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Molly Holzschlag has died

tucsonsentinel.com

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Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#71

Post by gcheong »

stcroixx wrote: post #33
kevmo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F'ing incredible that the USA doesn't have universal healthcare yet. We lose so much efficiency, productivity, and creativity because of it. One of the primary reasons our average living standards keep going down.

Lots of people don't want universal health care for reasons that are not incredible. I've had employer provided insurance I'm happy with ever since I left my student insurance plan over 25 years ago and have few complaints about it. I'd prefer not to risk transitioning to a universal system that might provide worse care than what I've always had. Kaiser in CA for example is the worst insurance I've had - would not wa…

I never quite understood this fear that you're going to lose some benefit of the insurance you have now. It's not like all the hospitals and doctors suddenly go away so if you have a preferred doctor or facility you'll most likely be able to keep going to them and you'll have more choices as every place will be "in-network". Contrary to your experience, I've had good results with Kaiser and one thing I like about it is not having to call around to various "in-network" providers to find out if they are taking new patients and if they can see me.

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#72

Post by nikolay »

weinzierl wrote: post #54
nikolay wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's absolutely false. For example, I buy a brand medication in Europe without insurance for price many times lower than the generic drug in the State's copay! There numerous examples, but most recent example is my wife's Levothyroxine. I buy a German-made medication for $1 in Bulgaria. In the States, a generic version made by noname Indian company has a $10 copay. Same with the Metformin I buy. The original brand…

That's from your privileged position but for the majority of Bulgarians an MRI is equally expensive than an MRI for the average American - simply unaffordable. For most people health care is expensive no matter where they are.

I am talking about absolute costs not affordability. MRI costs might be mostly salaries, but it's not the same for drugs, labs, etc. Given the much bigger purchasing power in the US, prices should be lower, not higher. Why the economics of consumer electronics don't apply to health care? TVs and laptops are much more expensive in Bulgaria, but drugs are way, way cheaper and not subsidized - and these are commodities. Levothyroxine is a commodity available around the globe. Why it's so expensive in the States?! Why are American pharmacies buying generics from India, which so often have recalls due to contamination, and don't buy European drugs (such as from BERLIN-CHEMIE [0])? Because they want much bigger margins - I have no other explanation.

[0]: https://www.berlin-chemie.de/en-us/about-us/our-history

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#73

Post by hotpotamus »

stcroixx wrote: post #65
neongodzilla wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So millions of Americans don't have access to healthcare and die early because they can't afford it, but you don't want things to change because you're comfortable? Got it.

I advocate for myself, others should do the same. Medicaid is there for retirees and disabled folks and the rest of us should be working. I don't know what these millions you mention are doing where they can't afford healthcare, but there are plenty of job and education opportunities out there that will provide insurance if you're willing to study and work, which I think is fair.

What if someone trying to pay for their kid's chemo hit you over the head with a hammer to take your wallet and left you unable to continue your current line of work?

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#74

Post by nikolay »

maxerickson wrote: post #66
nikolay wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's absolutely false. For example, I buy a brand medication in Europe without insurance for price many times lower than the generic drug in the State's copay! There numerous examples, but most recent example is my wife's Levothyroxine. I buy a German-made medication for $1 in Bulgaria. In the States, a generic version made by noname Indian company has a $10 copay. Same with the Metformin I buy. The original brand…

The cash price will often be lower than the copay (which isn't a good thing, but it signals that the issue is benefit design rather than cost of provision). For example, Walmart sells a month supply of levothyroxine for $4 if you don't get your PBM involved.

Yeah, but Walmart generics are made in India by companies known for recalls due to carcinogen contamination. Not that recalls in Europe don't happen, but I'd rather purchase from a pharmaceutical company in business from the 19th century. If US regulators believe that India has more stringent pharmaceutical standards than Germany, then something is fishy! And there's so much corruption in generics [0]!

[0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/04/big-pharm...

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#75

Post by asciimov »

stcroixx wrote: post #33
kevmo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F'ing incredible that the USA doesn't have universal healthcare yet. We lose so much efficiency, productivity, and creativity because of it. One of the primary reasons our average living standards keep going down.

Lots of people don't want universal health care for reasons that are not incredible. I've had employer provided insurance I'm happy with ever since I left my student insurance plan over 25 years ago and have few complaints about it. I'd prefer not to risk transitioning to a universal system that might provide worse care than what I've always had. Kaiser in CA for example is the worst insurance I've had - would not wa…

Ah the age old “F- you, I’ve got mine”.

Twice in my career had the insurance plan swept out from under me. Both times my decent, but not great PPO was replaced with HSA only options. Forcing me to change jobs.

Personality, I’d rather not have my insurance options tied to the whims of a CFO and whatever kickbacks they’re getting.

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#76

Post by rrrrrrrrrrrryan »

kevmo wrote: post #69
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We were just one Senate vote away (Joe Lieberman) from getting a public option during the Obama administration. The law essentially needed a 60% supermajority to pass and it had 59% support of our legislature. Quite tragic - the next generation may get to try again.

You can try right now.

It will not stand a chance without a filibuster-proof majority. Time is better spent pursuing policy changes that actually stand a realistic chance of passing.

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#77

Post by weinzierl »

gcanyon wrote: post #59
weinzierl wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of interest: Did you receive public healthcare or did you take out a private insurance in those countries you mentioned? I'm especially curious if you were able to receive NHS health care as (I assume) a foreigner? When you say cheaper do you mean (private) health insurance or directly paying for medical services, or both?

Portugal: paid out of pocket, no insurance. A trip to the ER to refill a prescription (it's what our landlord told us to do) took about twenty minutes and cost under $30. Filling that prescription cost less than the copay in the U.S. Thailand: paid out of pocket, no insurance. A trip to the ER for digestive issues took under an hour and the visit plus antibiotics cost under $200. This was at Bumrungrad, one of the be…

Thanks, that's insightful. I take your point from above.

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#78

Post by weinzierl »

nikolay wrote: post #72
weinzierl wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's from your privileged position but for the majority of Bulgarians an MRI is equally expensive than an MRI for the average American - simply unaffordable. For most people health care is expensive no matter where they are.

I am talking about absolute costs not affordability. MRI costs might be mostly salaries, but it's not the same for drugs, labs, etc. Given the much bigger purchasing power in the US, prices should be lower, not higher. Why the economics of consumer electronics don't apply to health care? TVs and laptops are much more expensive in Bulgaria, but drugs are way, way cheaper and not subsidized - and these are commodities.…

I take your point and learned something, thank you.

Re: Molly Holzschlag has died

#79

Post by qohen »

simulo wrote: post #29
isodev wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so heartbreaking. How does one request the black bar? Just send them an email from the contact link?

> Just send them an email from the contact link? I guess – this is what I did.

I sent an email last night. I don't know if quantity is important here, but it can't hurt to have multiple people dropping a line.
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