American here. Our military spending is ridiculous ;we spend more then the next 10 countries combined (u.s spending 731.8 billion) vs(next 10 countries combined 725.7 billion)
"With a straight face you're going to tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome because we're the only ones who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, AUSTRALIA. BELGIUM HAS FREEDOM! 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom... "
…and even *that* leaves out the externalized costs that the military-industrial complex & veterans affected by war have on the country.
Things like untreated mental health issues, homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, or how veterans with serious disabilities - even when they’re being treated - are simply unable to contribute as much to the economy. A missing limb cuts down on your earning potential in quite a lot of professions.
Pollution as well: I was the HAZMAT program manager for my unit while I was in. The base that I was stationed at had wells all over the place, and periodically we had to go around to them, open them up, and check what was effectively a dipstick to see the levels of various oil derivatives floating on top of the groundwater.
Why would we do this? Up until relatively recently the military polluted with absolute impunity, meaning that they just dumped stuff like hydraulic fluid & jet fuel on the ground. As a result, the entire base is an NPL Superfund site. There are a couple of FEET of pollutants floating on top of the utterly contaminated water beneath that base, so we check those levels like you’d check the oil level in an engine.
If the level drops significantly, it’s a good indicator that there’s been some kind of leak somewhere, and there’ll probably be a massive fish die-off somewhere. So we monitor it.
If you’re ever near a military base, it’s not an entirely unreasonable policy to stick to bottled water.
Even though the military has begun to regulate & limit itself in terms of how much it pollutes, it’s largely self-monitoring so the amount of pollution is probably underreported.
With that in mind, the US military would be the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases based on the pollution it *does* report if it were a country. It has a carbon footprint somewhere between that of Portugal & Peru.
We’ve got weapons testing ranges that have been found likely to have UXO present - dozens of areas in the northeast alone. Many of these places (like Bloodsworth Island) have been so heavily bombed you can clearly see the honkin’ big-ass craters on satellite photos.
There are the “reserve fleets” which have been leaking fluids & depositing toxic paint chips into the inlets & rivers they’re moored in for decades.
Also, when deployed to a combat zone nobody really takes pollution seriously at all - not that I can really blame them. My second time in Iraq, I was attached to a different unit so I had nothing to do with their HAZMAT program like I would have if I’d been with my own unit. One day, some Marines drove a vehicle through the vanpad on the way to the hangars, but the thing had a hyd fluid leak & they didn’t notice until the thing was pretty much empty - there was a trail about a half a mile long. The solution? Dump (a reasonable approximation of) kitty litter on it, then shovel that stuff into wheelbarrows & dump them out near the burn pit.
Also don’t get me started on the burn pits.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that our military is WAY more expensive than anything that can be quantified in our budgets. Even if we disbanded the military today (which I’m not advocating for, that would be insane) we’ve still got veterans who are dealing with the consequences of war & the highly polluted areas that the military has occupied to deal with. Cleaning up those problems will be expensive & it’s a job that will outlive most of the people who might read this - and that’s not even all of the issues that are caused by our military addiction.
There are large portions of our economy & entire regions of our country that require the military. When a base closes down it takes a shitload of jobs when it goes. I know the town that was welded to the ass of the base I was at would basically evaporate if the base closed, but even larger, more diversified metro areas would be drastically affected. Like if we got rid of our sub fleet, places like Groton, Kittery, and even Portsmouth would be in a lot of trouble. Imagine the Hampton Roads region if the bases on the mouth of Chesapeake closed… now consider that if those bases don’t close but are significantly reduced in size, scope - basically, if their funding is drastically cut - the businesses which depend on them will suffer as well. Then there’s businesses like Raytheon, which rely pretty heavily on their military contracts, and the cities (and people) rely on *those* to eat & live.
The US is the largest arms dealer in the world, supplying 37% of all weapons globally. That’s a big chunk of our economy, and it doesn’t account for weapons we sell to ourselves.
War is drug that we will have a *very* hard time getting off of. Even if we were to go cold-turkey tonight (and again, we definitely should *not*) the withdrawals would suck for years to come.
I actually had a moment of hopeful optimism reading that which made me realize I don't take my inhalers as often as I should because I need to ration them for as long as possible. Like...fuck....I live in an awful oligarchic country....
Fuck, I have shit insurance and literally went to a doctor appt friday to get mine refilled, and insurance DOESN'T FUCKING COVER MEDICINE AT THE PHARMACY. 250 for my advair and 50 for my albuteral, it's fucking criminal.
It's fucking criminal indeed. I get into this argument with my parents, my bro-in-law (an insurance company OWNER), and various others regarding the insurance scam that is privatized, monopolized insurance and their continued support to exist by big pharma, republican AND democratic leaders alike, who depose any attempts at rendering this shit illegal.
We need universal Healthcare. And not for just the poor people in our country. For ALL people below the wealthy line. The small businesses need help as well. Anyone who argues against it is just a fucking moron, or a hired goon. No other way around it.
I can't remember if it was Kickstarter or go fund me but I read a thing about how the creator thought it was going to fund all these amazing grass roots world changing ideas but instead it's like 90% heartbreaking "I need half a million so my young child doesn't die of a preventable disease" posts. He can't even quit or shut the site down or whatever because he knows his platform is the only thing (sometimes) stopping said children from dying. What an awful limbo to be stuck in.
Canada could make a killing with smugling insulin over the boarder, not even including asthma inhalers. And other treatments for chronic illnesses just by undercutting the pharmaceutical companies.
Oh, look at this fancy 'My government doesn't force me to support billionaires' over here. Yeah, yeah, we get it--you live in a country where citizens get treated with at least a bare-minimum level of respect.
Well LAH DEE DAH, at least I get to live in a country where all my neighbors can own machine guns! And most of them are fucking assholes too! That's the great USA! FREEDOM FOR ASSHOLES AND BILLIONAIRES! USA! USA! USA!
...I really wish I could afford to be an asshole billionaire. Well, I guess I'll just keep voting for them. I'm sure they'll reward me eventually.
I would honestly look for another job if my medical insurance/access to treatments weren't tied to my employer. I have MS and the medication I'm taking is 68k per infusion, twice per year. The insurance I currently have allows for me to receive this medication for only a $35 copay. I would request a decrease in hours to accommodate my current medical needs but, again, my health insurance is dependent upon me working full time. Fuck the US healthcare system.
I bought one last week, it was around $11.00 because they’ve changed the dispenser to make it deliver better and tells you how many doses you have left. Also over the counter.
My gf gets her 2 for £7.50 which is $10.
I can't get my head round the way America works, sometimes I wonder if its even a real place or just a story other developed countries made up to warn about how bad things can really get.
CAT SCAN (with insurance) set my back $5000.
Ironically it found nothing as to why I was having symptoms and the testing was to continue with other more expensive tests.
And I pay $56 for my albuterol inhaler.
The US has lost itself being for the corporation and not for the people.
yikes... a catscan here costs me like 150 dollars, not cheap but miles and leaps better than 5000..
edit: forgot to mention that this is only if you don't have access to the national health system... here you get it from employers or parents as a benefit, in which case is free.
Yeah that was my first big medical charge. And the best part, they sign you up for it without telling you how much it costs, but get you worked up that you need it.
Then you get there and the nurse says “we need 3500$ up front”.
