i have a serious question for you all - should asthma medication be free?

[JanMichael]

asthma impacts some 8 percent of the total population. but is the cause of around one quarter of all emergency room visits.

the thing about asthma is that it is typically an attack. that means breathing starts to become difficult. you are fine playing guitar or soccer then bam. it happens fast. i have it. 9 times out if ten if you just let it go - meaning labored breathing and sweating - without an inhaler you will slowly recover then be drained for a day. it is a scary torture because you think you may just suffocate and black out then die.that happens to around 4 thousand adults and children every year. they suffocate to death. it is one of those things that people are aware of almost all the way to the blackness. like a pillow over your face until you blackout. that is not scary right? no serial killer ever stopped suffocation to say that would not be mean enough.

this is not a slow long term slide to death. you can be a workout nut like me and in great shape but it is still there. you can look like a super models sister like krissy taylor who simply hit an empty inhaler and did not have a extra within reach and died. it can be managed easily. sadly the inhalers are usually expensive but hard to stock up on. they can be had for 10 buck a pop if you have great insurance like me. but you can usually only buy one at a time per month. they have 240 puffs per inhaler but they are small and i imagine kids lose them a lot. hell i misplace them too on occasion. just like krissy did.

when i was kid in the early 70s i ended up in the emergency room if the red and white capsule meds that were sprinkled on some ice cream or cereal did not work. no inhalers then and i image more deaths too.

most medical conditions are not 10 seconds from ok to not ok. when i say not ok that means fear and an instant reduction in oxygen flow that needs immediate attention.

it is like... no wait....you stop breathing normally and without an inhaler think you might just die.

edit - while krissy taylor was not known to have asthma charlotte coleman of for weddings and oranges arent the onky fruit died due to losing ir misplacing an inhaler.

[Dalai_1]

1. Pharmaceutical Companies

..will provide inhalers (in most cases) with a Drs prescription if the patient can not afford to purchase the inhaler. They do have eligiblity requirements.

[JanMichael]

4. one or two maybe. not my point. du has become a cesspool of antithapy. nt

[Dalai_1]

24. "Antipathy "was not my intent

I work aound 40 hours a week with respiratory site. Many can not afford their needed medication.
I have asthma since childhood and a dx of COPD The last 18 years.

I personally pay around $400.00 per month for mine w/part D Medicare.. I understood the post to be if one could not afford / that it should be affordable!I certainly agree it should be.
Even 10.00 is like a hundred to many who come to the site with no means of purchasing their first inhaler after using the samples they sre given.
Many get their meds from Canada/the UK and India..with a rx and their Drs blessing

We are paying for research for these meds to be sold less expensive in other countries..


Albuterol is dangerous if one has atrial fib . I do not forsee it ever being offered OTC..

[hunter]

25. Albuterol was OTC in the U.S.A. for a short time.

It was an experiment that did not go well. Asthma isn't anything to mess around with. Albuterol is a temporary remedy and doesn't control the underlying issues. People die clutching their albuterol inhalers.

Before inhaled steroids, I was a frequent flyer to the ER.

When I was a child and young adult asthma meds were primitive. I took a hell of a lot of Theophylline, and periodically oral steroids, which, as a young man often made me more psychotic than I usually am, so much so that the campus police and I had a friendly relationship whenever I wasn't taking "voluntary" medical leave from school.

Last time asthma sent me to the ER was in the mid-'eighties.

Insurance that covers my meds has always been important to me, but honestly these meds shouldn't cost so much. U.S. insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies don't feel any pressure to lower their prices. The bigger the money streams they can tap into, the bigger their bonuses.

At times I was uninsured, but lived close enough to Mexico to stock up on meds.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

2. Bad question - nothing is free

want to try again?

[JanMichael]

7. you hit right too hard . nt

[hunter]

31. Everything is free. Money is a human invention.

What we decide to work for, what values we choose to represent, are another question entirely.

[hfojvt]

44. nope about the only thing free is air

pretty much everything else has to be worked for.

Although in some ways this house or the street and water lines are free now because somebody did the work a long time ago.

