Anarchists making their own medicine (2018) • Hacker News Board

Re: Anarchists making their own medicine (2018)

#241

Post by erosenbe0 » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 5:28 PM UTC

kragen wrote: post #229

kragen wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish you wouldn't post things like this because, although what you are saying is factually correct, you are saying it in a patronizing and shouting way, which will lead people to associate these insights with acting like an asshole. That makes it harder for them to assimilate them, even when I'm the one explaining them and even if I'm managing not to act like an asshole.

Also, the person you were shouting at and saying "Hint" to probably knows about 100 times more than you do about the economics of drug companies.

Sure, if we are talking about on-patent drugs I don't know that much. But if we are talking about off-patent generics there isn't a lot to know. We in the United States have a variety of financial, temporal, regulatory, and competitive barriers that bloat prices, sometimes by a factor of 100, over consumer market price in somewhere like India, or even Mexico.

Re: Anarchists making their own medicine (2018)

#242

Post by colinng » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 12:36 AM UTC

tastyfreeze wrote: post #218

camillomiller wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Spreading the costs over millions of taxpayers makes the cost you pay into the system way smaller, plus gives the government a huge contractual power when dealing with pharma companies. It’s really not that hard to comprehend, but I yet have to find a single American that for some reason doesn’t try to justify or straight up defend the US broken and unequal healthcare system.

Yes, medical cost in the US is out of control. No, the government should not be the provider. That doesn't fix the problem. It just makes new ones. Our government is extremely limited by the Constitution on what they are supposed to do. Unless "providing medical services" is added as a power of government to the Constitution there will continue to be a large, vocal opposition to government healthcare.

Apologies in advance if I’m mistaken, but isn’t your Constitution supposed to protect your right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

How does one have life and liberty if they have a crushing burden of medical bills?

More simply, how does one have life if the medication needed to save you - is $750 a dose? or $300 an injection (and expiries with no refundable “core charge” whether you use it or not)?

Re: Anarchists making their own medicine (2018)

#243

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 12:40 AM UTC

colinng wrote: post #242

tastyfreeze wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, medical cost in the US is out of control. No, the government should not be the provider. That doesn't fix the problem. It just makes new ones. Our government is extremely limited by the Constitution on what they are supposed to do. Unless "providing medical services" is added as a power of government to the Constitution there will continue to be a large, vocal opposition to government healthcare.

Apologies in advance if I’m mistaken, but isn’t your Constitution supposed to protect your right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?” How does one have life and liberty if they have a crushing burden of medical bills? More simply, how does one have life if the medication needed to save you - is $750 a dose? or $300 an injection (and expiries with no refundable “core charge” whether you use it or not)?

> Apologies in advance if I’m mistaken, but isn’t your Constitution supposed to protect your right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

You are mistaken. But, that's okay, even many Americans get confused about attributes of the Declaration of Independence vs. the Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution, and tend to misattribute things from the first two to the last one.

Re: Anarchists making their own medicine (2018)

#244

Post by kragen » Wed, Jan 12, 2022, 4:59 AM UTC

erosenbe0 wrote: post #240

kragen wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish you wouldn't post things like this because, although what you are saying is factually correct, you are saying it in a patronizing and shouting way, which will lead people to associate these insights with acting like an asshole. That makes it harder for them to assimilate them, even when I'm the one explaining them and even if I'm managing not to act like an asshole.

I'm sorry but I used to work in healthcare and we see people suffer because they can't afford the $10 monthly copay on drugs that should cost no more than $10 or $20 for a year supply, like a giant bottle of generic aspirin. The fact that they suffer due to pure exploitation is disturbing.

I understand, and I appreciate your compassion.