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MontyPorygon t1_jeg0aqg wrote

If this happened sooner, my friend would still be alive. RIP Myckelle. You deserved affordable insulin.

235

SatnWorshp t1_jefyvac wrote

>Cap on insulin cost now permanent in Washington

If so, how do they get the medicine out? Seems counter-productive.

Jokes aside, this is great. Now if only they could work on the cost of cancer treatments.

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rosesandpiglets t1_jefmkwp wrote

“The Senate vote was 47 to 0 and the House vote was 95 to 2.”

Nice to see (most) of the WA GOP pulled their heads out of their asses and did the right thing

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Bob_Kay t1_jegmuoc wrote

Hell yeah. Not even a copay on my refill today

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zachm t1_jegc454 wrote

What this means is that either a) people will get a worse, cheaper form of insulin, b) everyone's premiums will go up, or c) some combination of the two. I'm guessing c).

"Insulin" as injected by diabetics is not a single substance. Instead, there are dozens of different drug products that mimic the human hormone. Depending on how well they work and the delivery method, some cost 20 times as much as others. Newer insulin drugs are both longer lasting and faster working, and easy to use needle pens cost way more than vials.

Here's a good overview of the cost differences between different drugs:

https://www.goodrx.com/healthcare-access/research/how-much-does-insulin-cost-compare-brands

Putting a cap on cost means insurance companies will decline to cover more expensive options. Those are the ones that work better and are easier to use.

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clownburner t1_jegho6p wrote

This is the part of these policies people don’t realize. The legislation makes everyone feel good until the reality sets in.

−40

zachm t1_jegks5g wrote

I'm reminded of the Venezuelan government putting price caps on drugs and then being shocked when drug stores stopped selling them

−36

Aginor23 t1_jeg0o50 wrote

Why not just remove the patent protection? Seems better to let the market choose a price rather than creating the danger of shortages

−43

jrhoffa t1_jeg6v8r wrote

The market has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted to equitably manage human necessities.

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forcustomfrontpage t1_jeh29iu wrote

Don't know what that guy is on about but there is a real danger in just capping prices, I don't think this goes far enough. Capping prices is just squeezing one side of the tube but not solving any problems, you need to fix the conditions that lead to the price gouging. It's not like it all the sudden dawned on pharmaceutical companies to gouge people, they've always wanted that.

If you want something to be available at a reasonable price in the quantities people need, you've got to find that cause and fix it, high prices are the result of a problem and not the cause of a problem.

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Aginor23 t1_jeg767p wrote

Well, that’s not even remotely true. And especially in the case of insulin. If the government only allows one producer of insulin via patent protection then that is pretty obviously not free markets at work finding a true price

−35

Merfkin t1_jegg2jb wrote

Capitalism is about getting the most money possible, period. If not reigned in, they simply boost the price and force you to pay it (in the case of insulin, the consequences for not buying the product is death).

We have about as "free" a market as it gets in the modern world, it's burning the planet and killing us in swathes. Letting companies do whatever they want means ruin for the average person.

Regulation got us a 40-hour workweek and safety regulations, the free market gave us 50¢/hr wages and child labor.

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MyHappyAcnt t1_jegblon wrote

Slave labor is still quite common and encouraged by the "freemarket" and that's just the tip of the shitburg that is made of unfettered capitalism atrocities. Let's not forget child labor, union busting murder, Burnie madolf, and so on.

Markets need to be well regulated to balance the needs of the many against the greed of a few.

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Merfkin t1_jegfiuo wrote

The market is what created the insane price in the first place, dude.

Do you think it was the feds telling them to charge $1200??

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mordorxvx t1_jegnc0n wrote

“Let the market choose a price” is a sick and twisted view on life saving medication. Check your priorities.

13

cloux_less t1_jegg3c8 wrote

I would assume patent protections are a federal matter and not a state one

9