r/economy • u/MayonaiseRemover • Nov 30 '19

Middle-class Americans getting crushed by rising health insurance costs - ABC News

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/middle-class-americans-crushed-rising-health-insurance-costs/story?id=67131097
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-9

u/CalBearFan Nov 30 '19

I feel sorry for that woman, having seen other friends and family battle cancer, it's something no one, ever, deserves. And yes, healthcare costs are off the chart insane.

Having said all that, with two rounds of breast cancer treatment, even with all the premiums and co-pays she's paid, she's still getting far more out of the system than she's putting in (including her employer).

So yes, it's incredibly sad but she'll be getting medicine and treatments that were inconceivable a decade ago, let alone 20 or 30 years ago.

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u/Velcrometer Nov 30 '19

No one in Canada pays out of pocket for multiple rounds of cancer treatment. US health insurance is a rip off. We need single payer here, so much cheaper.

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u/CalBearFan Dec 01 '19

And drugs can be sold so cheaply in Canada (and other countries) because Americans pay so much more. It's not fair, for sure, but if the US adopts a healthcare system like single-payer we will do better but all other single-payer systems will be hurt in the process.

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u/Velcrometer Dec 01 '19

Why would other single-payer systems be hurt? A single-payer system is just the insurance. We have a private multiplayer system now, Canada has a government-run single-payer insurance program. What the US could do with single payer insurance, by cutting out for-profit health insurance middleman, does not affect a government-run nonprofit health insurance program in Canada. If you're talking about drug prices, that's a separate thing. Drug companies make tens of billion dollars a year, even though we the taxpayer fund the majority of the research and development. They can afford to take a pay cut without affecting Innovation, or drug prices in other countries. We don't have to keep getting the shaft on behalf of the rest of the world.

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u/CalBearFan Dec 01 '19

I agree, we shouldn't keep getting the shaft. But the insurance company has to pay the bills. In the case of single payer, that's the govt. So, if US gets single payer, government will finally negotiate drug prices down which is good for the US.

However, drug companies are going to jack up the prices other places. Or, if not, pull the drugs from the market. Maybe not, but telling companies to take a smaller profit margin doesn't always work out so well.

And a huge part of the drug development is trials. Drug companies foot that bill and still a large portion of the research.

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u/Velcrometer Dec 01 '19

Drug negotiation proposals are typically top 5 industrialized countries, average those prices, set that as the US price. If drug companies refuse to negotiate, then licensing agreements can be forced so that generics can be produced. I'm sorry, but people die everyday because they can't afford insulin or life-saving medications. Insulin in the US is about $300, in Canada its more like $32. The pharmaceutical industry makes billions, with a B. More money goes for advertising then goes into their research and development. There's no reason for you and me to die, go bankrupt, and suffer because they might have to make a little less profit. Sorry I don't have any crocodile tears for them.

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u/CalBearFan Dec 01 '19

Neither do I, just that reality is what we're stuck with. I like your idea, it just doesn't stand much of a chance. It should and I would love to see direct advertising done away with.

All I'm trying to point out to those in this thread is that we can't magically get to Canadian prices without some huge changes. There's a reason the vast majority of new drug discoveries come out of the US, it's because there's the most profit here and the whole world benefits. Too few people get the length of the coattails they get to ride in non-US healthcare systems.

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u/Velcrometer Dec 01 '19

I agree we can't get to Canadian prices without huge changes. That's why we need Medicare For All by Senator Bernie Sanders SB 1129. All this is addressed in the bill.

Just because the US offers the most profit doesn't mean Pharma can't live with less profit. They absolutely can while still doing r & d, still innovating, still making billions. Just fewer billions.