I sat in the car with my son while my wife ran in to the drugstore

[tk2kewl]

She was picking up a new prescription. When she returned she said that it cost $230. The 8 yr old in the back seat said "they charge you to live? That doesn't seem fair. "

[cyberswede]

1. Smart kid. Sad commentary on our heathcare system.

[gvstn]

2. I thought the same thing as a kid when I found they charge for water.

[3catwoman3]

40. So did I.

I also thought life insurance meant you wouldn't die and I wondered how that got arranged. I also thought doctorsa d nurses never got sick.

[niyad]

3. kid has it exactly right!

[Doctor_J]

4. "it's the best we could do"

- President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the Turd Way

[Enthusiast]

5. +1!

[tenderfoot]

9. Yes!

[BeanMusical]

30. I second that emotion.

[cantbeserious]

23. Personally - I Am Tired Of Being An Afterthought To The DNC DWS DLC Third-Way Party Establishment

eom

[840high]

39. me2

[GoneFishin]

56. Yep. Translates to "I didn't even try. My rich friends really weren't that psyched about it."

[tk2kewl]

59. in a nutshell

[Enthusiast]

6. He nailed it.

"Our" elected representatives could give a fuck about our interests. My contempt for both political parties grows by the day. Yes I buy scripts for BP and other problems.

[erronis]

12. That's because these critters have free health care that nobody else can get.

Time to get out the broom. And then put all of them on the Standard US Health Care policy, just the same as every other resident in this country.

[Enthusiast]

36. That is what I like to hear.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Volaris]

55. And then cut their pay to not one cent more than

The American working average, so they know what it REALLY feels like to have to pay for healthcare.

[The Wielding Truth]

7. How did you respond? Did you give a way to change it? Tell her that we are working on it.

We are supporting a true change in caring for our Nation. We are supporting Bernie Sanders and the Progressive movement in our Social Democracy.

[SoapBox]

8. Exactly.

And it's "open enrollment" at my company.

Talk about smoke-and-mirrors/confusing...always trying to trick people into picking the wrong plan.

Last year they did the same but boy, people were pissed off angry, when they started getting co-pays for meds in January in amounts of hundreds of dollars. The company finally had to allow people to change plans during the first quarter of 2015...what a mess.

And then...the company essentially blamed the employees for not "paying enough attention"...it was all a trap in the first place and the company was ticked that employees didn't roll over and play dead.

Figures lie and Liars figure...that's what I figure.

[Keep-Left]

10. kids have no filter and see things as they should be

[LittleGirl]

14. +1 n/t

[randome]

13. I'd be in favor of that.

Because I'm a Liberal who has more important things in his life than worshiping money. You, on the other hand...welcome to DU.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[uppityperson]

15. Do you think it right that a person needs to choose between feeding their child or taking medicine

to stay alive? Reasonable cost is unreasonable to you?

[RadiationTherapy]

16. Not "free;" taxpayer-funded minimum living care.

[tenderfoot]

17. MIRT!

eom

[sabrina 1]

18. If needed, absolutely in a civilized society. Especially children. We are not some Third World

country that leaves its most vulnerable citizens, children, the elderly, disabled to scramble for food in the garbage, are we?

[stage left]

29. Sadly, Sabrina

That's where the Republicans want to take us, isn't it?

[sabrina 1]

62. You're right. I didn't really word that very well, I guess. I know we allow people to die

who are too poor to afford HC. Or heat or food. And we have a shamefully large homeless population. I was shocked to this in Ventura, Ca. when I was there for two years recently.

Another reason why I support Bernie ... So maybe we can start to do something about it.

[stage left]

64. That's why I support him, too.

[SammyWinstonJack]

61. Are we? I think we are, for many of us.

[A Simple Game]

19. You do know that they used to be, don't you. Free for the taking by those able.

Usually provided by the community for those not able. If you live in the right place you can still kill, gather, or grow all of your food, water, and clothing. Shelter is harder, very few places where a person can actually "own" their own land anymore, most places in this Country you "rent" it from the government(s).

I think a minimum living subsidy should be provided to every person in the Country. Food stamps for all, minimum housing provided for anyone that needs it and a subsidy for everyone else, and no water taxes for municipal water and free well drilling where municipal is not available. Also whatever is deemed necessary to maintain a minimum standard for all other essentials.

If you want gravy on your potatoes and butter on your bread you get a job and work for it.

[Egnever]

25. Growing your own food isn't free

You pay for it with your time. Working pays you for your time. Same thing.

[A Simple Game]

32. You bring up the barter system which is a valid point.

If I don't have the right land or ability to grow my own food I can make things or use my labor to trade for food. The system we have now is just an elaborate barter system.

[ColesCountyDem]

20. ...

[TheSarcastinator]

21. you are a man of true vision and genius!

You, sir, should be enshrined in the highest political office available to you: who else would have the ethics, intelligence, courage and integrity to lead us into the future but a man of your perspective?

"Don't you know that if people could bottle the air, they would? Don't you know that there would be an American Air-bottling Association? And don't you know that they would allow thousands and millions to die for want of breath, if they could not pay for air? I am not blaming anybody. I am just telling how it is. " -- Robert Ingersoll, 1897

[peacebird]

50. I love the Robert Ingersoll quote, so true....

[theboss]

22. What is the prescription? Who is your insurance carrier?

As always, I hear this stories and think, "Hey, this is my job. I can help!"

