Skyrocketing drug prices leave cures out of reach for some patients

[Kosh]

JQ....you have fallen for the lies of the left......many people do.....I am posting this video clip of Carmela Soprano and her visit to a psychiatrist as an attempt to tell you...someone has now pointed out to you the left lies....just as this Dr. points out to Carmela the truth of her situation......I also think it is the best moment in the Sopranos....I didn't watch much of this show because I got tired of glamorizing and sympathizing with evil......as you are doing with the leftists in Cuba.....

Pay attention to what the Psychiatrist tells Carmela...and substitute the left for her husband.....

Your video didn't work for me but I doubt if anything on there was going to change my mind. Her is why?

1.The US Cancer Institute has reached an agreement with Cuba concerning the new vaccine for lung cancer.

A U.S. cancer research center and a software company reached agreements with Cuban partners during a two-day trade mission to Cuba led by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the first trip of its kind since the rapprochement between Washington and Havana.

The Roswell Park Cancer Institute of Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday signed an agreement with Cuba's Center for Molecular Immunology to develop a lung cancer vaccine with a clinical trial in the United States, Roswell Chief Executive Officer Candace Johnson said.

In addition, New York City-based Infor, previously known as Infor Global Solutions Inc [INFGS.UL], has found Cuban partners to resell its software in Cuba, CEO Charles Phillips said.

Both announcements were made at the airport just before Cuomo and a delegation of 18 business leaders and academics boarded their return flight to New York.

Cuomo, a Democrat, is the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba since a December announcement by President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro that they would restore diplomatic relations and work to normalize trade and travel ties after more than a half century of hostility and confrontation.

2. Roswell was able to finalize the agreement for a clinical trial as a result of the trade mission, Johnson said.

"This agreement establishes a collaboration between our two institutions to develop a cancer vaccine in lung cancer," she said of the vaccine developed by scientists at the Cuban center. "We're very excited to take this to the United States to treat patients."

I find the above credible and so do many other independent thinkers. There is no incentive to give Cuba false credit for anything. They earned it.

Conservatives, OTOH, in their anti-socialist agony, want no part of it. They have lied , distorted information and pulled out all the stops to trivialize Cuba's medical and research programs. You've provided us with a few examples of that right here in this forum. They too see the Cuban initiatives as a threat to the outrageous profits American pharmaceuticals and insurers generate from medicine. Those of us with money invested in those companies aren't too happy to see that Cuban threat emerging but I'm willing to change my portfolio a bit for the sake of humanity.

Continued:

Says the far left drone that supports Obamacare!

 

[Dragonlady]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

 

[initforme]

That's why I love my medicareand Medicaid, tow of the best things this country has ever done. Add to that my medical insurance as well and I am able to get a medication that costs $1700 for one treatment, at a cost of $1...12 times per year.

 

[JQPublic1]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. Adding that 45,000 uninsured deaths you posited to that figure makes a whopping 135,000 poor souls lost in this country every year. I haven't heard that Cubans are experiencing a similar mortality rate due to medical error, not even proportionally. Given the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings, I am fairly certain they can't because Cuban healthcare is far less deadly.

 

[FA_Q2]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. Adding that 45,000 uninsured deaths you posited to that figure makes a whopping 135,000 poor souls lost in this country every year. I haven't heard that Cubans are experiencing a similar mortality rate due to medical error, not even proportionally. Given the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings, I am fairly certain they can't because Cuban healthcare is far less deadly.

My only concern with Cuban numbers is who is tallying the success rate and weather those numbers are universal throughout the nation or concentrated within specific population centers.

I do not really trust the Cuban government to be totally honest with its own numbers considering that the government there controls media and speech. A government that is willing to lie to its people to spread propaganda and support its government is not one I would trust to honestly track something like its healthcare success.

Do you know if these are tracked locally or if third parties gather the information about their healthcare system and weather or not they are able to access the entire nations track record or just the places that cater to the lucky ones?