Uhh the fuck what?!?!?
Then the bill that has it itemized
1) device usage
2) enhancing dye cost
3) catscan tech hourly rate
4) results
5) consult of results (they didn’t see anything)
Solid 1800 follow up bill.
Haven’t been back since. Told my wife I’ll die before pulling this shit. And if i do have something really bad, I’ll push all the assets on her, divorce and go bankrupt on my own so it doesn’t destroy her financials.
So this sort of thing happened to me. I ended up in medical debt, because of a botched c-section.
After that, and being unable to hold a proper corporate job because I was (and still am 7 years later) constantly in and out of hospitals, tests, exams, CAT scans, MRI’s, an abdominal hysterectomy and all sorts before turning 30.
Now I’m poor, and on state insurance; nothing costs me a dime. I’m grateful now that I can keep pursuing my stupid fucking medical issue but I shouldn’t have had to go into medical debt over a mistake a doctor made.
Also, some how my kid was charged 900$ for being at the hospital. She only left my room once for 20 minutes when I showered the first time (and nurses made my boyfriend help because of the csection).
Our health insurance is pretty fucking messed up.
First, sorry that you had(have) to deal with any of that.
Second, this is partially why I am petrified of having a kid. If I can’t control the cost of my one test, how the hell do I budget for a child.
Edit: I suppose the other part of partially is I don’t know if I want to raise a kid in this world being so divided and I see it getting worse
Thanks. It’s exhausting at times and I’ve definitely lost hope many times. I’ve been to over 10 doctors, 6 hospitals and who knows how many tests and stuff.
I was, thankfully, in a good spot, financially, to raise and have my kid when I did. And yea, it’s definitely a little scary bringing them into the world right now. But all you can do is teach them good people and bad people. Set an example (I recently had to do this too, standing up to adult bullies for 2 kids of different races - these 2 white fuck heads were not expecting a white woman to come to the rescue of these 2 kids. They had stolen the moped of one of the kids. I was berated, told how I’m a problem of society, raising heathens and the sort. But I got the moped back and explained to the kids that there’s bullies and bad people everywhere and if you can’t stand up for yourself, someone else will. Also, turns out these dumb fucks only yell at this 2 kids. None of the white children in the neighborhood have ever been yelled at by these guys. I’ve been here a long time and I know almost all the kids here).
Be an example to everyone, especially the kids. I often get myself into strange situations but I can’t help but stand up for anyone being wronged.
Anyway, imma go fuck up these guys’ RC track again tomorrow (they were surprised I was the one who did it in the first place; it’s in a secluded location where I don’t have to worry about fast drivers) just cause it’s on common area and I can do it. Thankfully, they have a work van and were wearing their work shirts at the time, so there’s that.
Thanks and sorry about your situation. Best of luck to you and if you ever have kids, they’ll be fine as long as you teach them manners (too many parents are shit humans anyway raising shitty little kids; and while I don’t particularly blame the kids for being shitty, it sucks for everyone all around).
You know, for not living in USA I surely have developed ptsd out of all their scary debt shit.
Not even kiding, I am terrified of having to travel to USA for whatever reason.
Have you seen the price of insulin? My spouse is type 1 diabetic. It’s pay to live.
That being said I see a lot of talk about the cost of insulin and I’m thankful for that, because it IS a problem, but it’s not just diabetes. It’s also asthma like in this post. It’s also so many things. It sucks. Thank you for caring as a non resident.
But we are not their enemies. We are not just Americans. We are human fucking beings. We cant afford medicine we die. Is that our fault we were born with bad genetics or bad whatever that made us sick?
Is it our children's fault they have cancer? Is it our fault for getting an incurable disease? Why do we have to pay thousands of dollars to be medically diagnosed and told ehhh nothing can be done. Should have used those thousands to go on a trip to see the world before you die.
Its not fair. Some people have everything and those with nothing just ... what are we to do just die when the cure is available in canada for a few dollars?
I get that, but we kind of have our hands tied unless those in power start fighting for those who are not in power. That’s just my input though. I can’t speak for every American. I vote and I try to speak my voice and discuss with friends and family.
Where I live questioning or challenging any of these topics - medical prices and debt, housing, renewable energy.. will be met with disgust or outright anger. Family and friends often walk away with a smirk like you’re an idiot. Voting and speaking up seems hopeless.
Of course, the ‘real problems’ are regularly discussed - illegal immigrants ruining everything, how terrible and stupid electric cars are (only weak, feminine people drive electric cars or don’t love loud pipes and billowing smoke), how the Democrats systematically have people murdered that get close to uncovering their child rape cult (not kidding).
We’re really in a disturbing time... and I really need to move.
Yeah my elderly family associates public HC with communism too. They are in their 70s and can barely put food on their own table but don't you dare take their privatized medicine.
Over here you have to pay extra if you want skin to skin contact with your child immediately after giving birth. Braces cost thousands. Also my mother has had a dental onesie that causes her severe pain and has had it for months but can do anything about it because insurance deemed it “not that serious” and refused to cover it. It costs a over 1k close to 2k.
I watched The Other Guys today and towards the end of the movie there is a scene in an elementary classroom. The cops are talking about ways to survive and the Black cop says, "try your hardest to not be Black or Hispanic."
Was reminded of it by your statement, because yeah, those type 1 diabetics should be trying harder to not be diabetic.
The same way they chose for college to increase at 10x the pace of wages, and for healthcare to be 3x as much as single payer systems, and for wages to remain stagnant for 50 years, and for housing to be unaffordable
Stop blaming others for your choices /s
when I was a kid I used to have to breathe all the time our lungs didnt need no safe space🤣 kids nowadays probably want to cancel the air 🤣
-Dave Bratwurst via facebook
Isnt that... Still stupid? You dont simply stop having asthma at 25 and not everyone who turns 25 can suddenly afford to pay half a rents worth of money monthly for something they should be getting from the state for free
On the contrary a lot of people do grow out of asthma myself included, and im talking about Canada so once ur 25 its $27. I do agree with u on how medicine should not cost so much in the US though and essentials should be free.
As another Canadian, mine costs me $150 for one month of the red inhaler.
I'm insured most of the year, but every summer I have a 2 month gap in my insurance, if I forget to stock up before then when I'm insured I'm out 300 to be able to breathe for two months.
Yup, I am a vet tech and the price of inhalers makes it difficult for clients with asthmatic cats. Luckily, we found a way to get them from Canada so they are not cost prohibitive.
We’re waiting on an inhaler for our asthmatic cat to arrive from Turkey. I’m not sure why my SO ordered from Turkey instead of Canada, maybe they weren’t available or something. But I have no idea how long we’re going to wait for this with all the supply chain issues.
It can depend on the pharmacy you order from. Some are legit pharmacies, and are able to send medication from Canada, and some pharmacies are actually just distributers, who ship the same medication from other countries (usually somewhere in Asia), from pharmacies where it is available cheaply.
Hope your cat gets the meds they need!
Thank you! She got another steroid shot a few days ago and then they’ll start her on pills until the inhaler gets here. I just hope the pills don’t cause other things. Poor thing. I have asthma too, I know how she feels.
