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> "Those are the cases that produce the outrage, and understandably," Ricks said. "We want to do our part and work with payers in the system to provide copay as
by legitster 4y ago
> "Those are the cases that produce the outrage, and understandably," Ricks said. "We want to do our part and work with payers in the system to provide copay assistance. We’re open to feedback [on improving communications],” he said. “We’ve done tons of things, but it obviously hasn’t penetrated the clutter. We’re obviously not the only insulin company. But the tropes go on."
Cool. "We're sorry there are hoops to jump through, we'll do our best to clearly mark where we've placed the stepladders".
Okay, so like, to give this CEO a little credit, it sounds like nobody is paying these prices (at least if they know how to play the game). The issue here is that prices are completely fake, the consumers are supposed to never know the MSRP, and anyone who does is getting caught in the middle of a stupid pricing game between insurers, Medicare, and providers.
So I can see why, from their perspective, they see it as a "communications" issue.
- faeriechangling 4y agoI'm no biomedical guy and an just an ignorant schlub, but I remember hearing similar arguments from Shkreli, that he wasn't making Daraprim inaccessible to the poor due to things like copays and he was only stiffing the big insurers, and the reason there was so much anger at him was that these big players manipulated the public into doing their bidding. I call bullshit on such arguments honestly, the costs of such schemes do get passed onto the consumers and general public. At the very least such schemes raise insurance prices. I feel this sense of getting pissed on and being told that it's raining. It reminds one of the broader issues of administrative overhead and lack of price discovery in the American healthcare system.
- legitster 4y agoYeah, you don't have to love it. But if the entire system is a stupid game, it seems pointless to get mad at any one particular player for playing by the rules. But like, there's a reason Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs company will never be able to supply people on Medicare or Medicaid. If you actually advertise a real cost and Medicare says "we're only going" to pay 70% of that" you will be getting bilked for being honest.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dariusj18 4y agoThe entire healthcare industry is all based on inflated numbers. Doctors have to charge $100 to get $10 from the insurance company, hospitals charge $1,000 and then accept $100 and write the rest off as "losses" so they can tweak the books in other areas.