Post AUJte9X71DVTckRpLM by tek@freeradical.zone
(DIR) More posts by tek@freeradical.zone
(DIR) Post #AUJgsMH78shFnCPNMu by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:25:37Z
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Anyone who claims to like the American healthcare financial system is a liar or an idiot.The insurance co-pay on some asthma meds today was $262. I found a coupon that lowered it to $228.I'm clipping coupons to buy asthma meds so I can, you know, breathe. Spare me the "oh no, socialism bad!" nonsense. This was what the "death panels" actually look like.
(DIR) Post #AUJhWNMuUoV2ldCXLs by stemid@mastodon.se
2023-04-04T18:32:52Z
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@tek wow I've heard a lot of scary shit about American health care but this is the first time I hear about coupons. we need more of these stories in Sweden because people are fighting for privatization here, putting more power into the hands of greedy corporations in the guise of "freedom".
(DIR) Post #AUJhYSmDMMOG7T24Ce by sylentpunk@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:33:16Z
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@tek jUst leT thE mArkEt deCiDe!!
(DIR) Post #AUJi26gm2u96Iqcftw by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:38:34Z
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@stemid Don’t do it! This is horrible! I am literally clipping coupons to afford basic medicines.
(DIR) Post #AUJi5SomE88Znty0Fk by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:39:14Z
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@sylentpunk “Have you tried just not being sick?”
(DIR) Post #AUJig1b0Ov8K5fxW1g by po3mah@mastodon.social
2023-04-04T18:45:46Z
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@tek I've read many similar stories about the US healthcare system and it is still unreal to hear you have to pay for basic meds & treatments. Here, we have mandatory health insurance which covers pretty much everything (~500€/month for the whole family). But we have long waiting queues (for non-urgent stuff), somehow corrupt system. But overall, I'm pretty satisfied with it.Greetings from a post-socialist/communist country (Slo.).
(DIR) Post #AUJjGlw1ahUiEXJT3Q by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:52:23Z
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@po3mah It’s insanity. My employer pays over $2000 per month for my family’s “gold” level insurance, so the numbers I gave are just the extra amounts that insurance doesn’t pay for.
(DIR) Post #AUJjTeKlA9RCQL1UOm by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T18:54:46Z
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@stemid For some cyberpunk dystopian BS, check out the coupon site I used: https://www.goodrx.com/That’s a real thing that millions of people use. It’s not from “Blade Runner” or something.
(DIR) Post #AUJkEqTRqMxvgbakAi by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T19:03:19Z
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@sungo @stemid For those following from outside the US, I vouch that this story is absolutely, 100% normal and believable. This is an everyday situation for us.
(DIR) Post #AUJkNLzaXioDktgLw0 by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T19:04:48Z
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@sungo Kaiser is a little tricky in that they tend to be great for healthy people and chronic illnesses, but “interesting” for acute problems. It’s still vastly better than what most people have.
(DIR) Post #AUJlmhvGFBRKxrJN7Q by etoani@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T19:20:40Z
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@tek I'm looking at ordering from Canada, or taking a drive up. Not because I can't get it here, just that over the counter up there is cheaper than my ins copay would be here. The existence of prescription coupons just reinforces its all just made up numbers, not economics! We are ruining peoples lives making them pay for arbitrary pharmaceutical profits. We are such a broken country!
(DIR) Post #AUJmQ9ikpAo2TOGvDM by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T19:27:44Z
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@etoani I agree with every word of that.
(DIR) Post #AUJnCvsD67B5iPxAn2 by stemid@mastodon.se
2023-04-04T19:36:30Z
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@tek not to get all conspiratorial (GDPR after all), but that site isn't even loaded outside the US. easily remedied with a VPN of course. but it's kinda interesting that we get such an opaque view of the situation.
(DIR) Post #AUJpu37iDYu2YrtLv6 by r343l@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T20:06:49Z
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@tek @etoani <Incomprensible rant about prescription drugs elided>Anyway very much agreed. Though I can't just go mine OTC sadly.
(DIR) Post #AUJqRSja1CkHY2XKyG by keifer@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T20:12:53Z
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@tek That is insane.I have just been started on a Becotide Evohaler, which costs me €22, and lasts 3 months.If your medications go over €80 a month, you can apply for a "Drugs Payment Scheme Card" (read about that here: https://www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/drugs-payment-scheme/card/).Personally, I have begun to conflate people saying socialism = bad, are people not wanting to introduce ethics to capitalism.
(DIR) Post #AUJtOp6KhZc1uac1i4 by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T20:45:57Z
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@stemid Partially screenshotted for your horror.
(DIR) Post #AUJte9X71DVTckRpLM by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T20:48:43Z
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@keifer Yep. I’m not even anti-capitalist. What we have now is an abomination in any economic system.
(DIR) Post #AUJzesQOiC6CZu2Gi8 by nateb@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T21:56:05Z
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@tek Have I recommended the book "Never Pay The First Bill" by Marshall Allen to you yet? Hardly a fix, but it can help you fight back and in this system we need every small victory we can get.It also taught me that fraud on the insurer/healthcare systems' ends is not only rampant, but intentional. It's a feature, not a bug.
(DIR) Post #AUK3HayTpDVpc58D56 by stemid@mastodon.se
2023-04-04T22:36:42Z
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@tek ok so with the coupon the price is actually one dollar? that's pretty good.here is the price in Sweden, 108kr, which is about 10 dollars. our system is a bit different, you pay for your meds until your expenses reach a yearly maximum and after that it's all free.https://www.apoteket.se/produkt/atorvastatin-1a-farma-filmdragerad-tablett-40-mg-100-tabletter-blister-953998/
(DIR) Post #AUK52JIjS4VCMgRYOW by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T22:56:22Z
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@stemid Bear in mind that’s one example, and it’s from the front page of their website kind of as an advertisement (“look you much money you could save!”).This is the coupon I used today.The other coupon is for a diabetes drug they’ve been advertising on TV a lot lately, as example of a discount that’s not quite as great as the first one I showed you.