 

[M14 Shooter]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. ....

Speaking of the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings....
This is ~3x the number of people that die from gunshots and ~10.5x the number of people murdered with a gun.

 

[Political Junky]

Drug manufacturers sell their drugs to other countries at a fraction of what the cost is in the US.

 

[SwimExpert]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. ....

Speaking of the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings....
This is ~3x the number of people that die from gunshots and ~10.5x the number of people murdered with a gun.

But the children!

 

[M14 Shooter]

[
But the children!

Sadly, in the mindless partisan bigot pool of thought, that's a conversation-ender.

 

[SwimExpert]

[
But the children!

Sadly, in the mindless partisan bigot pool of thought, that's a conversation-ender.

Actually, liberals seem to use it as a conversation starter.

 

[JQPublic1]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. Adding that 45,000 uninsured deaths you posited to that figure makes a whopping 135,000 poor souls lost in this country every year. I haven't heard that Cubans are experiencing a similar mortality rate due to medical error, not even proportionally. Given the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings, I am fairly certain they can't because Cuban healthcare is far less deadly.

My only concern with Cuban numbers is who is tallying the success rate and weather those numbers are universal throughout the nation or concentrated within specific population centers.

I do not really trust the Cuban government to be totally honest with its own numbers considering that the government there controls media and speech. A government that is willing to lie to its people to spread propaganda and support its government is not one I would trust to honestly track something like its healthcare success.

Do you know if these are tracked locally or if third parties gather the information about their healthcare system and weather or not they are able to access the entire nations track record or just the places that cater to the lucky ones?

I don't know the Cubans are compiling stats on deaths by medical error. I haven't seen any evidence of it good or bad. However, I do know that their approach to healthcare is one of prevention. Combine that attitude with a healthy diet, exercise and a bucolic lifestyle and the Cubans seem to have an answer to general health that eludes their US counterparts. You don't see many obese cubans; adult OR children.
You won't see homeless or starving Cuban's either.

The Cuban medical system is designed to help people and is not operating for profit. That focus, combined with a bountiful supply of doctors, seemingly has a positive effect on survival in a hospital setting.

Many objective Americans who have visited Cuba come back to report what they see. Most of those stories are diametrically opposite of others who simply hate Castro and want to cast his astounding accomplishments in a bad light. I choose to believe the positive stories because I have never heard Castro lie. Maybe he has, but in all the speeches he has made, I cannot say I heard him tell a lie.
Moreover, the things Castro's medical system is doing is exactly what our Christian nation should be doing.

I wish more "conservative" Christians were like that Communist, Castro!

Here is a positive link from another American's point of view:

Cuban medical care is highly advanced. Surgeons at the Ameijeiras BrothersHospital have performed numerous heart transplants in the past decade. Researchers have done pioneering vaccine research for meningitis C and cholera.

Cuba has lower infant and adult mortality rates than the US, and it has a life expectancy nearly equal to ours, if not better.

In addition to establishing well-staffed clinics that serve the Cuban population, doctors are not pressured into evaluating a patient under a 15-minute schedule. The doctor will get to know the patient’s habits for a fuller understanding of his or her health condition. Clinics are thoroughly integrated into Cuban communities, in part, because they blend Western techniques with “natural and traditional medicine.

 

[FA_Q2]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. Adding that 45,000 uninsured deaths you posited to that figure makes a whopping 135,000 poor souls lost in this country every year. I haven't heard that Cubans are experiencing a similar mortality rate due to medical error, not even proportionally. Given the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings, I am fairly certain they can't because Cuban healthcare is far less deadly.

My only concern with Cuban numbers is who is tallying the success rate and weather those numbers are universal throughout the nation or concentrated within specific population centers.

I do not really trust the Cuban government to be totally honest with its own numbers considering that the government there controls media and speech. A government that is willing to lie to its people to spread propaganda and support its government is not one I would trust to honestly track something like its healthcare success.