[hunter]

45. We measure the "work" with money.

That's a bizarre behavior, to squash every human behavior into a single linear metric, isn't it?

Worse, the game is rigged.

The "nothing is free" slogan is just more right wing blather and propaganda brought to you by the crooks who have rigged the game.

Monetizing everything was a terrible idea, probably THE most terrible idea in human history. What we now call "economic productivity" has become a direct measure of the damage we are doing to the natural environment and our own human spirit.

People motivated entirely by money are dead inside.

When the dollar dies, and someday it will, dollars will be free, not even worth the cost of maintaining the bits on a hard drive, not even worth the paper they are printed on.

How do we create a just economy in that environment? Or does everything fall apart Syrian style?

Better yet, how do we create a just economy in this current environment? A gentle transition to something much, much better.

Personally I think the answer is steeply progressive taxation and a minimum income, a "national dividend" that makes everyone a stakeholder in the economy.

This would involve a certain minimum standards of housing, food, education, and appropriate healthcare services, not "free," but not monetizable by private interests either.

If we can't do that, if we let things continue "business as usual," the future of humanity is pretty damned grim. It's already pretty damned grim for much of the world's population, living as slaves or wage slaves, as refugees, or discarded as unemloyable and useless.

[hfojvt]

46. it has been an idea which has created a lot

some of it pretty darned cool.

I think Ruskin had the idea - government farms and government factories making every necessity. Basic needs would be provided to everybody who worked for them, and everybody would always have the opportunity to work.

It's tough though, trying to motivate people, keep them from shirking, get them to be decent to each other.

I mean, if everybody gets a minimum income whether they work or not, then why would people work?

[hunter]

48. If you have to ask that question, it's just sad.

Isn't there any contribution you'd like to make to your community if you knew you were never going to starve or be homeless, no matter what?

Is wage slavery a necessity in modern society? Work for money, or starve? What about people who are unemployable? What about the disabled? Should anyone ever be allowed retirement?

We should probably be paying people to live low energy lifestyles anyways. Forget electric cars, create an environment where people don't need or want cars. Don't build new power plants, not wind, not solar, not anything. Create an environment where day-to-day living doesn't require large inputs of electricity or gas.

Most jobs are crap, they do not make the world a better place.

"Work ethics" are destroying the planet and it seems increasingly unlikely this global civilization will survive the century. If we want to preserve whatever is left we should be encouraging people to use birth control, eat as low as they are able on the food chain, plant a garden, read a book, teach the children a new song... low energy stuff.

People who simply can't sit still ought to be figuring out ways to make low energy, low environmental impact lifestyles happen.

"Consumerism" and today's version of "economic productivity" have to be killed before they kill us.

Or maybe it's too late and Mother Nature is winding up to kick us back into the stone age. We're not the first innovative species on the planet to experience exponential growth followed by collapse.

[Calista241]

3. why should this specifically be free.

over a myriad of other ailments that are common to Americans.

[JanMichael]

5. the chronic instantaneous issue is what i was discussing. nt

[LiberalElite]

11. I've had asthma for close to 30 years. While every case is different, it seems to me that

if an asthmatic is having frequent sudden attacks, the disease is not under control. I use an inhaler twice a day every day. I have a "rescue" inhaler but have only used it a couple of times over a period of years.

AFAIK frequent sudden attacks are not normal or representative of asthmatics as a whole.

[JanMichael]

14. for one many of us do not need or want the super two time daily thing.

which still may need a support emergency inhaler. i may use mine 5 times a week. i am not talking about frequent sudden attacks i am talking about those random not frequent issues.

i run and workout daily. my asthma is more exercised induced.

even a person on control inhaler systems need emergency inhalers. that why i think albuterol should be as avalible as beer is.

i should add that i am of means. money is an issue - and more than one ingaker at a time should be ok- but access an avaliblity is more of an issue.

[Nye Bevan]

6. The UK has a pretty good prescription drugs system (not just for asthma medications).

The current prescription charge is £8.20 per item.

....

