Today is the Fourth of July! I’ll be spending the day in our nation’s capital. While I’m not entirely sure what the day will bring, I do know that I’m bound to feel a swell of patriotic pride, as I imagine the vibe of Washington, D.C. this time of year oozes red, white, and blue.
As much as I love my country, I still think it has a long way to go. I promised myself I would refrain from getting overly political on my blog (for many reasons), but I will say this one thing: Many things about healthcare in America need to change. I found an article on the New York Times recently that opened my eyes to the dire state of the global insulin crisis. Here are some facts from that article:
- One in four patients with diabetes are cutting back on insulin because of cost.
- The typical cost of one vial of insulin is $130. One vial of insulin lasts no more than two weeks for a person with diabetes.
- There is no generic form of insulin. This means that prices skyrocket since there is no competition among generics.
Why is this happening? Why do families find themselves being forced to choose between feeding their families or affording life-saving medication? It’s unacceptable that profits are valued over life in our great nation.
Things need to change. The politicians and policymakers who have the power to make right and just changes need to take a good, hard look at Americans who are crying out for help and struggling to simply live.
This topic is worthy of thousands more words, but I’ll leave it at that for now. Maybe it will open someone else’s eyes, too.
For now, have a beautiful Independence Day doing whatever it is that makes you feel free – and be safe!
Hugging the Cactus 
I get into arguments over this subject all the time on Facebook. Why? The most common comment is I don’t want to pay for someone else’s care. This comment puzzles me as if you are paying for insurance why is it you are paying for someone else’s coverage, even with universal coverage? One person wrote that insurance was created so the money you paid in would cover the money they pay out over time. OK, my questions to that are, one, what happens if you pay in more than you get out? Two, why get insurance then? If you only get back what you put in and end up paying for this service (salaries and other costs) what gain do you get out of it. I have been telling people for a while when it gets brought up that universal health care can fix the high cost of not just drugs but specialist who charge extra for their service simply because they can. Trump has said other countries paying less than we do is causing our prices to rise, a true businessman. I see it as a matter of lack of control. Those other countries have a similar demand but since the company needs an approved contract to sell the drug they have to concede some of the profit to stay in that market. Here in a “free” market, they can charge what they can with no competition or consequence. I’ve looked up the financial report on 2 of the major insulin producers and found they are making almost as much profit in the North American market (Canada, USA, and Mexico) as the rest of the world combined. Considering how low the cost is in Canada and Mexico, how much over charged does that make our system? Sorry I’ll stop there. I’ve told people on Facebook that yes I take this personally as my life hangs in the balance in this issue. Good post Molly. You just brought the issue up without being too pushy about it. lol I’m not so quiet and held back on it anymore. lol
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