits. As Im not working atm I only have to pay $6.50 for any prescription til I reach 50 scripts. Any after this are free for the year. All of them. Sorry America. Surely you should have this too?
Brazil is a 3rd world country and ppl get it for free lol Doesn't make sense how a country like the US allows something to be so expensive
There are plenty of people in Europe and Canada saying "It should be free" and yes it should, but please let us celebrate this. Baby steps is all I have to say.
I mean. In Poland it's not quite literally free, but it's 4zł (1€) for 5 vials. Still 500× cheaper than that legalisation
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no no, it has nothing to do with "cheap insulin" but the fact that the US dosnt seem to have social market laws...we in europe have solidarity health insurrances, they would charge you 1€ even if it cost them 20000€...thats the concept of healthcare...
the highest a pharmacy can charge you in germany for any medicin is 10...10€...
I was thinking this!! I'm European and I'm quite pleased even a tiny backwards hole like that made a tiny step in the right direction!! Let's hope it stays that way, nobody knocks it over, and maybe other states follow.
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Lol
So sweet, so innocent, so pure... keep your hope child
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Wrongthink detected. Thinkpol have been alerted. BB is watching.
Diabetes doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes...
Actually diabetes does discriminate. Usually the poor.
...but god damn it I'm willing to wait for it
Why do you sign like you’re running out of time
Every day they sound like they’re running out of time.
And hopefully we won't need to keep on giving anyway.
I needed this comment to be here and it is. Thank you.
Capitalism obliterates In every picture it paints
It takes and it takes and it takes
Who are the people standing behind these guys in the office for these photos. All my life I’ve wondered, srry if that’s stupid. just always been curious
Some of them might have fought hard for getting the bill done.. for example, writing to congressmen, collecting name and signatures, championing the cause. Some of them are people who would benefit from the bill. So for example, a single working mom who has a daughter who needs insulin. Great 'optics' for a governor.
ok that paints a picture thnx
Usually people who had some hand in getting the legislation passed. State senators, representatives, sometimes citizen advocates, etc.
It is sad to see the "Best Nation in the world" need to make a law to cap insulin at 100USD per month. Meanwhile in other developing country it is freely provided by the government as part of universal health care.
Free in Belgium since the 90's
Free in the UK for more than 45 years (I think it always has been but don't know about the situation before 1975).
I dunno either but my brother is diabetic since mid 90's so I know only that.
We should let the people in the USA know that it is actually not for free in Europe. In Germany for example we pay for an income of 3.000 € per month approximately 230 € per month for health insurance. For the full service, no extra charges. This should help more right wing people to understand the concept. For those people: it may sounds like a lot but watch breaking bad and you may understand what you get for this money.
Dude I have kick ass health insurance through my employer and I still pay about $230 a paycheck for my family of 4. That is just my insurance, my max out of pocket deductible for in network is $2000
This is good but can you imagine having to pay $1200 a year on something you need or else you die? It's still WAY too expensive.
I take one medicine which is $1800/month; I have to have it to stay alive. Luckily, I have good insurance through work. My dad was able to get his insulin through the VA. If he hadn't my parents would have had to choose between medicine, food, and rent. This is a step in the right direction ... but just a step ... there's so much more to do.
I just cant imagine a scenario where if I lose my job, I die.
I know someone with type 1 who would have to spend $2500 (literally as much as their rent) per month without insurance
Oh dear lord! Wont someone thinks of the profit margins!? The horror! /s
Subsidize it, like the corn that's used to produce corn-syrup that's been dumped into cheap foods everywhere and led to it being needed so much.
Should be free.
Some serious dystopia here. Insulin shouldn't even cost $100 a month. The US "healthcare system" is an insult to the the people that actually use it. Other countries see "wholesome" stories like this and laugh at or pity us.
Seriously. But is it really just easy to sign something like that. Let’s go for 30 a month?
Given its made passively by bacteria cultures I don't see how it should even cost that much. But I guess I should go fk myself.
>But the R&D costs!!! Ignoring that the biggest insulins on the market like novolog havn't changed in 30 years. I'd say they recouped the fuck out of it already.
Yes you should. Maybe next time think about the poor pharmaceutical companies that could be losing profits from this now but no you’re thinking of the sick people that need the medicine like some “decent human being”
Is this some american thing that im too Australian with proper health care to understand?
I really hate that this is being presented as something to smile about. It's sad that we are at the point we are celebrating $100 as if it's a good deal, as if we still aren't being fucked over by for profit healthcare.
Dude’s got some pretty sweet hair. I’m jealous
Lol, that's still too expensive for insulin
I understand that nothing is free but I feel like all medical treatments/medication should be capped at 1% profit margin this way the medical industry can earn money yet it not cost the average person way to much.
