Board 8 > The latest South Park special made a good point

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm pretty sure we've all thought it before, but if these diabetes meds can prevent the disease, why is the healthcare system making it so hard for people in need to get them? We don't wait until someone has a heart attack to put them on blood pressure meds, so why isn't ozympic an option for pre-diabetics? It can't be big pharma, since they are making money hand over fist. I don't actually think it's the sugar lobby like in the episode. And it shouldn't be the insurance companies because "a penny of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Getting more people on it now should lower the costs they will have to pay out in the future, especially since the more mass volume of sales means the pharma companies get their ROI faster and thus the drug (theoretically) becomes cheaper.

Yes, I agree that people probably shouldn't get it for vanity alone as the moms do, but it being made more widely available for people who actually need it would be very beneficial.

All puns were unintentional, but still funny to me.

I thought this was one of the realest things they've ever done:

https://youtu.be/VAfy26xs6e0?si=q3uT6hEeYm5fm2Fr

I've never personally had to go through that shit because I've had the great fortune of platinum level health care from my job for 20 years, but I've heard many of the horror stories. It really does come off as the most real thing South Park has done.

ChichiriMuyo posted...

I've never personally had to go through that shit because I've had the great fortune of platinum level health care from my job for 20 years, but I've heard many of the horror stories. It really does come off as the most real thing South Park has done.

Are you an executive for a Fortune 500 company?

My wife is prescribed Ozempic for her PCOS and insulin resistance. The insurance company refuses to cover it despite us being on what is supposed to be a fantastic plan (it's their top tier plan). They say they will only cover it if it's prescribed it for diabetes

It's an absolute joke. She has been given so many different meds for her PCOS with nothing working. Now she's presented with an option that actually works and they won't cover it.

Why cant it be more money when all the rich people have incurable greed that is killing the entire planet because their $70B still isnt enough? More money is the reason for sure imo

ChichiriMuyo posted...

I don't actually think it's the sugar lobby like in the episode.

Also, its low key horrifying that this is a thing that someone would actually have to seriously consider, even if only briefly.

there constantly seems to be shortages of drugs like ozempic, wegovy, etc. so right now they might be prioritizing treatment for those who have diabetes already over prevention. these drugs did not exist a couple years ago and now they are trying to manufacture enough to give to a population where a gigantic number of people need it, so I could see it taking some time to meet that demand.

having said that our healthcare system tends to prioritize long term medication use generally over prevention or cure, so never assume greed is not a factor. a sicker, more medicated population is better for their wallet.

ChichiriMuyo posted...

It can't be big pharma, since they are making money hand over fist.

Long term treatment is more profitable than prevention.

And companies always want more profit, no matter how much they are already making.

UltimaterializerX posted...

These 6 words are the biggest reason why for profit health care is a joke.

Yep, pretty much.

She also needs regular MRI's and other scans. The insurance company are like 'We will only cover one a year' meanwhile the doctor is like 'We need to do this every ~3 months so that we can make sure the mass isn't growing'. She's now going to have to have a biopsy because 18 months later they still don't know what it is and the insurance is saying that's unnecessary.

It was the same thing with her allergies. She has a fuck ton of allergies (like seriously 15+ of really common things) which may have been a by product of some of her past meds. The insurance company refused to cover an allergy panel stating it was an unnecessary procedure. They would rather her have the bouts of not being able to breathe and her stomach bleeding than her knowing what was causing it and avoiding those foods.

They just do absolutely fucking anything to get out of paying for the shit they are supposed to. It's infuriating, especially as someone who emigrated to the US from England where healthcare was free. I've paid for insurance for 12 years now and not used it for myself once so it makes me so angry when they won't cover shit for my wife. Luckily we are fairly okay money wise so just pay out of pocket when we have to but I can easily see how people rack up insurmountable medical debt or just don't get necessary treatment.

Health care should absolutely not be a business

pretty much the entire episode was on point. as it stands ozempic looks like it can potentially be a breakout miracle drug but we'll see what the landscape looks like in 5 years. we haven't had those in a while.

odds are good it'll be cheaper and easier to get in another country though, which constantly is a thing for a lot of medical treatments or drugs. then again at the pace we're going who knows what insurance will look like when half the population won't have it after AI takes over the jobs.

Wanglicious posted...

then again at the pace we're going who knows what insurance will look like when half the population won't have it after AI takes over the jobs.

Maybe it will be better when the computers can follow the rational logic of "you need ____ therefore we will give you ____" rather than a human making the decision of "well actually you don't get to have ____ because..."

Grand_Kirby posted...

I thought this was one of the realest things they've ever done:

https://youtu.be/VAfy26xs6e0?si=q3uT6hEeYm5fm2Fr

Entirely accurate.

Dedf1sh posted...

Maybe it will be better when the computers can follow the rational logic of "you need ____ therefore we will give you ____" rather than a human making the decision of "well actually you don't get to have ____ because..."

If an AI did perform the job of evaluating insurance claims, I'm 100% sure it wouldn't be designed to just give people what they need.

UltimaterializerX posted...

These 6 words are the biggest reason why for profit health care is a joke.

Where I am right now with worker's comp insurance is my Orthopedist sees my elbow is still a mess and needs OT/PT. Worker's comp doesn't care.

2 months later worker's comp send me to this independent company/independent Orthopedist, who a month later when I actually gets to meet him states my elbow even worse than the first guy is saying and he recommends even more aggressive therapy than the first. It's clear the lack of treatment is doing direct harm.

But the therapy as of two weeks later is still denied and the middleman company they dragged into it (Who I've talked to several times since, but I haven't talked to worker's comp once since) has been trying to find someone in the worker's comp company to actually talk to. My case manager changes every week or two and usually to someone who's on "vacation".

My wife quit working so we could get under the income threshold for state Medicaid. Because of my daughter's health needs, it's actually more cost effective for only one of us to work.

Dedf1sh posted...

Maybe it will be better when the computers can follow the rational logic of "you need ____ therefore we will give you ____" rather than a human making the decision of "well actually you don't get to have ____ because..."

No, the human logic is "you need ____ therefore I can profit from selling you ____ at a higher rate".

The ozempic fiasco is fucking garbage.

Its hard for diabetics to even find and now there are people going full Homer Simpson so they can qualify to use it for weight loss.

For those saying that there is more money in treating than preventing, keep in mind that whenever someone goes off one of these drugs they put the weight back on. So whether you develop diabetes or not, if you're not capable of keeping the weight off naturally then you're going to be on it for life.

ChichiriMuyo posted...

For those saying that there is more money in treating than preventing, keep in mind that whenever someone goes off one of these drugs they put the weight back on. So whether you develop diabetes or not, if you're not capable of keeping the weight off naturally then you're going to be on it for life.

nobody is naturally overweight. find me an overweight person who spends their days hunting or foraging for food in the woods who is overweight. people dont naturally have access to easy cheap calorically dense food. the issue is doctors treat symptoms of our modern life instead of going after the issue (we arent meant to have access to 1500 calorie delicious meals for cheap at all times) and a doctor gets nothing from explaining how insane that is and how you shouldnt do it because they dont pay them, people saying to drug you do. So they drug you. The true long term answer is for us to change our habits. But thats hard and makes less people money so it wont happen.