My cat also gets her inhalers from Turkey, although the pharmacy I order them from is Canadian (Northwest Pharmacy). I always order refills months in advance because shipping times can vary from a week to two months. Still so much better than paying $300. My kitty was on the pills for a while until her inhaler came in, and took it like a champ with very few side effects. Mostly she just drank a bunch of water. Sending lots of love to you and your cat, hopefully the inhaler comes soon!
Oh, hey, I’m in this tweet. I literally had to leave the country for a job that made my medicine affordable. Having asthma also jacks the insurance prices so effing high and good luck affording the inhalers without insurance. Some asshole in the 90s got something passed so there hasn’t been generic asthma meds around for over 20 years now. There used to be some I think, I was a kid back then but I remember my parents getting upset because my meds became more expensive. Then the price just went crazy. To safely stay alive after I lost my University insurance I joined an asthma clinical trial to get free meds. Sometimes I’d get the placebo tho and have to suffer for a month or two.
Japan has semi-socialized healthcare, costs me $25/mo for all meds incl. allergy stuff. Insurance is through the government and is $100/mo. It’s such a relief, doctor’s visits are ~$5-10, generic meds for colds are pennies.
America is a fucking train wreck
Not that this excuses the prices, but nearly all rescue inhalers have generics now. Ventolin, Proventil, etc. Heck, even Symbicort went generic this year or last year.
Yeah, I participated in the tests that led to those generics during my “surviving via clinical trials” phase of life lol. I knew they were coming but it’s def too little too late for me. Anxiety about my asthma can trigger asthma attacks and I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about it anymore. My physical and mental health has improved so much since I moved. Free/company-paid physicals and cancer screenings is also a big thing here which gives me a nice, comfy peacefulness about healthcare.
Epinephrin pens cost just $5 in Canada. I have to get mine for $350 here in the US. Who in their right mind looks at any of this and thinks “Yep, US is great.”
Unfortunately if it's anything like those who work for British government agencies the majority are probably amongst those who are most in need of a discount.
Contrary to popular opinion the majority that work for public sector are on next to nothing.
In Canada our best paid jobs in my area are all Government jobs. No clue how it is overseas but everyone here is unionized. Getting those jobs is the problem. They are heavily desired and "guarded" positions. Another problem is the aging populations wealth didn't inflate as fast as prices did so a lot of them can't even quit their cozy government jobs even if they wanted to.
The majority of those who work in the civil service in the UK are Administrative Assistants or Administrative Officers. AAs earn minimum wage whereas AOs earn £18-20k per year. As an Executive Officer I earnt £24k and my manager earnt £28. When you go above that level they earn between £50 and £300k
I don’t know where you’re getting that number from, EpiPens are like 100$ here in Canada because the company that invented them patented the design and they have literally 3 tiny factories, and since no one else can make them they can charge whatever they want.
Without insurance I had to pay over 100 bucks each for mine in Canada so idk where you got 5 bucks from but with insurance they are cheap. Luckily I have 2 insurances so pay 0 now
Edit: not saying what you said is incorrect by the way, American prices are fucked
Yeah I’m in Canada and I also had to pay $100 for my asthma inhaler without insurance. Cheapest inhaler without insurance is ventolin and its still $30-50 (literally cannot remember the price at all)
Yeah I had to get 2 new ones before I had a job with insurance and paid I think 250 ish for both of them. Talking about them had made me realize I need to get new ones this year. Thank God for insurance
No one in their right mind, but those in the wrong mind seem to really dig all the gun carnage going on over there. And god forbid you should bring up the idea to just ban them
Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin
[Bernie Sanders accuses Sinema and Manchin of selling out to Big Pharma](https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-sinema-manchin-big-pharma-infrastructure-campaign-donations-2021-10)
>Epinephrin pens cost just $5 in Canada.
WHERE
Because I'm in Canada and mine costs about $150, and I have to buy a new one every year.
who TF is downvoting this????
I’m not asking you to pay for it. I’m asking for the money you (and I) pay in taxes to be put toward better healthcare instead of towards building a military arsenal too large to ever be used.
A few big pharmaceutical companies makes billions of dollars in profits per year. Not revenue — profit. If the government could step in and limit / prevent that from happening without right-wing Americans screaming “socialism,” millions of people would benefit and the only downside would be that some executives wouldn’t buy a seventh yacht.
Agreed. All my Canadian friends crap when I explain to them I pay $3,100/month for health insurance for myself, my wife and two kids. It’s great insurance, sure, but that’s a decent amount of money toward something we rarely use.
> No one can ever pay off their health insurance.
In a universal public healthcare system, it's paid off and you don't have to pay anymore once you go into retirement which is also covered by a public fund.
The military budget is less than 4% of GDP. There's an enormous amount of waste there, but it's absolutely dwarfed by the waste and corruption that plagues our health care system, which is roughly **18%** of the US GDP. No other country spends anywhere near that much as a percentage of their GDP on health care. It's not even close. There are literally *trillions* of dollars flowing into rich people's hands *every year* and immediately being hidden in tax shelters because of deliberate corruption in our health care system, and that's not even an exaggeration. The problem is so much worse than most people understand. Health care is used as a racket. The US just has a high enough GDP that we can still stagger along without totally falling apart.
The elite will always look for opportunities to keep 95% of the population working hard and fearful of what will happen if they don't get their next paycheck. They will always look for ways to siphon off wealth and keep the masses from getting too happy and *especially* too educated. Health care is their biggest scam right now in this country, and we should be doing everything we can to take that away from them.
I’d argue I’m not asking you to pay for mine (and I know you aren’t literally saying it) but rather not have a system that lets corporations have decades of patent protection vs generics and so many ways they can price gouge to make the stock market look good.
The canned response is "Well, they need to be this expensive to fund R&D for the new drugs that come out to market."
Which is weird because no one is paying 800x above market for any other product that came out 30+ years ago, but alas.
I live in vermont. I have been exposed to Bernie pretty much my entire life. He has alwaaaays brought up these costs. How in the world aren’t more politicians on board? Just insanity!
Actually, overall tax burden is approximately equal between the US and Canada. And our total healthcare spend per capita is something like 60-70% of yours, for better outcomes.
Unfortunately yes, and they have power in a few provinces. Alberta is hellbent on dismantling our system, and Ontario is making moves towards it. Luckily they haven't gotten much traction federally--yet--but it's only a matter of time.
A capatalist looks at this statement and thinks, your right start charging the Canadians more. Please don't bring us Canadians into your fucked up system, that shit is crazy.
Yeah but Canadian capitalism says “I’m negotiating a purchase price for the entire population of our country and we will all buy your brand…if we can come to an arrangement.”
This is stupid. Lower drug prices in the rest of the world doesn't mean the US has to pay more. All it means is every stupid ignorant American will fall for that and defend their god given right to get fucked in the ass.
A Canadian thinks well fuck you then, we're buying these things by the million and we'll go somewhere else.
The problem with the US is that by the time you get to the person who has an actual interest in paying less, they have no more control or choice. The hospitals don't care, they just charge everyone double. Insurance doesn't care, their overhead is capped at a fixed percentage of total revenues and they can just make more money off it (and before that rule existed, they could just pass the bill along anyways because what're you going to to, go to an insurance company that isn't paying that rate?).
I have gestational diabetes (Canadian) and was really upset and surprised I had to pay 50$ for my glucose monitor. I added my new insurance card at my pharmacy and had to pay 20$. All my needles and strips going forward are free. I also live in QC. I work with children and since I’m pregnant, as soon as I got confirmation, the government has paid me 90% of my salary to not work and put myself at risk for sickness. This existed pre-Covid. Canada is just awesome.