Do you know if these are tracked locally or if third parties gather the information about their healthcare system and weather or not they are able to access the entire nations track record or just the places that cater to the lucky ones?

I don't know the Cubans are compiling stats on deaths by medical error. I haven't seen any evidence of it good or bad. However, I do know that their approach to healthcare is one of prevention. Combine that attitude with a healthy diet, exercise and a bucolic lifestyle and the Cubans seem to have an answer to general health that eludes their US counterparts. You don't see many obese cubans; adult OR children.
You won't see homeless or starving Cuban's either.

The Cuban medical system is designed to help people and is not operating for profit. That focus, combined with a bountiful supply of doctors, seemingly has a positive effect on survival in a hospital setting.

Many objective Americans who have visited Cuba come back to report what they see. Most of those stories are diametrically opposite of others who simply hate Castro and want to cast his astounding accomplishments in a bad light. I choose to believe the positive stories because I have never heard Castro lie. Maybe he has, but in all the speeches he has made, I cannot say I heard him tell a lie.
Moreover, the things Castro's medical system is doing is exactly what our Christian nation should be doing.

I wish more "conservative" Christians were like that Communist, Castro!

Here is a positive link from another American's point of view:

Cuban medical care is highly advanced. Surgeons at the Ameijeiras BrothersHospital have performed numerous heart transplants in the past decade. Researchers have done pioneering vaccine research for meningitis C and cholera.

Cuba has lower infant and adult mortality rates than the US, and it has a life expectancy nearly equal to ours, if not better.

In addition to establishing well-staffed clinics that serve the Cuban population, doctors are not pressured into evaluating a patient under a 15-minute schedule. The doctor will get to know the patient’s habits for a fuller understanding of his or her health condition. Clinics are thoroughly integrated into Cuban communities, in part, because they blend Western techniques with “natural and traditional medicine.

Where those stats come from is enormously important though if you are going to use them as a success story. I am not just talking about death by medical error but ALL of the information around their health care system. You mentioned things like they have a higher life expectancy. According to whom? Who collects that information?
I would assume that the nation itself collects it – that is how it works almost everywhere. They might very well be more successful and it is worth a look but I am just stating that I do not trust the Cuban government to report accurate or even truthful information. If you ask China – they do not have a real problem with human rights. Obviously the WHO has looked into this to a degree so there is something there – it is not simply a fabrication. That does not mean it is all that it is cracked up to be though.
I asked if you knew where the information comes from because I genuinely do not know or know how thoroughly it has been vetted. There is a lot of information that tells completely opposing stories on the Cuban healthcare system though. Much of what I read centers around on the idea that the care in most of the rural areas is poor while the care in specific cities is really good and a lot about the poor treatment of the doctors themselves. However, the credibility of those reports is in question. Most of the good things I read are all based on a single report and that is also very dubious.

 

[JQPublic1]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

The number of US deaths attributed to medical error is also staggering. 90,000+ people die every year from medical error in this country. Adding that 45,000 uninsured deaths you posited to that figure makes a whopping 135,000 poor souls lost in this country every year. I haven't heard that Cubans are experiencing a similar mortality rate due to medical error, not even proportionally. Given the American pundit's knack for using proportional statistics on perceived enemies to shield their own shortcomings, I am fairly certain they can't because Cuban healthcare is far less deadly.

My only concern with Cuban numbers is who is tallying the success rate and weather those numbers are universal throughout the nation or concentrated within specific population centers.

I do not really trust the Cuban government to be totally honest with its own numbers considering that the government there controls media and speech. A government that is willing to lie to its people to spread propaganda and support its government is not one I would trust to honestly track something like its healthcare success.

Do you know if these are tracked locally or if third parties gather the information about their healthcare system and weather or not they are able to access the entire nations track record or just the places that cater to the lucky ones?