Who is entitled to free prescriptions?
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:
are 60 or over
are under 16
are 16-18 and in full-time education
are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
have a continuing physical disability that prevents you from going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
are an NHS inpatient

You are also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner (including civil partners) are named on, or are entitled to, an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or a valid HC2 certificate (full help with health costs), or you receive either:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
Universal Credit and meet the criteria

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

So every prescription, regardless of what the medicine is, costs £8.20 which is around $11. And many people are entitled to free prescriptions as you can see above. And there are no insurance premiums to pay or deductibles to meet, everything is funded from taxation.

[JanMichael]

8. thank you. the uk does not suck like the us.

but access and number of devices may not be so simple. i do not know that facet of you post.

[Denzil_DC]

19. All prescriptions are free in Scotland n/t

[Nye Bevan]

20. Thanks. I guess I should have said "England" as opposed to "the UK" (nt)

[Denzil_DC]

23. Yeah, sorry to nitpick.

In fact, England's the only part of the UK that hasn't abolished prescription charges.

Debates here in Scotland about whether making that universal is a good thing, as even the extremely rich don't have to pay. It saves money that would otherwise be spent on the bureaucracy of means-testing, and if we're going to ask richer folks to pay a decent whack of taxes to fund social programs, I figure it does no harm for them to see something tangible as a benefit in return - adds to the pressure to retain the abolition.

[Spider Jerusalem]

30. That's the NHS England; prescriptions are free in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (n/t)

[JanMichael]

9. ironic how on du the first few posts are ranges of denial or rebutes.liberals my ass. nt

[LiberalElite]

12. "liberals my ass" WHAT? nt

[Le Taz Hot]

13. As a severe asthmatic,

I hear you. These assholes have obviously never spent the night trying to breath through a pinhole, watching your lips and fingernails turn blue because you're not getting enough fucking oxygen, then the pinhole closes up.

[dreamnightwind]

10. I think so

I am am asthma sufferer too. Money should play no role in who gets treatmet for it.

I have, on numerous occassions, been in situations where the nexus of insurers/doctors were obstructing my timely access to inhalers. That's not a good thing. That's a slightly different issue, one of access more than cost.

If we had single payer, how would prescriptions work? Would they be free nd just taken out of the general health fund, or would there still need to be a co-ppay?

I see no need for co-pays, the deterrent for overuse of meds should come from doctors, not from insurers or from patients' ability to pay for it.

[fwiff]

15. Not necessarily free, no. But multiples, YES!

The comment upthread about the UK seemed pretty good. Low co-pay and help for those who can't.

But a family member needs epipens, same principle, and we try to keep multiples (5 or so).
Sometimes they bake or freeze in the car by accident and you always need more than 1 on hand.

Only a few seconds until death and no guarantees.

[NightWatcher]

16. Free healthcare is insane. Nothing is free. You must properly budget and save.

War, on the other hand is free. No not wars of defense or necessity but wars of choice and profit.
We'll spend whatever we can killing people halfway around the world who never threatened us.



No profit should be made from healthcare, education, or providing the necessities of life to those in need.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. We should stop pretending that health care is for profit

that includes not just asthma meds, but a lot of other things.

And yes, as somebody who has taken care off patients in severe attacks, and have had pretty scary ones myself... I find the cost of inhalers, rescue and otherwise, when compared to other countries, down right ludicrous.

[Texasgal]

18. Yes!

Along with a myriad of other drugs.

Of course, nothing is FREE. What we pay in taxes should cover such health care.

There is no such thing as FREE health care. If we all pay in collectively we should be able to have such.

[Shandris]

21. I would rather think that a supply of the most common, basic medical supplies...

...should be available on most street corners (or at least one per block, for Christ's sake!). Kind of a 'telecom a doctor, get permission to get {item}, remove {item}, be well' type deal. Think of it as a communal health center minus the corporate 'donation' of several hundred dollars.

The mechanism would need some work obviously, but yes...there's no reason people are dying for lack of a product that likely costs a dime to manufacture and less than a penny to ship.