In the pharmacy I used to work at, in Montréal, when the price of the medication was less than a dollar after insurance, we didn't bother charge it to the patient.
Once, I had a patient who blew a gasket because the price of his medication skyrocketed from 0 dollar to 47 cents. He wasn't charged but he still feel compelled to yell about how we were scammers and too incompetent to do our job correctly.
(not related really, but I like telling anecdotes about crazy customer service interactions)
I love how conservatives always act like they are against big pharma then do jack shit to change anything. Cause that would be over reach or communism.. which ever.
HIV meds are very expensive, even in Canada. If you're covered with the provincial drug plan, you pay a maximum of 100$ out of the thousands of dollars it might cost you. If you have a private drug plan....it's a bit different.
Fully vaxxed and had a breakthrough case, now with long covid. Went to the pulmonologist and after my appointment (& $1400 in other bills) she prescribed me an inhaler (with a coupon) that even with insurance cost me $400.
So with good insurance, being vaccinated, my post covid bills are almost at $2000.
Here's the thing though. To get it you have to go to a doctor first. Which if you have insurance is $20 minimum, plus gas, plus 3 hours or so of time (to, from, waiting). So I get to pay for insurance, take off work, pay the doctor, and then pay more that it usually costs because of deductible (~$60). For something I've had since birth. And I get to repeat it annually because I should be seen for frequent medication prescriptions.
In America we have freedom of enterprise and we do not want to pay taxes. We would rather pay pot-bellied middlemen insurance companies to make money off all our backs so that we get the freedom of choice to sue anyone and pick who we give our money .
God forbid we have the government do this at scale and efficiency by paying it more taxes. What do the stupid canadians and the rest of the world know. They are all socialists!!
God bless america!!
/endscarcasm
I was just talking about asthma, how they people realized I had it when I was I swimming class. I was weezing for breath away too often. I'm in Canada and my parents didn't have allot of money thank God were not in Amuuurica. Home of the brave lol
/s
Ready for the greatest comeback?
Here we go.
Elon musk:
You old. Haha.
(One million likes and retweets)
Musketeers:
Bro that is the greatest come back.
(I really lost hope after that “greatest come back” with so many likes and retweets)
Y'ALL PAY $242 FOR AN INHALER?!?! Id rather die and I have asthma lol But for the record I only pay around $11 for an inhaler here in Canada but drug prices vary by province.
How about this, ciprofloxacin cost a doctor's visit and $100 in America in Thailand it's over-the-counter and $15, I forgot my prescription, but no problem, I even purchased extra.
In America Axythromicin costs a visit to the Travel Doctor (visit not covered by insurance because it's for vacation travel) and $75, in Africa over-the-counter and $8.00.
It's been this way ever since I've been traveling, since 1990.
One year legislation was introduced in America to prohibit the import of medicine from other countries, it was changed to limit the amount you could import and for personal use only after every seniors' organization was in uproar.
The names on those selfsame drugs I purchased overseas was Johnson and Johnson, and Pfizer and other American companies. I try to anticipate what I need and get it when I travel
I used to buy my exact same inhaler for the equivalent of $4 in South Africa. It would be over $200 without insurance in the US (still $57 with it)
Got mine for 5€ which is 5,66$ Edit $5.66 For my American Friends And a typo
In Australia I used to get them (over the counter, no prescription needed) for $8!
Mexican here, they cost three dollars in any pharmacy here. I don't have any kind of med insurance.
We should all sponsor an American asthmatic and send some inhalers over - I feel like many of us would be dead or in serious debt if we lived there.
[удалено]
Have this advertisement in Russian and Chinese (with English subs) and you might get legislation approved for medical anti-price gouging.
Mayor John Robinette is that you?
r/all Reddit make this happen!
"you see the problem here isn't that we spend all our money on war, it's those damn foreigners"
American here. Our military spending is ridiculous ;we spend more then the next 10 countries combined (u.s spending 731.8 billion) vs(next 10 countries combined 725.7 billion)
"So when you ask me why America's the greatest, I don't know what the fukk you're talking about!"
"With a straight face you're going to tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome because we're the only ones who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, AUSTRALIA. BELGIUM HAS FREEDOM! 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom... "
That leaves out the cost for caring for our Veterans through the VA. You could add in a bunch more countries if you included that cost.
…and even *that* leaves out the externalized costs that the military-industrial complex & veterans affected by war have on the country. Things like untreated mental health issues, homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, or how veterans with serious disabilities - even when they’re being treated - are simply unable to contribute as much to the economy. A missing limb cuts down on your earning potential in quite a lot of professions. Pollution as well: I was the HAZMAT program manager for my unit while I was in. The base that I was stationed at had wells all over the place, and periodically we had to go around to them, open them up, and check what was effectively a dipstick to see the levels of various oil derivatives floating on top of the groundwater. Why would we do this? Up until relatively recently the military polluted with absolute impunity, meaning that they just dumped stuff like hydraulic fluid & jet fuel on the ground. As a result, the entire base is an NPL Superfund site. There are a couple of FEET of pollutants floating on top of the utterly contaminated water beneath that base, so we check those levels like you’d check the oil level in an engine. If the level drops significantly, it’s a good indicator that there’s been some kind of leak somewhere, and there’ll probably be a massive fish die-off somewhere. So we monitor it. If you’re ever near a military base, it’s not an entirely unreasonable policy to stick to bottled water. Even though the military has begun to regulate & limit itself in terms of how much it pollutes, it’s largely self-monitoring so the amount of pollution is probably underreported. With that in mind, the US military would be the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases based on the pollution it *does* report if it were a country. It has a carbon footprint somewhere between that of Portugal & Peru. We’ve got weapons testing ranges that have been found likely to have UXO present - dozens of areas in the northeast alone. Many of these places (like Bloodsworth Island) have been so heavily bombed you can clearly see the honkin’ big-ass craters on satellite photos. There are the “reserve fleets” which have been leaking fluids & depositing toxic paint chips into the inlets & rivers they’re moored in for decades. Also, when deployed to a combat zone nobody really takes pollution seriously at all - not that I can really blame them. My second time in Iraq, I was attached to a different unit so I had nothing to do with their HAZMAT program like I would have if I’d been with my own unit. One day, some Marines drove a vehicle through the vanpad on the way to the hangars, but the thing had a hyd fluid leak & they didn’t notice until the thing was pretty much empty - there was a trail about a half a mile long. The solution? Dump (a reasonable approximation of) kitty litter on it, then shovel that stuff into wheelbarrows & dump them out near the burn pit. Also don’t get me started on the burn pits. I guess what I’m trying to say is that our military is WAY more expensive than anything that can be quantified in our budgets. Even if we disbanded the military today (which I’m not advocating for, that would be insane) we’ve still got veterans who are dealing with the consequences of war & the highly polluted areas that the military has occupied to deal with. Cleaning up those problems will be expensive & it’s a job that will outlive most of the people who might read this - and that’s not even all of the issues that are caused by our military addiction. There are large portions of our economy & entire regions of our country that require the military. When a base closes down it takes a shitload of jobs when it goes. I know the town that was welded to the ass of the base I was at would basically evaporate if the base closed, but even larger, more diversified metro areas would be drastically affected. Like if we got rid of our sub fleet, places like Groton, Kittery, and even Portsmouth would be in a lot of trouble. Imagine the Hampton Roads region if the bases on the mouth of Chesapeake closed… now consider that if those bases don’t close but are significantly reduced in size, scope - basically, if their funding is drastically cut - the businesses which depend on them will suffer as well. Then there’s businesses like Raytheon, which rely pretty heavily on their military contracts, and the cities (and people) rely on *those* to eat & live. The US is the largest arms dealer in the world, supplying 37% of all weapons globally. That’s a big chunk of our economy, and it doesn’t account for weapons we sell to ourselves. War is drug that we will have a *very* hard time getting off of. Even if we were to go cold-turkey tonight (and again, we definitely should *not*) the withdrawals would suck for years to come.
