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Daniel Solomon's avatar

Bigness was accelerated when government refused to apply anti-trust law Even DeSantis argues that we should buy drugs from Canada to break price fixing by Big Pharma.

Without Hill Burton funds most hospitals wouldn't exist.

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progwoman's avatar

And a lot of them are severely understaffed. Many no longer take pediatric patients or run maternity wards. The one in my rural Georgia hometown closed, and now (decades later) they are talking about installing an emergency facility linked to a regional hospital. Where? Right next door to the Walmart's that sucked the business out of a once-vibrant downtown.

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Moviedad's avatar

Hospitals are spinning off, "Urgent Care Facilities" as a workaround on our insurance. Allowing them to steal people's property through medical debt.

Of course the 'Death/Disease Industry" is all for it.

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progwoman's avatar

Yes, and people are unwittingly supporting it.

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Moviedad's avatar

Unwittingly?"

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progwoman's avatar

Yeah. This is MTG country now. They've lost their way. My pharmacist brother caught covid at church, and when I said I wear a mask, he told me they don't work. "At least they got rid of Fauci," he concluded.

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Lee Markland's avatar

The silver lining with the anti vaxxers and anti maskers is that it winnowed the MAGAt crowd of millions. Less vote for Trump.

I am full vaxxed all of the latest COVID shots, plus flu and RSV, so let's hope for another round of COVID before the election.

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Gerald Rogan's avatar

I started an urgent care facility in 1980. We charged 1/5th the price of the hospital emergency department across the street for the same service. Then our local tax exempt community hospital stole our business so it could raise prices without competition.

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Lee Markland's avatar

I know of only one community hospital, Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland, WA, owned by the city of Kirkland. It is by far the best hospital I have ever seen.

The food was contracted and I swear would please Gordon Ramsey. in fact I didn't want to be discharged.

I had stage 4 lung cancer, metastasized to the brain, my brain surgeons were Indian, here on a work visa.

My oncologist was Belgian, and she put me on Keytruda, immunetherapy, and here I am over 6 years later, I get regular MRI's, CT scans and a check up by my oncologist (not the Belgian, I moved), and he declared me a miracle, never saw someone live as long as I have no sign of it growing back, except for Jimmy Carter, his cancer was melanoma which also metastasized to the brain. and he too was treated for melanoma.

I doubt that the community hospitals intention was to drive you out of business,it just happens, but the best and cheapest medical care that can be found is in a community (non profit) hospital, and they are a disappearing breed, bought out by private equity funds like Black Rock (Red Rock on the series, The Resident, which bought a non profit Chastain Memorial

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Jaime Ramirez's avatar

You mean Jimmy Carter, right?

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Lee Markland's avatar

Damn me, you are correct. I had cancer on the brain, in more ways than one, which I typed Cancer instead of Carter thanks for the correction, much obliged.

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Victor Kamendrowsky's avatar

Were you able to deduct your losses from your taxes?

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Moviedad's avatar

Sounds like he works for his money.

So, probably not.

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Rachel Jennings's avatar

The question that should be asked here is: Why are the same drugs cheaper in Canada? What might the U.S. Govt. do to lower the price of drugs?

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Lee Markland's avatar

You can buy drugs on line from Canada, but need a scrip

I buy inhalers from globaldrugsdirect.com, unfortunately they aren't covered by medicare plan D

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Gerald Rogan's avatar

Medicare pays for drugs based on average sales price, not a negotiated amount. Average sales prices is based on whatever the pharmaceutical company wants to charge. Compare the prices of various TNF inhibitors for example. They shadow price each other and avoid the forces of a free market. There is no free market in pharmaceuticals.

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Victor Kamendrowsky's avatar

Gerald, you make a very important point. So how do we deal with this? Could a windfall profits tax obviate the need for regulation?

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Laurie Blair's avatar

Yes, DeSantis knows that the many seniors in his state would appreciate a price break from Big Pharma. That would be an obvious win in FL

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Moviedad's avatar

The Pharma-Corpse are all that matter.

None of these politicians give a damn about actual people.

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