[Thor_MN]

39. You must live in a city. nt.

[Chuuku Davis]

22. Yes

All medicine should be free

[onecaliberal]

26. Yes, absolutely.

[berniepdx420]

27. yes.. free of charge..

[Ed Suspicious]

28. Should we join together as a nation to ensure people don't die from preventable illness due to

inability to afford medication or medical care? Yes. Unequivocally.

[hunter]

29. Hell yes. Along with workshops teaching people how to deal with their asthma.

Civilized nations have socialized medicine.

Asthma may even be one of those things *caused* by something wrong with our society -- air pollution, toxic chemicals, not letting our children muck about in the dirt with the farm animals... or a combination of things yet unknown.

In any case, random shit can fall out of the sky and afflict any one of us with health problems. What's wrong with taking care of one another?

[pugetres]

32. There should be no co-pay,

on any medication that rescues a person from immediate death or disability.

[tblue37]

33. Yes, it they should. nt

[Sunlei]

34. low cost over the counter. They need to bring back Primatene Mist.was $15 a multi dose vial & worked

was replaced by a different company with a battery steam dispenser-not pocket sized with six single dose packets, over $100 and the unit doesn't always work. Some people have learned to take the single dose vial of about 6 drops and 'snort it' to stop an asthma attack.


Primatene Mist was removed from the market because it was said to deplete the ozone layer. It was probably a corp fight over profits for some drug corp. Lots of profit to be made off people with asthma if they're forced to get a rx from a doctor.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/22/no-more-primatene-mist-in-the-u-s-after-this-year/

[bettyellen]

35. I think profits on all meds should be heavily regulated or they should be subsidized.

[REP]

36. I wish Tedril was still available

It used to be Rx then OTC then gone, but that shit worked.

It shouldn't be free necessarily but it should be way more affordable. Insulin too; Humulin R (fast acting) is over $100.00 a vial and Lantus, currently the best long-acting (no peak) is over $200.00 a vial. Even though I'm T2, I'm on insulin because it's the safest (and best) way to control my diabetes without damaging my failing kidneys (non-diabetic kidney disease); T1s though don't have a choice about how to control their disease.

[SheilaT]

37. What makes asthma so special its medication should be free?

How about any other medication? Should they all be free? Only some?

[elias7]

38. You should not be going through that much albuterol

What you describe is not typical of most asthmatics. Sudden attacks are not the rule but the exception, say as in exercise induced asthma. But while playing a guitar? Unusual. If your asthma is so poorly controlled, you are at high risk for COPD, as chronic recurrent hyperinflation is not good for your lungs.

Better control with inhaled steroids, long acting Beta agonists and leukotriene inhibitors is really vital for long term health of your lungs. One reason you can't get certain things over the counter is because you shouldn't really be going through one inhaler a month. If you doctor is not explaining this to you, perhaps you need another doctor.

That all being said, I work in an ED, and I will dispense inhalers to asthmatics frequently because the price is exorbitant and many can't afford to bring the Rx to the pharmacy. I think plain albuterol without insurance is around $60-$70... I don't think things should be free, but people should only have to pay an amount commensurate with their means.

And as noted above, it is rather dangerous for some things to be free and freely available. I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but the way you are managing your asthma is not doing your lungs any favor longterm.

[IDemo]

40. How about for insulin and HIV drugs?

After nearly a century since insulin treatment was discovered, diabetes remains a massive profit center for pharmaceutical companies. They even let it slip a while ago that they raise prices simply because "they can". That otherwise terminal illnesses are treated as cash cows in America is chilling.

[B Calm]

41. Yes and so should my blood pressure meds!

[Matrosov]

42. All prescription meds should be free n/t

[Odin2005]

43. I have a nephew with asthma, so YES!

[Yo_Mama]

47. Medications such as asthma meds and diabetes meds should not have big copays.

For example, the German medical system has a copay for drugs, but not for asthma meds. They are expensive enough so that many can't afford them, and it costs us all money.

Same thing for diabetes. Testing supplies and prescribed meds should not have any signficant cost, because it ends up that the disease is not properly treated and it's tremendously expensive.