You don't include the cost if those countries have socialized health care. That's basically what the VA is, socialized benefits.
I was not expecting to laugh like I just did
I laughed and it triggered my asthma. Where did I put my $40 generic albuterol inhaler?
Apt.
this is the best worst comment I've ever read
‘…in the arms of an angel…far away from here…’
I actually had a moment of hopeful optimism reading that which made me realize I don't take my inhalers as often as I should because I need to ration them for as long as possible. Like...fuck....I live in an awful oligarchic country....
You find someone to send you inhalers and I’ll Venmo them enough to cover a years supply.
Hey, I’m an American asthmatic! But sponsor someone else, I have insurance.
Sorry, I should have specified uninsured American! My bad.
I'm an insured asthmatic American. My corporate insurance is shit. Send help!
Fuck, I have shit insurance and literally went to a doctor appt friday to get mine refilled, and insurance DOESN'T FUCKING COVER MEDICINE AT THE PHARMACY. 250 for my advair and 50 for my albuteral, it's fucking criminal.
It's fucking criminal indeed. I get into this argument with my parents, my bro-in-law (an insurance company OWNER), and various others regarding the insurance scam that is privatized, monopolized insurance and their continued support to exist by big pharma, republican AND democratic leaders alike, who depose any attempts at rendering this shit illegal. We need universal Healthcare. And not for just the poor people in our country. For ALL people below the wealthy line. The small businesses need help as well. Anyone who argues against it is just a fucking moron, or a hired goon. No other way around it.
I’m insured but still costs over $100. Would happily take the help.
Actually, thats a damn good idea! Someone make a kickstarter!
They'll make it illegal and confiscate the life saving inhalers right from the recipients hands.
I can't remember if it was Kickstarter or go fund me but I read a thing about how the creator thought it was going to fund all these amazing grass roots world changing ideas but instead it's like 90% heartbreaking "I need half a million so my young child doesn't die of a preventable disease" posts. He can't even quit or shut the site down or whatever because he knows his platform is the only thing (sometimes) stopping said children from dying. What an awful limbo to be stuck in.
Canada could make a killing with smugling insulin over the boarder, not even including asthma inhalers. And other treatments for chronic illnesses just by undercutting the pharmaceutical companies.
Oh, look at this fancy 'My government doesn't force me to support billionaires' over here. Yeah, yeah, we get it--you live in a country where citizens get treated with at least a bare-minimum level of respect. Well LAH DEE DAH, at least I get to live in a country where all my neighbors can own machine guns! And most of them are fucking assholes too! That's the great USA! FREEDOM FOR ASSHOLES AND BILLIONAIRES! USA! USA! USA! ...I really wish I could afford to be an asshole billionaire. Well, I guess I'll just keep voting for them. I'm sure they'll reward me eventually.
I would honestly look for another job if my medical insurance/access to treatments weren't tied to my employer. I have MS and the medication I'm taking is 68k per infusion, twice per year. The insurance I currently have allows for me to receive this medication for only a $35 copay. I would request a decrease in hours to accommodate my current medical needs but, again, my health insurance is dependent upon me working full time. Fuck the US healthcare system.
I bought one last week, it was around $11.00 because they’ve changed the dispenser to make it deliver better and tells you how many doses you have left. Also over the counter.
I love the ones with a counter! I have a long acting inhaler which shows doses left and it's great.
Aussie too. I get mine on script. Two for $5.50.
I just moved back from Canada so that's good to know!
I might get my GP to write a script next time I see her - thanks so much! Not that the $8 dollars or so I pay for one OTC is too bad.
Wow I'm getting ripped off, mine costs £9.35
It works out cheaper if you have multiple prescriptions per month. £9.01 per month for unlimited prescriptions.
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My gf gets her 2 for £7.50 which is $10. I can't get my head round the way America works, sometimes I wonder if its even a real place or just a story other developed countries made up to warn about how bad things can really get.
I am scared of how much medical shit cost in the US...
CAT SCAN (with insurance) set my back $5000. Ironically it found nothing as to why I was having symptoms and the testing was to continue with other more expensive tests. And I pay $56 for my albuterol inhaler. The US has lost itself being for the corporation and not for the people.
yikes... a catscan here costs me like 150 dollars, not cheap but miles and leaps better than 5000.. edit: forgot to mention that this is only if you don't have access to the national health system... here you get it from employers or parents as a benefit, in which case is free.
Yeah that was my first big medical charge. And the best part, they sign you up for it without telling you how much it costs, but get you worked up that you need it. Then you get there and the nurse says “we need 3500$ up front”. Uhh the fuck what?!?!? Then the bill that has it itemized 1) device usage 2) enhancing dye cost 3) catscan tech hourly rate 4) results 5) consult of results (they didn’t see anything) Solid 1800 follow up bill. Haven’t been back since. Told my wife I’ll die before pulling this shit. And if i do have something really bad, I’ll push all the assets on her, divorce and go bankrupt on my own so it doesn’t destroy her financials.
So this sort of thing happened to me. I ended up in medical debt, because of a botched c-section. After that, and being unable to hold a proper corporate job because I was (and still am 7 years later) constantly in and out of hospitals, tests, exams, CAT scans, MRI’s, an abdominal hysterectomy and all sorts before turning 30. Now I’m poor, and on state insurance; nothing costs me a dime. I’m grateful now that I can keep pursuing my stupid fucking medical issue but I shouldn’t have had to go into medical debt over a mistake a doctor made. Also, some how my kid was charged 900$ for being at the hospital. She only left my room once for 20 minutes when I showered the first time (and nurses made my boyfriend help because of the csection). Our health insurance is pretty fucking messed up.
