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Most people have insurance right? So they won't be paying the $400 per vial?
by mjfl 4y ago
Most people have insurance right? So they won't be paying the $400 per vial?
- braingenious 4y agoPeople without insurance here often don’t have enough money to pay out of pocket either, so yes this is correct. They won’t pay the $400. They often just won’t get any insulin at all and drastically shorten their lives.
- ars 4y agoWalMart sells insulin for $72.88. It's not the same stuff as the $400 product, but it works.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y agoThat same one is half Walmart's price, or less, outside the US.
- braingenious 4y agoIt probably doesn’t matter to the GP. I bet that this person doesn’t know or care about any diabetics that are at risk of this problem.
- perfectstorm 4y ago$72 is still expensive compared to other nations.
- braingenious 4y agoThat is super cool, have you put ReliOn into your insulin pump? Edit: Sometimes people that can’t afford $400 also can’t afford $72. How does your point matter for those real life humans?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- iancmceachern 4y agoKind of. That money comes from somewhere. It's like saying that I have car insurance so I don't have to pay for a new windshield. Really I already paid for that windshield via my insurance premiums.
- mertd 4y agoBut also your insurance provider collectively bargained the cost of a new windshield down to $20 as long as you go to their mechanic.
- Auracle 4y agoI’ve never received an explanation of benefits that showed all that much of a discount. Usually it’s something like $400 adjusted down to $370.
- perfectstorm 4y agowhat a weird way to justify it. the patents on insulin expired decades ago so why does it cost $400 for uninsured? it doesn't cost pharma companies $400 to produce a vial (or $200 or $100). this is pure greed. edit: say their insurance covers 80% of the cost, the patient still has to pay $80 (at $400). if the cost of a vial was $20, they only pay $4 which is more reasonable.
- pishpash 4y agoIf the patents expired and it doesn't cost $400 to manufacture it then why doesn't everyone manufacture it?
- fzeroracer 4y agoIn a similar analogy: Starting up your own ISP is cheap. So why don't more people start ISPs rather than being limited to a small selection of providers? Lobbying, start-up costs and more can all be contributing factors. Something can be exceedingly cheap to manufacture, but then you gate others from manufacturing through other fashions. Or they just outright buy out your manufacturing capabilities for pennies, then turn around to sell the insulin at massive profits again.
- nybble41 4y agoPatents are only one of the varieties of monopolies which apply in the field of medicine. The FDA imposes several more. Even after the patents have officially expired and you've developed your own safe & effective alternative you may not be able to get it certified because the FDA has a prior agreement with the existing manufacturers to guard their product from competition.