And then, generally, no one gives me any facts.

[tk2kewl]

24. this is on our basic plan.

We actually will be able to get the next one on a different plan, but my wife needed this right away to treat a clot in her lung.

it was my son's reaction that I felt was with of a post. He's a very thoughtful kid.

[theboss]

27. Is it Eliquis?

I would think that would be covered. Is the co-pay $230?

[tk2kewl]

28. Xerelto

Not sure if it was a copayment or not. My wife takes care of all the paperwork for us. She's a taskmaster and always gets it figured out.

[REP]

35. Was there a reason she was rx'd this very expensive new drug when there's an old generic available?

Warfarin does the same thing; costs a lot less.

[tk2kewl]

38. I don't know, but wwe will figure it out

We had no idea it was going to cost so much.

[sahel]

51. xarelto has less incidence of intracranial bleeding

and somewhat higher gi bleeding compared with warfarin. It might be justifiable if there is a family or personal history of strokes. Otherwise, I don't know why it would be prescribed.

[sorefeet]

57. Some big law firm

has ads on the TV here. I guess Xarelto is very dangerous and is killing people.

[tk2kewl]

58. we have seen those too

[blackspade]

26. Wow, that is a gut punch.

Even an 8 yr old gets it.

[SummerSnow]

31. Sad. When the 8 yr old becomes his parents age medicine will be double that or triple

[HassleCat]

33. Insurance companies suck

For two years, I was driven nuts by foot fungus. It was that yellow fungus in the toenails, but it spread to the rest of me, and it would break out in random places. My doctor kept sending in different descriptions of it, trying to figure out a way he could describe it that would convince the insurance company to pay. We finally got lucky, and they paid half, so it cost me a mere $450.

[tclambert]

34. "You see, son, the insurance company has to make a profit. That's more important

than people living or dying. That's how our American system works. If we were to value life more than profits, why, that'd make us socialists! We can't allow that, now can we? So, if some people, like your mom, have to die in order for insurance companies to make a profit, well, they're just gonna hafta die. It's the American way."

[optimist.spencer]

41. Sad, but true-

It's just a shame that the healthcare system here is so messed up even an 8year old can tell.

[Duval]

37. Out of the mouth of kids! nt

[mrmpa]

42. try the website goodrx.com

I've used it quite a bit. Two weeks ago, I was texted that my prescriptions were ready for pick up and the cost was $48.32. I went to goodrx.com and the cost was $23.29. The pharmacy charged me the $23.29. A lot of times the cost for the medicine is cheaper if you don't use your insurance.

[malthaussen]

43. Kid has a lot to learn

Worse, it's your responsibility to teach him.

-- Mal

[tk2kewl]

44. What's your point?

[WillyT]

53. Yeah... Teach The Kid That They Screw Sick People In The United States

Here's How Much More the US Spends on Medicine Than Everyone Else, in 6 Charts

Link: http://mic.com/articles/125688/here-s-how-much-more-the-us-spends-on-medicine-than-everyone-else-in-6-charts

[hunter]

45. Random bad stuff happens to very good people.

A functional human community takes care of everyone; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The U.S.A is a dysfunctional community.

We humans are nothing without community.

[Ilsa]

46. And these days generic, 20 year old drugs

can cost that much and more when two years ago a month's supply was $25.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

47. You can't get a generic asthma inhaler in the United States.

Asthma is the most common chronic health condition in the United States, with 40 million sufferers.

I looked at the prices for Advair Diskus, which is a powder inhaler, on goodrx.com.

"Prices start at $316.50 with FREE COUPON" That's for ONE MONTH. Estimated cash price at K-Mart, $428.00.

But hey, profits, and soaking Medicare and Medicaid, are more important than dead children, right?




Patanol is an eyedrop that comes in 5 ml bottles for itchy eyes. Goodrx.com has it listed starting at $244.45 with free coupon. Regular price is $318.00 at Kroger. Multiply that by 200 and you have one liter of liquid.

That means Patanol is $63,600.00 PER LITER.

Both of the medicines I cited, active ingredients, are in MICROgrams, which is a millionth of a gram, NOT milligrams, which is a thousandth of a gram.

[mnhtnbb]

48. I use Advair. Last time I picked up my Rx

the pharmacy tech told me there were coupons. I didn't know about them.

Thanks to my insurance, my usual cost for getting one diskus is about $50. Next time I'll print
a coupon and see how much it helps.

[rhett o rick]

49. Just learned today that my next years premiums will be up 33%. nm

[SmittynMo]

60. Same here

It's almost like we were taken for a ride. Now reality is setting in. The insurance companies have realized their profits of billions was not enough. They want more.

Hell, I could barely afford the ACA last year. Now they want another 300 a month, for a crappy bronze plan? I'd be real curious as to how many will drop out of the ACA next year and just take the risk of no insurance and the penalty.

The ACA, is vastly becoming the NACA(Not affordable care act). Wait til 2017.


Let's get Bernie elected, institute single payer, and put this all in our past.

[rhett o rick]

63. It was sold as a "first step" toward single payer. That was a crock. nm

[WillyT]

52. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[southerncrone]

54. These young kids get it. They see deeper than those of who came before them.

This alone gives me hope for our world.