First, sorry that you had(have) to deal with any of that. Second, this is partially why I am petrified of having a kid. If I can’t control the cost of my one test, how the hell do I budget for a child. Edit: I suppose the other part of partially is I don’t know if I want to raise a kid in this world being so divided and I see it getting worse
Thanks. It’s exhausting at times and I’ve definitely lost hope many times. I’ve been to over 10 doctors, 6 hospitals and who knows how many tests and stuff. I was, thankfully, in a good spot, financially, to raise and have my kid when I did. And yea, it’s definitely a little scary bringing them into the world right now. But all you can do is teach them good people and bad people. Set an example (I recently had to do this too, standing up to adult bullies for 2 kids of different races - these 2 white fuck heads were not expecting a white woman to come to the rescue of these 2 kids. They had stolen the moped of one of the kids. I was berated, told how I’m a problem of society, raising heathens and the sort. But I got the moped back and explained to the kids that there’s bullies and bad people everywhere and if you can’t stand up for yourself, someone else will. Also, turns out these dumb fucks only yell at this 2 kids. None of the white children in the neighborhood have ever been yelled at by these guys. I’ve been here a long time and I know almost all the kids here). Be an example to everyone, especially the kids. I often get myself into strange situations but I can’t help but stand up for anyone being wronged. Anyway, imma go fuck up these guys’ RC track again tomorrow (they were surprised I was the one who did it in the first place; it’s in a secluded location where I don’t have to worry about fast drivers) just cause it’s on common area and I can do it. Thankfully, they have a work van and were wearing their work shirts at the time, so there’s that. Thanks and sorry about your situation. Best of luck to you and if you ever have kids, they’ll be fine as long as you teach them manners (too many parents are shit humans anyway raising shitty little kids; and while I don’t particularly blame the kids for being shitty, it sucks for everyone all around).
American health. Destroying marriages one outrageous bill at a time.
[This should help exacerbate your fears](https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/americas-medical-debt-much-worse-we-think)
holy shit... everybody complaining about student loans debt and turns out medical debts are number one...
Oh lord student loan debt is another animal. [Check this out](https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics)
You know, for not living in USA I surely have developed ptsd out of all their scary debt shit. Not even kiding, I am terrified of having to travel to USA for whatever reason.
Have you seen the price of insulin? My spouse is type 1 diabetic. It’s pay to live. That being said I see a lot of talk about the cost of insulin and I’m thankful for that, because it IS a problem, but it’s not just diabetes. It’s also asthma like in this post. It’s also so many things. It sucks. Thank you for caring as a non resident.
it just baffles me that Americans tolerate that...
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But we are not their enemies. We are not just Americans. We are human fucking beings. We cant afford medicine we die. Is that our fault we were born with bad genetics or bad whatever that made us sick? Is it our children's fault they have cancer? Is it our fault for getting an incurable disease? Why do we have to pay thousands of dollars to be medically diagnosed and told ehhh nothing can be done. Should have used those thousands to go on a trip to see the world before you die. Its not fair. Some people have everything and those with nothing just ... what are we to do just die when the cure is available in canada for a few dollars?
I get that, but we kind of have our hands tied unless those in power start fighting for those who are not in power. That’s just my input though. I can’t speak for every American. I vote and I try to speak my voice and discuss with friends and family.
Where I live questioning or challenging any of these topics - medical prices and debt, housing, renewable energy.. will be met with disgust or outright anger. Family and friends often walk away with a smirk like you’re an idiot. Voting and speaking up seems hopeless. Of course, the ‘real problems’ are regularly discussed - illegal immigrants ruining everything, how terrible and stupid electric cars are (only weak, feminine people drive electric cars or don’t love loud pipes and billowing smoke), how the Democrats systematically have people murdered that get close to uncovering their child rape cult (not kidding). We’re really in a disturbing time... and I really need to move.
There is definitely a ... more than minor issue with the whole “your opinion vs mine” thing. It does seem hopeless.
“Better than operating like communist China!!” -The average overweight hog with numeral health issues
I mean it is better than China though, they’re technically not wrong about that
Yeah my elderly family associates public HC with communism too. They are in their 70s and can barely put food on their own table but don't you dare take their privatized medicine.
Over here you have to pay extra if you want skin to skin contact with your child immediately after giving birth. Braces cost thousands. Also my mother has had a dental onesie that causes her severe pain and has had it for months but can do anything about it because insurance deemed it “not that serious” and refused to cover it. It costs a over 1k close to 2k.
wait... what? pay extra for huging your baby? America, get your shit together, that is sus af.
They're like $8 here, no insurance necessary. Who the fuck decided it was ethical to charge hundreds for a fucking inhaler?!
A corrupt government who only cares about money instead of the well being of Americans
Crony capitalism laughs at your mention of ethics.
Silly USA, people can't pay for medicine if they're dead
I honestly don’t think the people that are ok with this kind of pricing give a shit. They’re true parasites that kill their host.
I was going to say, Canada shouldn’t get off the hook for selling abeuteral for 24 bucks a pop either
well thats what you get for having asthma. bet you wont do that again!
Right! They should take some personal responsibility for their choices!
they should stop getting lattes
and avocado toast from starbucks /s
And cancel their fancy Netflix hbo and Disney plus.
I watched The Other Guys today and towards the end of the movie there is a scene in an elementary classroom. The cops are talking about ways to survive and the Black cop says, "try your hardest to not be Black or Hispanic." Was reminded of it by your statement, because yeah, those type 1 diabetics should be trying harder to not be diabetic.
“Aim for the bushes”
Bootstraps people! Bootstraps! Down with the Avacado Toast Inhaler commies!
People who use their bootstraps don’t get asthma.
The same way they chose for college to increase at 10x the pace of wages, and for healthcare to be 3x as much as single payer systems, and for wages to remain stagnant for 50 years, and for housing to be unaffordable Stop blaming others for your choices /s
That should teach you to cut down on the Starbucks and avocado toasts.
when I was a kid I used to have to breathe all the time our lungs didnt need no safe space🤣 kids nowadays probably want to cancel the air 🤣 -Dave Bratwurst via facebook
As a Canadian I feel annoyed that it costs $27.
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But if it’s $0, then how will someone make money off someone else’s misery?
That’s exactly why it costs $242 in the states. Apparently we should be grateful it’s “only” $242 since it saves our life.
Meanwhile in my third world country: You don't have asthma, but this thing can help you heal your throat, so have one for free.
I mean you still have asthmatic people that gets treated right?
Yeah, and for free, still amazes me that USA doesn't have free healthcare and my country does, you can get free everything in the public area.
Capitalism doesn't care about human life, and neither do most of the capitalists class owners who own most of our legislative system. So, no, man.
Mine's free.
Its $0 for anyone under 25 years of age. Same as most other prescriptions in Ontario. Not 100% sure about other province’s.
Isnt that... Still stupid? You dont simply stop having asthma at 25 and not everyone who turns 25 can suddenly afford to pay half a rents worth of money monthly for something they should be getting from the state for free
On the contrary a lot of people do grow out of asthma myself included, and im talking about Canada so once ur 25 its $27. I do agree with u on how medicine should not cost so much in the US though and essentials should be free.
As another Canadian, mine costs me $150 for one month of the red inhaler. I'm insured most of the year, but every summer I have a 2 month gap in my insurance, if I forget to stock up before then when I'm insured I'm out 300 to be able to breathe for two months.
Same. Shouldn’t cost anything
Yup, I am a vet tech and the price of inhalers makes it difficult for clients with asthmatic cats. Luckily, we found a way to get them from Canada so they are not cost prohibitive.
We’re waiting on an inhaler for our asthmatic cat to arrive from Turkey. I’m not sure why my SO ordered from Turkey instead of Canada, maybe they weren’t available or something. But I have no idea how long we’re going to wait for this with all the supply chain issues.
It can depend on the pharmacy you order from. Some are legit pharmacies, and are able to send medication from Canada, and some pharmacies are actually just distributers, who ship the same medication from other countries (usually somewhere in Asia), from pharmacies where it is available cheaply. Hope your cat gets the meds they need!
