There was an elderly inmate in Hawaii who had HIV. He couldn't walk as fast as a drunk turtle.
He used to shoplift while in close proximity to police so he would intentionally get caught. Once he was in custody he made it clear that he needed medication. Then he went to court and pleaded guilty. He would spend a short while in jail then get released with a 90 day supply of meds for HIV.
When he was almost out of meds, he would repeat the process. The old man was using the justice system to stay alive because he couldn't pay for his meds.
It would have been cheaper for the state to just give him free meds without the justice system and courts, but that would be "socialism" and we can't have that.
Hawaii had a Republican governor at the time.
California should be ashamed that they let a man die for an insurance company to make money.
American adults! You all now have access to a FREE, 24/7 ON DEMAND TELEHEALTH system for #COVID19 and influenza so you can get prescribed #Paxlovid or anti-flu medications, any time, day or night, that you test positive.
Anyone in the US who is 18 or older can use the telehealth service to talk to a prescriber if they test positive for flu or COVID.
AND! As a special service for those who are poor, old, or a veteran, they will also ship you free COVID and flu tests if you want. Sign up in the same system.
@FAIR "...if we continue on the path of incremental "progress" begun by the Affordable Care Act, [U.S.] Americans can expect everyone to have health insurance that covers our medical needs without the threat of bankruptcy in about 500 years."
Happy Dental Care Day Canada!! (at least if you're over 70 without private insurance)
I hope that in time this will become part of universal single-payer healthcare (along Drug Coverage) and eliminate private insurance for health needs, but it's a start at least. And it happened because a centre-left party, the NDP, has an agreement to work with the minority government.
Remember "#DeathPanels"? #SarahPalin promised us that #UniversalHealthcare was a prelude to a Stalinist nightmare in which unaccountable bureaucrats decided who lived or died based on a cost-benefit analysis of what it would cost to keep you alive versus how much your life was worth.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
My friend who emigrated to Spain posted that he had to go to the Emergency Room today. Instead of it breaking his bank account, the visit only cost him €16.
We are being ripped off in ways we don't even realize by the US health “care” non-system which is designed to maximize corporate profits by bankrupting patients.
We need a new model and should adopt one of the universal health care models that get much better health care outcomes than ours. #universalhealthcare#medicareforall#USpol
My friend who emigrated to Spain posted that he had to go to the Emergency Room today. Instead of it breaking his bank account, the visit only cost him €16.
We are being ripped off in ways we don't even realize by the US health “care” non-system which is designed to maximize corporate profits by bankrupting patients.
We need a new model and should adopt one of the universal health care models that get much better health care outcomes than ours. #universalhealthcare#medicareforall#USpol
Here’s #UniversalHealthCare#Australia for you, folks. Being on Dupilumab means I am 98% symptom-free of my eczema. This would cost over $4500aud for 2 injections (one month supply), but on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme costs $30aud a month. I had to be vetted as a suitable recipient, but as other intensive treatment options had failed this was my last option - corticosteroids for life is not an option.
1/x
Incredibly lucky and incredibly tragic. Jeri Ryan’s stand-in in Picard, Margot, was diagnosed with a rapid form of #ALS, a fatal degenerative disease. The #Trek family has organized a #GoFundMe. It’s tragic she has this terrible condition that will kill her in two years. She’s lucky to have such an influential community to help.
#PeterDavid has written so many things that so many people have enjoyed-- books, movies, comics, streaming, and more. You've undoubtedly enjoyed his work without realizing it. He's written things for #StarTrek, #Babylon5, #Oblivion, the #DCU, the #MCU (comics, TV, and movies), and more.
Only in America should a man as sick as he is, and as talented as he is, need to go begging to pay his medical bills, just to live.
Now you can see why the #WGA is striking. Streaming fees and movie ticket sales never trickle down to the people who do the most important job of all: creating the stories and characters you see on screen.
I rarely post a #GoFundMe, unless I know it's truly worthwhile. Please donate and say thank you to someone who has given you so many hours of entertainment.