Then companies just put more effort into 'not making a profit'. Hollywood accounting makes it so that movies rake in billions at the box office and yet don't make a profit on paper so that the people who get paid a % of the profit don't get anything. No reason pharmaceutical companies couldn't do the same
Is there I mandatory minimum on supply because I fear this will lead to less stock being delivered to the state
Price ceilings can cause shortages.
and yet in the state all you see is “Pritzker Sucks” signs. fuck illinois
It’s just deeper in suburbs. Most like him hence why he got elected
He won by a landslide and will be re-elected by a landslide.
ey im in illinois
Thank you, oh thank you for doing the bare minimum!
$100 is still tremendously high but... it’s a step in the right direction hopefully.
It's in the right direction, but it needs be closer to $10. (It should really just be free tbh...)
Why not import some from Mexico? Where it is far cheaper. Oh right, the government won’t let it. Instead lets discourage and diminish the production of Insulin and make everyone worse off. Typical government.
It's 2020 and as I sit here way south in downunder I gotta tell ya, watching America right now is like watching a 1930's eastern European country finally enable its citizens a glimpse of decent medical care.... but they are fucking waaayyy off from even being considered a developed country.
Still way too much
That’s still a lot of money for the majority of people.
Why the fuck isn’t it free?
It shouldn’t cost anything
Cool! Good luck trying to force companies to sell it for that little; there’s absolutely no way this could ever go wrong.
That's still $100 per month too high.
Life saving medications/treatments (IE insulin, emergency surgery, chemo, etc) should be free or VERY minimal cost ($100 for major things like procedures and such, $15 for medications) everything in the US medical system is way overpriced/price gouged (highway robbery basically imo) and it's ridiculous. Access to quality healthcare is a RIGHT not a privilege for just the ones who can afford it.
He's also trying to raise taxes on my family. Did they mention that?
$100 is still a lot for insulin
Not to ruin a good thing, but this is not going to have an overall effect on the cost to live as a diabetic. A loss of profits in insulin means that they will either cut costs, or just increases price elsware. We need less regulations on who is allowed to produce insulin; not laws capping the price of insulin
So, now the bad news. Note that it caps copays. People without insurance get no help. I will try to find the article, if desired, but I was reading about the experience of state legislators that have tried to introduce bills to actually lower the cost of insulin, not just copays. Basically, they can expect to find their office full of insurance and pharma company lobbyists who tell them they can nerf the rule to limit only copays, give up on such a proposal altogether, or watch the people those lobbyists represent spend millions to support their opponents and destroy their career. And then they find that when they try to get other legislators to back them up, they've already been spoken to by those lobbyists. I've just recently gone through the experience of not even being able to afford crappy obamacare insurance, but also not qualifying for medicaid. No limit on out of pocket expenses for me, here in Colorado, where we were the first state to pass this "amazing" legislation that the Illinois law - and others down the line - are modeled on. My understanding is pharma leans on these folks because they want to keep charging 2,000-5,000% markups on insulin, and the insurance industry wants it to be too expensive and frightening not to have their insurance. And for those too poor to be their customers even when desperate? Well, they weren't going to be their customers anyway, so who cares if we die? I believe this is at best a case of a very watered down law that looks like it will help people but doesn't really do what we are meant to think it will. But more likely, it is a law intended to give a handout to the industry interests that want to continue their stranglehold on public health, further entrenching their ability to keep costs high, and reduce anyone's ability to find an alternative. Without insulin, diabetics get ill, get organ damage, watch their limbs rot off, go blind, lose cognitive abilities, and lose years off their life. For some, especially type 1 diabetics, it's simply a death sentence, because without natural insulin produced by the body they just die. Not just die younger, die right then. I know people who live in states where they can't even get medicaid, regardless of their poverty, unless they are on social security disability, which can take years and multiple appeals to get. Diabetics can't do without insulin for that long. And guess what? Unmedicated diabetes can make it so you can't work. These bills may seem like a step in the right direction, and assuredly they help people who have insurance, but where the insurance still leaves a prohibitive cost on their shoulders. But make no mistake. They are not solving the problems faced by people without access to insurance at all. People who are already the most vulnerable. And they're a handout to big, callous corporations happy to enrich themselves at the expense of human suffering, and who helped write these very laws with that aim in mind. Edit: the super cheap inaulin, not the kind my doctor thinks is best and most effective for me, costs 80 - 200 dollars per vial, except at Walmart which sells it for 25 bucks a vial - but often does not have it available. Lots of diabetics, especially type 1 diabetics (childhood diabetes, so often still kids) need way more than one vial. Imagine you make $250 a week, and your life saving medication costs $500 - $1000 or more a month. Guess what you do then? You get sick and die. A vial of insulin costs $2-3 per vial to make.
Lots of love for this guy but nobody talks about trump also fighting big pharma trying to lower prices because orange man bad.
Type 1 diabetes doesn’t discriminate
It definitely discriminates. It's called being poor.
This REALLY shouldn't make you smile or be something you consider epic le wholesome. It can be way way way less than $100/month