Consumer Ignorance Sustains Spiraling Drug Costs?

[Islander]

2 hours ago, Zen Traveler said:

I agree it won't be easy, but in fact a hard sell to those entities as you say below. In the end though, their profession will still be marketable and the USA will be where they want to practice.

This is a good observation and what I think trying to incorporate a buy-in to a "Medicare for all" system would be the starting point...Of course the Insurance companies would lose business and as the market changed for those opting for a lower cost/no frills plans their programs would be drastically more expensive...In this climate, regular corporations  would push the burden on their employees to find healthcare and they would no longer be responsible for providing it for their employees--Those big corporations along with smaller companies are being priced out of the market as it stands now.

 

In Canada, the medical insurance companies are relatively small, because they don’t sell insurance for primary healthcare, just for supplemental healthcare, just the services that they can find that the government plans don’t cover.  As you might expect, most people rarely buy anything they’re selling, except for maybe travel insurance when they take a trip.

 

Insurance companies that are used to raking in hundreds of dollars a month from many citizens, and as much per employee from employers, won’t be eager to see their business empires cut down to a fraction of their present size.  This is likely why President Obama went with a market system.

 

It might be informative to read about how Medicare started in Canada.  It was the idea of a politician called Tommy Douglas.  It’s not a federal program.  Each province does things a bit differently, subject to federal regulations.  Most provinces originally charged monthly payments, but they were nominal sums, usually under $50 per person and under $100 per family per month.  Gradually, province by province, the payments have been eliminated, so healthcare has only been completely free in Canada for a few years.

 

Now, the federal government is discussing a plan to pay for prescription medications for every citizen.  Their reasoning is that they should be able to buy in bulk and thus negotiate better prices than individual citizens can.  This will probably happen within five years.

[Zen Traveler]

4 minutes ago, Islander said:

 

In Canada, the medical insurance companies are relatively small, because they don’t sell insurance for primary healthcare, just for supplemental healthcare, just the services that they can find that the government plans don’t cover.  As you might expect, most people rarely buy anything they’re selling, except for maybe travel insurance when they tale a trip.

I believe in the USA this will come down to how our citizens want to be pampered verses cared for.

4 minutes ago, Islander said:

 

Now, the federal government is discussing a plan to pay for prescription medications for every citizen.  Their reasoning is that they should be able to buy in bulk and thus negotiate better prices than individual citizens can.  This will probably happen within five years. 

I agree this should be the model and our Universities should be graduating folks that are up to the task of delivering HEALTHCARE. 

[Jeff Matthews]

On 7/12/2019 at 6:23 PM, Zen Traveler said:

The ACA had a pretty good framework until no one in charge wanted to fix it...

You mean nobody wanted to pour more money into it.  You had a mandate by Uncle Sam to buy a product that was quite difficult to afford in the first place.  Perfect!  Throw in a subsidy because you know most Americans can't even come up with $400 to spare.  That'll fix it.  Not!

 

So how do you squeeze broke people for more money?

[Zen Traveler]

1 hour ago, Jeff Matthews said:

You mean nobody wanted to pour more money into it

It is the law of the land and has been since 2010. Since then elected officials have said were going to "repeal and replace it," and they did neither. The alternative was to actually convince states to accept the Medicaid Expansion mandate and try to make the system work in a For Profit framework with Government oversight on Insurance costs...The former didn't happen...{Deleted as not to get too political.} and the pendulum has swung back towards Single Payer.

[Gilbert]

On 7/9/2019 at 4:19 PM, RT FAN said:

That gray area is indeed rather large and must be addressed by politicians at some point. Those that are advocating the elimination of private insurance are either not cognizant of how the economy works, ill informed or delusional. Perhaps a combination of all three.

 

The perfect response LOL!!!

[32blownhemi]

On 7/9/2019 at 1:38 PM, RT FAN said:

 I agree, having just filled a prescription for $123 for a tiny bottle, that my MD said that in Canada it is $5 for the generic version. Ouch!

www.planetdrugsdirect.com  I get almost all my prescriptions here. But only the ones that are manufactured/shipped from either Canada or Great Britten. If they don't list one on their website call them. It can be a hassle sometimes but much cheaper. My doctor is linked to them & just puts the order in from his computer.