4 ms·

It seems like I got two stories mixed up. Here is one showing they started selling smaller bottles: https://www.fiercepharma.com/financials/turing-offers-discou

It seems like I got two stories mixed up. Here is one showing they started selling smaller bottles: https://www.fiercepharma.com/financials/turing-offers-discounts-instead-of-cutting-controversial-list-price-on-daraprim https://www.fiercepharma.com/financials/turing-offers-discou... Here is another one where they charge $1 for uninsured patients that make less than 5x the poverty line (most Americans): https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/for-shame-pharma-bro-shkreli-is-in-prison-but-daraprims-price-is-still-high/2018/05/04/ade40860-4f7b-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html?utm_term=.df1b6a8d1790 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/for-s... While not my original claim, my point remains, the 5000% number is incredibly misleading.

mikeash 8y ago
I don’t understand. How does this make the 5000% number misleading?
- hervature 8y ago
  The 5000% number is misleading because that’s the most sensational metric. For example, let’s say that the price of the drug was $0. Then he raised it to $1. Is he an awful person for raising the drug infinite %? It’s simply bad reporting. If you hate Fox News and their headlines, you should also hate these headlines.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Percentages certainly can be misleading, but they aren’t always. Your hypothetical is an example of how they can be. Consider a different hypothetical: the price was $13.50 and he raised it to $750. Is it misleading to report that as raising the price 5000%?
  - hervature 8y ago
    Replying to sibling: "Percentages certainly can be misleading, but they aren’t always. Your hypothetical is an example of how they can be. Consider a different hypothetical: the price was $13.50 and he raised it to $750. Is it misleading to report that as raising the price 5000%?" Yes, it is incredibly misleading. How many people are affected? In practice, do the end consumers see this price increase? What caused the price increase? When was the last price increase? I understand, 5000% is a fact in the story. However, it is sensational and the exact reason why you see it in about half the headlines of the story.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      You keep giving hypothetical reasons why it might be misleading if certain things were true. I’m not interested in that. I can think of a million ways it could be misleading. I want to know how it actually is misleading in this particular case. You were happy to provide specifics before. If you don’t have any now, then it’s wrong to insist that it definitely is misleading.

mikeash 8y ago

I don’t understand. How does this make the 5000% number misleading?

hervature 8y ago
The 5000% number is misleading because that’s the most sensational metric. For example, let’s say that the price of the drug was $0. Then he raised it to $1. Is he an awful person for raising the drug infinite %? It’s simply bad reporting. If you hate Fox News and their headlines, you should also hate these headlines.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Percentages certainly can be misleading, but they aren’t always. Your hypothetical is an example of how they can be. Consider a different hypothetical: the price was $13.50 and he raised it to $750. Is it misleading to report that as raising the price 5000%?
- hervature 8y ago
  Replying to sibling: "Percentages certainly can be misleading, but they aren’t always. Your hypothetical is an example of how they can be. Consider a different hypothetical: the price was $13.50 and he raised it to $750. Is it misleading to report that as raising the price 5000%?" Yes, it is incredibly misleading. How many people are affected? In practice, do the end consumers see this price increase? What caused the price increase? When was the last price increase? I understand, 5000% is a fact in the story. However, it is sensational and the exact reason why you see it in about half the headlines of the story.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    You keep giving hypothetical reasons why it might be misleading if certain things were true. I’m not interested in that. I can think of a million ways it could be misleading. I want to know how it actually is misleading in this particular case. You were happy to provide specifics before. If you don’t have any now, then it’s wrong to insist that it definitely is misleading.