I don't know the Cubans are compiling stats on deaths by medical error. I haven't seen any evidence of it good or bad. However, I do know that their approach to healthcare is one of prevention. Combine that attitude with a healthy diet, exercise and a bucolic lifestyle and the Cubans seem to have an answer to general health that eludes their US counterparts. You don't see many obese cubans; adult OR children.
You won't see homeless or starving Cuban's either.

The Cuban medical system is designed to help people and is not operating for profit. That focus, combined with a bountiful supply of doctors, seemingly has a positive effect on survival in a hospital setting.

Many objective Americans who have visited Cuba come back to report what they see. Most of those stories are diametrically opposite of others who simply hate Castro and want to cast his astounding accomplishments in a bad light. I choose to believe the positive stories because I have never heard Castro lie. Maybe he has, but in all the speeches he has made, I cannot say I heard him tell a lie.
Moreover, the things Castro's medical system is doing is exactly what our Christian nation should be doing.

I wish more "conservative" Christians were like that Communist, Castro!

Here is a positive link from another American's point of view:

Cuban medical care is highly advanced. Surgeons at the Ameijeiras BrothersHospital have performed numerous heart transplants in the past decade. Researchers have done pioneering vaccine research for meningitis C and cholera.

Cuba has lower infant and adult mortality rates than the US, and it has a life expectancy nearly equal to ours, if not better.

In addition to establishing well-staffed clinics that serve the Cuban population, doctors are not pressured into evaluating a patient under a 15-minute schedule. The doctor will get to know the patient’s habits for a fuller understanding of his or her health condition. Clinics are thoroughly integrated into Cuban communities, in part, because they blend Western techniques with “natural and traditional medicine.

Where those stats come from is enormously important though if you are going to use them as a success story. I am not just talking about death by medical error but ALL of the information around their health care system. You mentioned things like they have a higher life expectancy. According to whom? Who collects that information?
I would assume that the nation itself collects it – that is how it works almost everywhere. They might very well be more successful and it is worth a look but I am just stating that I do not trust the Cuban government to report accurate or even truthful information. If you ask China – they do not have a real problem with human rights. Obviously the WHO has looked into this to a degree so there is something there – it is not simply a fabrication. That does not mean it is all that it is cracked up to be though.
I asked if you knew where the information comes from because I genuinely do not know or know how thoroughly it has been vetted. There is a lot of information that tells completely opposing stories on the Cuban healthcare system though. Much of what I read centers around on the idea that the care in most of the rural areas is poor while the care in specific cities is really good and a lot about the poor treatment of the doctors themselves. However, the credibility of those reports is in question. Most of the good things I read are all based on a single report and that is also very dubious.

If you are objective you can find the truth if you look for it. I told you why I believe Cuba is doing something positive to make the world a better place for the poor and developing nations of the world. Many of those positive things are occurring outside of Cuba where any person interested can observe it.

Cuba sends thousands of doctors to third world countries without any expectations of compensation to combat illnesses that might eventually threaten us all. Google that for the details if you wish. There ought to be references that lead you to the details and sources of that input.

The Cuban medical school trains medical students from 110 countries to be doctors with no apparent strings attached except the student must promise to serve in poor communities for a specific time.

That quest for a medical doctorate includes tuition free education, shelter and sustenance plus a small stipend. Search for Americans who graduated from that school and see what they say about that!

The CIA world fact book is another excellent source for comparing Cuba's mortality rates with other countries. Google it!

I can't guarantee you will find something to convince you that Cuba is a godsend for people who are exploited by western medicine facilities and pharmaceutical companies. You just have to examine the available evidence for yourself.

 

[Andylusion]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

That's a myth. Just flat out, it's a myth.

You show me one. I've gone to the hospital without insurance myself. I got something called "a bill" in the mail. I did something amazing... I "paid the bill". If I can go get service without insurance, then your entire mythology of the millions dying without health care is a total lie. Just flat out, it's a lie.

