Teacher Dies From Flu Because Medicine Was Too Expensive

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DarthMetaKnight
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18 Feb 2018, 8:47 pm

auntblabby wrote:
amuuurican righties never tire of telling falsehoods about other nations' universal health care, and making up positive stories about our own dysfunctional medical delivery system, all the while discounting the many cases of working class here priced out of coverage/treatment, dismissing the working poor as "degenerates" undeserving of any health care.


This isn't unique to America. Every hyper-capitalist society in history has been like this.

In Victorian England the lower classes were called "the crime classes" and they were treated as though they were a separate species.


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19 Feb 2018, 2:27 am

DarthMetaKnight wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
amuuurican righties never tire of telling falsehoods about other nations' universal health care, and making up positive stories about our own dysfunctional medical delivery system, all the while discounting the many cases of working class here priced out of coverage/treatment, dismissing the working poor as "degenerates" undeserving of any health care.


This isn't unique to America. Every hyper-capitalist society in history has been like this.

In Victorian England the lower classes were called "the crime classes" and they were treated as though they were a separate species.


That's essentially what it's like in China.. Big Time. Colleagues have told me that they're the ruling class, and the workers are just.. the workers; they don't even consider them as human. An heir to a factory in China told me this directly as he explained how he can go about living a lavish lifestyle and not think twice about the legalized slaves that make his family money. It's just the way it's always been there & is normalized to both classes.

We've still had a bit of a divide here in Canada, but overall we're more balanced.. especially in terms of delivering healthcare to all regardless of income. There's a larger divide in wealth here Now than ever, and things like healthcare are becoming two tiered a little like in the USA - but still not as bad. Basically, us working class people get put on waiting lists for public doctors/specialists/surgeries etc but if you have the money to pay a private hospital you can get whatever you want done asap. Can't say I blame rich people for skipping MRI & surgery wait lists - I'd do the same.

But at least our prescription drug coverage is pretty reasonable as prices are dependant on income level. It's still quite an expense for many people, but it's certainly a whole lot better for a lot of poorer people here than in the USA.

Some prescription & OTC drugs cost a lot more here than in the states, though. Like this OTC medicated foot lotion I bought is approximately 12x more expensive here than in Washington State. I think it's on a case by case and drug by drug basis though, as I think overall prescription medications are cheaper and more accessible for Canadians - especailly very poor Canadians.


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auntblabby
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19 Feb 2018, 2:35 am

if I had money, I would still, out of solidarity with the class I was born into, live as a poor person. but at least I would have health care, that would be my main indulgent splurge. my standing bargain with god is that if I ever lucked into money, i'd use it to help other people. in America, we have these medical missionaries in decrepit motor homes travelling the poor parts delivering charity medical care to people who've suffered for YEARS in untreated illness/injury. you'd expect to see this in a third world country, which goes to show large swaths of amuurica ARE as a third-world country.



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19 Feb 2018, 2:51 am

auntblabby wrote:
if I had money, I would still, out of solidarity with the class I was born into, live as a poor person. but at least I would have health care, that would be my main indulgent splurge. my standing bargain with god is that if I ever lucked into money, i'd use it to help other people. in America, we have these medical missionaries in decrepit motor homes travelling the poor parts delivering charity medical care to people who've suffered for YEARS in untreated illness/injury. you'd expect to see this in a third world country, which goes to show large swaths of amuurica ARE as a third-world country.


I'm not wealthy.. but I have significantly more monetary wealth than most of the people I hang out with. I'm not the kind of person to change my friends just because I have more money in the bank. In part that's because I still do the same things I enjoy & just keep letting money build up instead of spending it on doing different things my friends can't afford. Also, while some of it is luck and some of it is hard work, as discussed in another thread I have similar goals for money if I can make it.

We have some pretty extreme poverty here in some areas of Canada, too. Especially on Native reserves where many don't even have clean running water. Then there's the DTES (downtown East side) of Vancouver.. highest poverty rates, drug use rates, and disease transmission rates in the whole country. Literally hundreds of homeless, mostly drug addicted/alcoholic, people lining the streets of a several block stretch. It's quite the contrast to the neighbourhoods on the West side full of homes worth tens of millions of dollars. Most of these people face multiple barriers to health.. mental issues, addictions etc & are their own worst enemy.. but still, they can access basic & emergency medical services a whole lot better than ultra poor Americans, that's for damned sure.


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auntblabby
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19 Feb 2018, 2:56 am

IMHO there is less evil running things north of the border, and more a sense of common purpose, than down here. you all are a bit more a common people, whereas we down here are basically a bunch of individuals butting heads. we're not a melting pot per common stereotype, but scorpions in a bottle, full of NIMBYs and IGMSFYs. we are a house divided upon itself.



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19 Feb 2018, 3:03 am

Yeah, to an extent you're right.. but don't think Canada isn't without corrupt politicians at every level of government or that there isn't a vast disparity between the haves & have nots that continues to widen. We're just a bit more balanced & blended than the USA overall, but we're not without our problems. For what many consider to be the best country in the world, we've got a lot of problems still - including in out healthcare system(s) & drug prices.


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auntblabby
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19 Feb 2018, 3:15 am

do they charge $20/capsule for Strattera [Atomoxetine]? they do down here.



goldfish21
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19 Feb 2018, 3:26 am

auntblabby wrote:
do they charge $20/capsule for Strattera [Atomoxetine]? they do down here.


No idea, I've never bought it.

The price we pay varies somewhat by our income, so someone who is very poor might pay nothing for it - not even a dispensing fee. Someone else might only pay the dispensing fee. Another may pay whatever retail is on it until they've paid $x/year towards their own prescriptions and then they're covered beyond that etc.

But I have no idea what that drug sells for here because I've never bought it. Even when my prescriptions are covered by the Provincial plan, or if they're covered by an extended coverage plan through work, I always ask the pharmacist what the retail price is out of curiosity. I think it's printed on every receipt, actually.


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auntblabby
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19 Feb 2018, 3:29 am

I hadda go cold turkey off of Strattera 'cause "Group Death" [a local HMO that merged with KP] stopped covering it. that is how I found out it cost $20/capsule.