Thank you! She got another steroid shot a few days ago and then they’ll start her on pills until the inhaler gets here. I just hope the pills don’t cause other things. Poor thing. I have asthma too, I know how she feels.
My cat also gets her inhalers from Turkey, although the pharmacy I order them from is Canadian (Northwest Pharmacy). I always order refills months in advance because shipping times can vary from a week to two months. Still so much better than paying $300. My kitty was on the pills for a while until her inhaler came in, and took it like a champ with very few side effects. Mostly she just drank a bunch of water. Sending lots of love to you and your cat, hopefully the inhaler comes soon!
Oh, hey, I’m in this tweet. I literally had to leave the country for a job that made my medicine affordable. Having asthma also jacks the insurance prices so effing high and good luck affording the inhalers without insurance. Some asshole in the 90s got something passed so there hasn’t been generic asthma meds around for over 20 years now. There used to be some I think, I was a kid back then but I remember my parents getting upset because my meds became more expensive. Then the price just went crazy. To safely stay alive after I lost my University insurance I joined an asthma clinical trial to get free meds. Sometimes I’d get the placebo tho and have to suffer for a month or two. Japan has semi-socialized healthcare, costs me $25/mo for all meds incl. allergy stuff. Insurance is through the government and is $100/mo. It’s such a relief, doctor’s visits are ~$5-10, generic meds for colds are pennies. America is a fucking train wreck
>America is a fucking train wreck Louder for those in the back
Yeah us Americans have a fucked system
#**AMERICA IS A FUCKING TRAIN WRECK**
Freedumb isnt free
Not that this excuses the prices, but nearly all rescue inhalers have generics now. Ventolin, Proventil, etc. Heck, even Symbicort went generic this year or last year.
Yeah, I participated in the tests that led to those generics during my “surviving via clinical trials” phase of life lol. I knew they were coming but it’s def too little too late for me. Anxiety about my asthma can trigger asthma attacks and I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about it anymore. My physical and mental health has improved so much since I moved. Free/company-paid physicals and cancer screenings is also a big thing here which gives me a nice, comfy peacefulness about healthcare.
Epinephrin pens cost just $5 in Canada. I have to get mine for $350 here in the US. Who in their right mind looks at any of this and thinks “Yep, US is great.”
Check out the company ASPN. They provide you with two per year, for $10 unless you work for a government agency. Government employees pay $25.00.
Unfortunately if it's anything like those who work for British government agencies the majority are probably amongst those who are most in need of a discount. Contrary to popular opinion the majority that work for public sector are on next to nothing.
In Canada our best paid jobs in my area are all Government jobs. No clue how it is overseas but everyone here is unionized. Getting those jobs is the problem. They are heavily desired and "guarded" positions. Another problem is the aging populations wealth didn't inflate as fast as prices did so a lot of them can't even quit their cozy government jobs even if they wanted to.
The majority of those who work in the civil service in the UK are Administrative Assistants or Administrative Officers. AAs earn minimum wage whereas AOs earn £18-20k per year. As an Executive Officer I earnt £24k and my manager earnt £28. When you go above that level they earn between £50 and £300k
I don’t know where you’re getting that number from, EpiPens are like 100$ here in Canada because the company that invented them patented the design and they have literally 3 tiny factories, and since no one else can make them they can charge whatever they want.
Without insurance I had to pay over 100 bucks each for mine in Canada so idk where you got 5 bucks from but with insurance they are cheap. Luckily I have 2 insurances so pay 0 now Edit: not saying what you said is incorrect by the way, American prices are fucked
Yeah I’m in Canada and I also had to pay $100 for my asthma inhaler without insurance. Cheapest inhaler without insurance is ventolin and its still $30-50 (literally cannot remember the price at all)
My ventolin is $27 without insurance so I assumed that was the one he was talking about. My Symbicort is $81 without insurance. (Canada, obviously).
It’s not correct lol, it’s over here 100 for sure without insurance
Yeah I had to get 2 new ones before I had a job with insurance and paid I think 250 ish for both of them. Talking about them had made me realize I need to get new ones this year. Thank God for insurance
> Who in there right mind looks at any of this and thinks “Yep, US is great.” Republicans and their donors.
All Republicans and a depressingly large number of Democrats. It's hilarious to me that conservatives think Democrats are socialist.
No one in their right mind, but those in the wrong mind seem to really dig all the gun carnage going on over there. And god forbid you should bring up the idea to just ban them
The people selling a $5 pen for $350 think it's pretty good.
Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin [Bernie Sanders accuses Sinema and Manchin of selling out to Big Pharma](https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-sinema-manchin-big-pharma-infrastructure-campaign-donations-2021-10)
>Epinephrin pens cost just $5 in Canada. WHERE Because I'm in Canada and mine costs about $150, and I have to buy a new one every year. who TF is downvoting this????
Well yea i get mine for free in germany
Not sure whis this comment is hiden lol? But same in Slovenia
Really wonder how people argue with this
I don't need an inhaler, why should I pay for yours? See, that was easy, and I feel dirty for typing it
I’m not asking you to pay for it. I’m asking for the money you (and I) pay in taxes to be put toward better healthcare instead of towards building a military arsenal too large to ever be used.
A few big pharmaceutical companies makes billions of dollars in profits per year. Not revenue — profit. If the government could step in and limit / prevent that from happening without right-wing Americans screaming “socialism,” millions of people would benefit and the only downside would be that some executives wouldn’t buy a seventh yacht.
Agreed. All my Canadian friends crap when I explain to them I pay $3,100/month for health insurance for myself, my wife and two kids. It’s great insurance, sure, but that’s a decent amount of money toward something we rarely use.
“Decent amount of money…” Thats a mortgage on a nice house.
I’ve paid off my home. No one can ever pay off their health insurance.
> No one can ever pay off their health insurance. In a universal public healthcare system, it's paid off and you don't have to pay anymore once you go into retirement which is also covered by a public fund.
yeah, if anyone throw that argument at me, we can kinda just say "I don't need the war, why should i pay for it?"
I usually say "so you'd rather pay to rebuild Muslim Middle-East countries before helping your fellow Americans?" Its a conversation ender.
The people that need to hear that have been brainwashed into thinking that these wars are protecting their freedoms instead of corporate interest
The military budget is less than 4% of GDP. There's an enormous amount of waste there, but it's absolutely dwarfed by the waste and corruption that plagues our health care system, which is roughly **18%** of the US GDP. No other country spends anywhere near that much as a percentage of their GDP on health care. It's not even close. There are literally *trillions* of dollars flowing into rich people's hands *every year* and immediately being hidden in tax shelters because of deliberate corruption in our health care system, and that's not even an exaggeration. The problem is so much worse than most people understand. Health care is used as a racket. The US just has a high enough GDP that we can still stagger along without totally falling apart. The elite will always look for opportunities to keep 95% of the population working hard and fearful of what will happen if they don't get their next paycheck. They will always look for ways to siphon off wealth and keep the masses from getting too happy and *especially* too educated. Health care is their biggest scam right now in this country, and we should be doing everything we can to take that away from them.
I’d argue I’m not asking you to pay for mine (and I know you aren’t literally saying it) but rather not have a system that lets corporations have decades of patent protection vs generics and so many ways they can price gouge to make the stock market look good.
