Cost of medicines



James Pinkerton wrote:

> Governments get discounts on full retail pricing including the America VA system and so do
> private insurance carriers. The person who gets shafted is the poor consumer without any
> healthcare insurance. He can be charged almost anything as he has no cost basis to know how much
> markup he is paying.
>
> They say only in America and South Africa are people not provided health care as part of the
> national health policy.
>
>
And what do "they" suggest as a remedy?
 
"James Pinkerton" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Governments get discounts on full retail pricing including the America VA system and so do
> private insurance carriers. The person who gets shafted is the poor consumer without any
> healthcare insurance. He can be charged almost anything as he has no cost basis to know how much
> markup he is paying.

Do you know what it costs Nabisco to make a box of Ritz crackers? Do you know what it costs Texaco
to produce a gallon of gas?

How much SHOULD a day in the hospital cost? How much SHOULD a bottle of antihypertensive pills cost?

The point made - and the point that is still valid - large purchasers have significant opportunities
to negotiate favorable terms. This is an economics thing - not a national thing.

js
 
On 2004-02-18 08:36:59 -0500, "James Pinkerton" <[email protected]> said:

> They say only in America and South Africa are people not provided health care as part of the
> national health policy.

I don't know who "they" are, but the U.S. has one of the strongest healthcare systems in the world
for a reason. Could it be at least in part because our system isn't socialized? Of course.

A socialized system in the U.S. would most likely resemble the V.A. system, Medicaid, or Medicare.
It probably would be *very* restrictive in terms of a drug formulary (if one was provided at all),
there would be rationing of services and long waits for many surgeries and tests (with no outlet,
unlike the situation in Canada where people can cross the border and receive care in the U.S. rather
than wait for the Canadian system to take care of them), along with other pitfalls. As the saying
goes, "Be careful what you ask for...you might get it."
 
"talkback" <[email protected]> wrote

> I checked business was business and I don't recall any
> socialist revolution recently.

Maybe that is just what we need. Our present system of
legalized greed has failed the consumer.

PJ
 
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