Florida fascist Republican death-cult governor Ron DeathSantis approves plan to import cheaper pharmaceutical drugs from country with price-regulated, woke, pinko-commie universal healthcare, but refuses woke, pinko-commie federal healthcare subsidies (Medicaid) to cover low-income Floridians.
US big pharma responds with warning: If your fascist, healthcare-denying US state imports the identical drugs we sell for less to different country with price-regulated, woke, pinko-commie universal healthcare, these drugs will “pose a serious danger to public health.”
Oy, just found out my doctor of the past 15 years will no longer be in-network next year. So, I guess this is it. Gotta find a new doc. This is the insanity of the US healthcare system. You're tethered to jobs to have decent healthcare; but, then a doctor could up and leave a network for whatever reason. It shouldn't be like this. Relationships with healthcare providers shouldn't be fly-by-night and a function of whether or not they accept your private insurance. #universalhealthcare
#UniversalHealthcare is necessary for Americans' wellbeing & survival. Profiteering off poorer health outcomes for the insured is...
If you're enrolled in an Aetna MDCR Advantage plan:
WS isn't happy with Aetna’s parent, CVS Health. CEO admitted: paying more claims than usual. CVS execs have promised to do whatever it takes to get profit margins back -likely: Aetna will: refuse to cover some treatments & meds,⬆️your premiums next year, & might dump you.
#WholeWashington (the volunteer organization that is working to bring #UniversalHealthcare to #WashingtonState) is currently studying when to attempt their next signature-gathering campaign for a ballot initiative. In the mean time, you can help them out by signing this "Pledge to Sign" petition so they are ready to go when it's time to gather official signatures: https://wholewashington.org/pledge-to-sign/
Picking health coverage during #openenrollment involves a little less anxiety and choice paralysis when you work in a company full of data nerds whose passion is making spreadsheets for optimizing just about everything but it’s a poor substitute for #UniversalHealthcare
😷💉#Covid, viruses... Universal healthcare, worker sick pay, ventilation/filtered air in workplaces, schools..., masks in crowded spaces... esp. HC facilities...
"People who say "we can't live in a bubble" don't understand how much less disease there would be if hybrid attendance options & universal, where possible, & people could actually stay home when sick.
Spreading disease OBVIOUSLY self-defeats the maximization of open living."
-Blake Murcdoch, Health policy scholar
Medicare Advantage plans are not only ripping off America's seniors, they are bankrupting physicians and hospitals with their fraudulent scheme of "delay, deny and not pay."
The jig is up: "16% of health systems are planning to stop accepting one or more Medicare Advantage plans in the next two years. Another 45% said they are considering the same but have not made a final decision."
That seems to be pissing off Medicare Advantage CEOs. Sachin Jain, MD, CEO of SCAN Group — one of the nation's largest nonprofit Medicare Advantage companies said, "You're a nonprofit system saying you're no longer going to accept the insurance that low-income people actually have. We'll see how that works out for you."
No, you pathological piece of shit, we'll see how that works out for YOU. These health systems are already not getting paid by your fraudulent system of collecting insurance premiums but denying payment for care. They have nothing to lose. You're a sociopathic predator and you deserve bankruptcy and imprisonment.
Not sure if this will actually happen, but if it does it would be a massive game changer. So far it has 23 sponsors in the Michigan House, which is more than I would have expected.
Rep. Carrie Rheingans introduces bill that would establish universal healthcare in Michigan
Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) has introduced a bill that would create a publicly funded health system that would provide comprehensive services in Michigan.
House Bill 4893 would establish a universal healthcare system and reform the current payment system for healthcare coverage in Michigan. It would utilize both private and public providers to offer physical, dental, and mental healthcare without deductibles, copays, or premiums.
Rheingans told State of Reform she is still considering options to fund her proposal for Michigan, but plans to utilize MICare, which all residents would be eligible for. It would include coverage provided under Medicaid, Medicare, MIChild (the state’s child health plan under Title XXI of the Social Security Act), employers that choose to participate, and state and government employees.
⚕️ Sigh. One step forward, two steps back. Good overview in this short blog:
"The typical non-subsidized health plan for this family would consume over 40 percent of their pre-tax income. Most people would have their mortgage application rejected by a bank if their mortgage payment made up this share of their income. "