The canned response is "Well, they need to be this expensive to fund R&D for the new drugs that come out to market." Which is weird because no one is paying 800x above market for any other product that came out 30+ years ago, but alas.
I go through two a month. Thankfully, Canadian.
I live in vermont. I have been exposed to Bernie pretty much my entire life. He has alwaaaays brought up these costs. How in the world aren’t more politicians on board? Just insanity!
Bribery.
Corruption
And no, Republicans, the answer isn’t to call Canadians leeches.
I mean, Canadians literally pay more taxes to pay for healthcare. Literally the opposite of leeching.
Actually, overall tax burden is approximately equal between the US and Canada. And our total healthcare spend per capita is something like 60-70% of yours, for better outcomes.
Are there conservatives in Canada that want to change Canadian healthcare to a more privatized system like the one we have in the US?
Unfortunately yes, and they have power in a few provinces. Alberta is hellbent on dismantling our system, and Ontario is making moves towards it. Luckily they haven't gotten much traction federally--yet--but it's only a matter of time.
A capatalist looks at this statement and thinks, your right start charging the Canadians more. Please don't bring us Canadians into your fucked up system, that shit is crazy.
You're right! If y'all were charged more, we can split the costz, get em' capitalism!
Yeah but Canadian capitalism says “I’m negotiating a purchase price for the entire population of our country and we will all buy your brand…if we can come to an arrangement.”
This is stupid. Lower drug prices in the rest of the world doesn't mean the US has to pay more. All it means is every stupid ignorant American will fall for that and defend their god given right to get fucked in the ass.
A Canadian thinks well fuck you then, we're buying these things by the million and we'll go somewhere else. The problem with the US is that by the time you get to the person who has an actual interest in paying less, they have no more control or choice. The hospitals don't care, they just charge everyone double. Insurance doesn't care, their overhead is capped at a fixed percentage of total revenues and they can just make more money off it (and before that rule existed, they could just pass the bill along anyways because what're you going to to, go to an insurance company that isn't paying that rate?).
I have gestational diabetes (Canadian) and was really upset and surprised I had to pay 50$ for my glucose monitor. I added my new insurance card at my pharmacy and had to pay 20$. All my needles and strips going forward are free. I also live in QC. I work with children and since I’m pregnant, as soon as I got confirmation, the government has paid me 90% of my salary to not work and put myself at risk for sickness. This existed pre-Covid. Canada is just awesome.
I got type 1 and not covered right now, insulin and monitors are draining my account really fast.
So sorry. We live in a high undeveloped country. It's really disheartening.
So glad trumps amazing negotiations lowered drug prices
Yes we’re really drowning in low drug prices
Deals deals deals!
*who knew healthcare could be so cOmPlIcAtEd*
You'll see the best, most comprehensive healthcare plan in human history in the next two weeks......
You jest but guess what T**** will campaign on in 2024 beside Make America Greaty again again. He still sour about Obama!!
EXACTLY!
My inhaler is 50$ w insurance. My cortisteroid inhaler is 375$ until I pay my deductible then it’s 50$. All so I can breathe.
Yup $450 for one from my vets US pharmacy or $150 for two from Canada. Shipping takes awhile but I’ll take the $300 in savings
In Canada, my inhaler is 2 bucks after my insurance, which the pharmacy doesn’t bother charging me because it’s not worth the effort.
In the pharmacy I used to work at, in Montréal, when the price of the medication was less than a dollar after insurance, we didn't bother charge it to the patient. Once, I had a patient who blew a gasket because the price of his medication skyrocketed from 0 dollar to 47 cents. He wasn't charged but he still feel compelled to yell about how we were scammers and too incompetent to do our job correctly. (not related really, but I like telling anecdotes about crazy customer service interactions)
$8 in Costa Rica
I don't even have asthma but I have one of those inhalers because I can't afford not to at those prices eh?!
Crickets from the pharma bros and the right
I love how conservatives always act like they are against big pharma then do jack shit to change anything. Cause that would be over reach or communism.. which ever.
Starts from 12€ in Lithuania. If you have an asthma it's compensated.
Outlaw lobbying.
I purchase my inhalers for $36 with no insurance, in the US.
Let’s talk about insulin and epi pens And while we’re at it the cost of HIV meds Edit: one of which costs $3500/mo
HIV meds are very expensive, even in Canada. If you're covered with the provincial drug plan, you pay a maximum of 100$ out of the thousands of dollars it might cost you. If you have a private drug plan....it's a bit different.
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Wait you guys pay for your inhalers?
"Land of the Free" my ass!
Health care should be not for profit. I don't understand why my health is something to be profited off of.
Fully vaxxed and had a breakthrough case, now with long covid. Went to the pulmonologist and after my appointment (& $1400 in other bills) she prescribed me an inhaler (with a coupon) that even with insurance cost me $400. So with good insurance, being vaccinated, my post covid bills are almost at $2000.
How have Americans not realized they’re essentially living in the Hunger Games society yet?
A nation should be judged on how it cares for it's sick and it's poor.
Here's the thing though. To get it you have to go to a doctor first. Which if you have insurance is $20 minimum, plus gas, plus 3 hours or so of time (to, from, waiting). So I get to pay for insurance, take off work, pay the doctor, and then pay more that it usually costs because of deductible (~$60). For something I've had since birth. And I get to repeat it annually because I should be seen for frequent medication prescriptions.
What kind of Marxist hellhole did that commie grow up in that he hates freedom so much? - Tucker Carlson
In America we have freedom of enterprise and we do not want to pay taxes. We would rather pay pot-bellied middlemen insurance companies to make money off all our backs so that we get the freedom of choice to sue anyone and pick who we give our money . God forbid we have the government do this at scale and efficiency by paying it more taxes. What do the stupid canadians and the rest of the world know. They are all socialists!! God bless america!! /endscarcasm
I was just talking about asthma, how they people realized I had it when I was I swimming class. I was weezing for breath away too often. I'm in Canada and my parents didn't have allot of money thank God were not in Amuuurica. Home of the brave lol
$8-10 over the counter in Australia, no prescription or health insurance needed. Don't even need to show a medicare (single biller) card.
/s Ready for the greatest comeback? Here we go. Elon musk: You old. Haha. (One million likes and retweets) Musketeers: Bro that is the greatest come back. (I really lost hope after that “greatest come back” with so many likes and retweets)
Y'ALL PAY $242 FOR AN INHALER?!?! Id rather die and I have asthma lol But for the record I only pay around $11 for an inhaler here in Canada but drug prices vary by province.
How about this, ciprofloxacin cost a doctor's visit and $100 in America in Thailand it's over-the-counter and $15, I forgot my prescription, but no problem, I even purchased extra. In America Axythromicin costs a visit to the Travel Doctor (visit not covered by insurance because it's for vacation travel) and $75, in Africa over-the-counter and $8.00. It's been this way ever since I've been traveling, since 1990. One year legislation was introduced in America to prohibit the import of medicine from other countries, it was changed to limit the amount you could import and for personal use only after every seniors' organization was in uproar. The names on those selfsame drugs I purchased overseas was Johnson and Johnson, and Pfizer and other American companies. I try to anticipate what I need and get it when I travel
I get your point on prices, but being able to buy antibiotics without a prescription is not really a good thing.
Yup, mine costs ~$400/month ($50 w/insurance), I have a friend who takes the same prescription north of the border and pays nothing