(DIR) Post #AUK76PEPXq2jp9VFHk by stemid@mastodon.se
2023-04-04T23:19:33Z
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@tek oh I don't doubt that it's bad, I mean people shouldn't have to look for coupons to begin with.that one was hard to find an exact equivalent of but here is an inhaler spray with 125mcg and 120 doses for 18 bucks.I hope it gets better soon, people are definitely waking up to the problem but the rich are just digging in harder.https://www.apoteket.se/produkt/fluticasone-cipla-inhalationsspray-suspension-125-mikrogram-per-dos-120-doser-inhalator-832982/
(DIR) Post #AUK7oaBGCHzMWY5u8u by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T23:27:30Z
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@nateb You haven’t, but I’ve added it to my Libby.
(DIR) Post #AUK8R1wpPKyXe9g2d6 by nateb@freeradical.zone
2023-04-04T23:34:29Z
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@tek that's where I listened to it myself, but I also recommend snagging yourself a copy (half-priced books is a good outlet that usually has reasonable prices) cause you will almost certainly want one to reference. Enjoy!
(DIR) Post #AUKKUTSKmwBlHRp2yu by BruceMirken@mas.to
2023-04-05T01:49:32Z
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@tek "Death panel" = decisions about your #healthcare being made by insurers who make more money if you get less care.
(DIR) Post #AUKL4wARW8K8khqBV2 by StefanieSand@mastodon.social
2023-04-05T01:56:10Z
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@tek Check out Mark Cuban’s CostPlus Drugs. I’m paying less for my meds now than I did last year when I had employer-provided prescription drug insurance. https://costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/asthma/copd/
(DIR) Post #AUKMKlGztDUtYH135s by StanWonn@mstdn.social
2023-04-05T02:10:03Z
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@tek I could rant about US healthcare for days, but I’ll just say that it is our HC system (particularly the insurance companies) that ultimately made me into a socialist!
(DIR) Post #AUKMvLUCjBfSI0dcYa by Waterlylly@zirk.us
2023-04-05T02:16:48Z
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@tek That's horrible, and I bet I know what med you're on. Last I checked, it was over $600 if your insurance doesn't cover it or is really bad. Because of that, I had to switch to something that didn't work as well. (My insurance was, uhhh, bad.)
(DIR) Post #AUKTQmTh1SXshlltw0 by juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe
2023-04-05T03:29:41Z
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@tek Government expenditures per capita on healthcare are similar to Germany - but private expenditures are _vastlt_ higher.
(DIR) Post #AUKUZ5idT7XWePHsuG by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T03:42:26Z
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@BruceMirken Exactly. And you can't vote them out of office.
(DIR) Post #AUKUjjuqs7TKDQ4xZw by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T03:44:22Z
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@StefanieSand I'm a huge fan. Best of all, he still makes a tidy profit. It's not a charity. That's the only motive I'd trust from a billionaire opening a pharmacy.Sadly, it's not much help when you need new prescriptions urgently.
(DIR) Post #AUKUoSCg9bEWjGfJuC by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T03:45:12Z
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@StanWonn I feel that in my bones.
(DIR) Post #AUKUw3TdyBfCMHE1Eu by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T03:46:36Z
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@Waterlylly My insurance is *good*, and it's still wild.This isn't like the first time I've ever dealt with this. It's just that it pisses me off something fiercely anew every time it happens.
(DIR) Post #AUKV1h12OSkGQuX7FA by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T03:47:34Z
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@juergen_hubert “It's unsolvable”, says the only developed country who hasn't solved it.
(DIR) Post #AUKV6fufv8G4Sevtj6 by thebravelittleposter@beige.party
2023-04-05T03:48:31Z
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@tek finally got a generic on symbicort for $90 some at Walmart. But my god I spent decades paying $300+ and still have to battle formulary changes/prior auth. If private health insurance companies were to disappear overnight nothing of value would be lost.
(DIR) Post #AUKcVqWAHZWvG8HR9k by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T05:11:28Z
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@thebravelittleposter Nothing at all. This is the worst possible combination of misfeafures.
(DIR) Post #AULn6eoR2KhGyyYFCi by Waterlylly@zirk.us
2023-04-05T18:44:52Z
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@tek We all need to face reality, and that's the fact that if we have to use this "insurance" crap, all of it is bad and all of it makes us less healthy and gives us less health care, while charging us outrageously for the bare privilege of covering some of our care.
(DIR) Post #AULpO0zS28vMb36n7g by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-05T19:10:23Z
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@Waterlylly I’m fully in agreement.
(DIR) Post #AUTq9TppXOtQRXwWm0 by funnymonkey@freeradical.zone
2023-04-09T15:56:42Z
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@tek I did some privacy research on GoodRx in 2020. It's yikes. And yeah - I had knee surgery in November 2022 - my insurance just rejected coverage for part of my care *last week*.US health insurance and health care is the absolute worst. And: sorry to hear about the hassles you need to deal with to get life saving medication.
(DIR) Post #AUU4dJu8QG6Dgq4yrQ by tek@freeradical.zone
2023-04-09T18:38:57Z
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@funnymonkey I’m sure it’s awful. You’re definitely trading PHI for a coupon.I’m fortunate to be able to absorb that kind of nasty surprise. Lots of people aren’t. 😕