 

[Slyhunter]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

That's a myth. Just flat out, it's a myth.

You show me one. I've gone to the hospital without insurance myself. I got something called "a bill" in the mail. I did something amazing... I "paid the bill". If I can go get service without insurance, then your entire mythology of the millions dying without health care is a total lie. Just flat out, it's a lie.

If you were broke and didn't have insurance because you couldn't afford it would your method still work? Could you get your medical care without having the money to pay for it?

 

[mikegriffith1]

Disgusting..

Sophisticated drugs are opening the door, scientists say, to an era of "precision medicine."

They're also ushering in an age of astronomical prices.

New cancer drugs are routinely priced at more than $100,000 a year — nearly twice the average household income.

Experimental cholesterol drugs — widely predicted to be approved this summer — could cost $10,000 a year

A drug for a subset of people of cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that kills most patients by their early 40s, commands more than $300,000 a year.

Even with insurance, patients might pay thousands of dollars a month out of pocket.

For many people, care for cancer and other serious diseases is "a doorway to bankruptcy or poverty," said Timothy Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation. "It's a tremendous economic burden."

But patients aren't the only ones paying.

Taxpayers underwrite the cost of prescription drugs provided by Medicare, Medicaid and other public insurance programs.

Spending on prescription drugs last year reached a record-breaking $374 billion, up 13% from 2013, with the largest percentage increase in more than a decade, said Clare Krusing,spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans. Almost half of that increase came from drugs launched in the past two years.

Continued here: Skyrocketing drug prices leave cures out of reach for some patients

I hope you understand that in many cases misguided federal policy is driving these high prices.

 

[Andylusion]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

That's a myth. Just flat out, it's a myth.

You show me one. I've gone to the hospital without insurance myself. I got something called "a bill" in the mail. I did something amazing... I "paid the bill". If I can go get service without insurance, then your entire mythology of the millions dying without health care is a total lie. Just flat out, it's a lie.

If you were broke and didn't have insurance because you couldn't afford it would your method still work? Could you get your medical care without having the money to pay for it?

You missed it......

I was in fact broke, and didn't have insurance.

I just paid the bill. They sent a bill... I paid it.

 

[mikegriffith1]

I'll give you one example of federal meddling causing higher prices, an example that affects me personally. The FDA, in its infinite wisdom, won't allow people with asthma to buy albuterol or ventolin inhalers over the counter (OTC). This enables doctors to charge for prescriptions for inhalers and enables drug companies to charge far more than they would dare if the inhalers were OTC.

The inhalers that the FDA allows to be bought OTC are very weak, and even the FDA warns that OTC inhalers are no substitute for albuterol and ventolin inhalers.

Many low-income people with asthma rarely or never buy prescription inhalers because they can't afford them.

 

[FA_Q2]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

That's a myth. Just flat out, it's a myth.

You show me one. I've gone to the hospital without insurance myself. I got something called "a bill" in the mail. I did something amazing... I "paid the bill". If I can go get service without insurance, then your entire mythology of the millions dying without health care is a total lie. Just flat out, it's a lie.

If you were broke and didn't have insurance because you couldn't afford it would your method still work? Could you get your medical care without having the money to pay for it?

Yes, for the most part they can.

 

[Slyhunter]

There are a lot fewer people dying on waiting lists, which are triaged, then the 45,000 Americans who died each year because they don't have health insurance.

That's a myth. Just flat out, it's a myth.

You show me one. I've gone to the hospital without insurance myself. I got something called "a bill" in the mail. I did something amazing... I "paid the bill". If I can go get service without insurance, then your entire mythology of the millions dying without health care is a total lie. Just flat out, it's a lie.

If you were broke and didn't have insurance because you couldn't afford it would your method still work? Could you get your medical care without having the money to pay for it?

You missed it......

I was in fact broke, and didn't have insurance.

I just paid the bill. They sent a bill... I paid it.

With what money?