Doublethink is simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct.
While the outrage against Martin Shkreli for price gouging life-saving medicines was widespread, many of the same people want to repeal Obamacare, are adamantly against single-payer health insurance, and think that the US private for-profit health care system works just fine. Were they just not paying attention when insurance companies dropped sick patients, didn’t accept people with preexisting conditions, denied coverage to people with terminal or debilitating illnesses, all in the name of profit?
Shkeli may have overcharged by 5000%, but what about the hospitals who overcharge by 13600% for a $1 IV drip bag, or 3900% for a codeine pill.
Outrage is wasted if you don’t do anything about it.
5 Comments
“The hospital will eat it” Person goes into hospital and gets the same care as all others. No insurance. No way to pay for it. “Who is going to pay for it?” I ask. “The hospital will eat it.” Anyone who works in health care knows the pay is very low. The non profit hospital still has to come up with the money to pay the workers. At least in New York state, the non profits are closely watched. Hence the $11 pill when a bottle of 100 costs $11. ACA is supposed to fix this and in time hopefully it will. Meanwhile the best the hospitals can do is put liens on the properties of people who feel it is their right not to have insurance.
My neighbor just got insurance as he was docked on his tax return last year. And he is out felling trees on his property all the time. He could be hurt and paralyzed. Now he pays his due because of ACA.
Well Ebdoug, if we had a one payer system then hospitals wouldn’t have to “eat” costs of the uninsured. Lets see, the poor have Medicaid, the elderly have Medicare, employees of large companies have insurance, that leaves people who work for a living for companies that can’t afford insurance or pay enough for employees to buy it. Small businesses are the ones who create jobs. As a retired vet I enjoy both a one payer system and access to a government run hospital. My wife is a nurse at the VA Hospital and we have no complaints. However, the system isn’t perfect. I’m happy because I’m at the top of the pecking order for care because I am retired and have service related disabilities. Sadly they have a messed up “bonus” program that pays managers for meeting budgets at the potential expense of proper care for some vets.
One payer NOW!!!
I was a”one payer” all my life until I hit 65 as I was self employed. I’m highly in favor of it. And as I said, it will take time. “Feel the Bern”
Republicans have been bitching about Medicare and Medicaid since Day 1, regardless of its universal public embrace (including Teabaggers). With hard work, a more educated electorate and a little luck, Medicare-like single payer will be the law of the land sometime in the not too distant future. The current trajectory of the crippled system is simply unsustainable in the long run, the ACA notwithstanding.
But there’s one thing of which we can be sure. Republicans will never stop bitching about it.