I wasn't referring to @Os Trigonum when I said right wing tools. I just meant in general right wingers are disingenuous about unions. I'm not sure you understand why the unions have declined. Corporations have union busted for decades with no consequences. The nlrb just ruled if you participate in union busting then your union will automatically be approved as long as you have enough cards to support the union. It's the biggest pro union decision made by a government in 60 years and it's retroactive. @Nook will think dems are useless regardless Unions are going explode which is good
My bad then No, I definitely get that, it's a global phenomenon that has been affecting virtually all western countries save for Iceland for decades. More then just the western countries likely but those are the ones I've read the data on. I just understand that as a model, unions can and in many cases do hurt a business's efficiency... but that's not to say that's inherently bad. One of the most efficient ways for a business could operate is to have... slave labor. One of the most efficient ways workers could operate is to get paid without working. Clearly, there is an important balance to be found here, I'd definitely agree that in most situations the worker is the vulnerable party, I like unions, and I like collective bargaining, but the nuances and executions are important.
For drugs on the list released Tuesday, the government aims to negotiate the lowest maximum fair price. That could help some patients who have coverage but still face big bills like coinsurance payments when they get a prescription. About 9% of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older said in 2021 that they did not fill a prescription or skipped a drug dose due to cost, according to research by the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health care issues. Currently, pharmacy benefit managers that run Medicare prescription plans negotiate rebates off a drug’s price. Those rebates sometimes help reduce premiums customers pay for coverage. But they may not directly change what a patient spends at the pharmacy counter. The new drug price negotiations aim “to basically make drugs more affordable while also still allowing for profits to be made,” said Gretchen Jacobson, who researches Medicare issues at Commonwealth. The federal government will benefit most from any lowered drug prices, noted Larry Levitt, an executive vice president for health policy at KFF, another non-profit that studies health care. But he said that if Medicare spends less on prescription drugs, then premiums for everyone with its drug coverage also should fall.
This beckons the question, why didn't the US Gov negotiate drug prices before this historic announcement by the Biden white house? The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) , under W's watch, established Medicare Part D, included a ban on such negotiation. The Inflation Reductin Act (IRA), an integral part of Bidenomics, passed in 2022, provides that
we should be asking why seniors need weight loss and diabeetus drugs. are there other factors at play?
Are you saying overweight seniors shouldn’t get the same level of healthcare? I’m confused about what point you are trying to make. Just come out and say it.
I'm saying the dollars would be better spent further upstream. Spoiler three high school classmates passed this week from "diabetes." there's a health (not healthcare) crisis in this country, in addition to the drugs crisis.
Upstream??… like spend more on access to preventative care or spend more on like critical cancer patients?? I still don’t understand your point. If “upstream” means preventative care: The reason why preventive care isn’t good in this country is most people either have no health insurance or one that doesn’t promote cheap wellness checks or they have high deductible plans where they are essentially paying everything out of pocket up to like 10k. So again they avoid going for regular checkups so they aren’t getting regular bloodwork to show things like the need to lower sodium levels, high potassium, etc. I’d also like to see the US incentivize family doctors over PHD’s going into specialized practices. I’ve noticed over the years how hard it is to find general doctors who can get you setup with regular visits and really get to know their patients health long term instead of just taking care of the one thing they are seeing you for and then referring you back to your general doctor (who you probably have never seen). … But back to the point… not sure if you are just fat shaming or if you have a point. Most people (especially seniors) don’t just lazy themselves into diabetes. Usually it sneaks up on them because they aren’t getting preventative care and we also have a food industry that allows for larger portions with a ton of preservatives. So either way you are suggesting either more universal healthcare or greater government regulations of the food industry… or both.
Are we really debating whether the government should negotiate down drug prices? Seems crazy that this is a controversial thing
Biden is making unionization super easy, relaxing overtime rules to help millions of workers, cutting drug prices amd has transformed the student loan system in past 2 weeks but won't receive an Oz of credit bcz of high gas prices. @rocketsjudoka ukraine war will hand the presidency to trump and he will take credit for every single one of bidens accomplishments. @Nook will claim trump is doing fantastic job cuz gas prices will be cheap. Depressing state of affairs
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, Medicare is no longer ban from negotiating prescription drug prices — and patients stand to save a lot of money Even if you don’t take one of these drugs, the negotiations should help you if you’re on Medicare. Congress used the estimated $99 billion in savings over 10 years to cap annual out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for all Medicare beneficiaries. “Everybody is going to benefit,” Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University who sits on the program’s congressional advisory board, told me. “You have the security of a $2,000 cap.” The negotiation program represents a milestone for the US health system: The federal government’s largest health care program (by spending) is using its enormous leverage to try to arrest the high prices set by drug makers for their products. The United States pays more for prescription drugs than any other country in the world and yet, compared with other nations’ health systems, the US government has had limited power to try to bring prices down. Now that the first 10 drugs have been selected, the process can begin. Here is how it will unfold: Drug makers have one month to sign an agreement to participate in negotiations and submit data for Medicare to consider for its negotiated price By February 1, 2024, Medicare will offer its initial price on the selected drugs; the manufacturers then have one month to accept or submit a counterbid There will be an opportunity for negotiations during the spring and summer of next year. Then in September 2024, Medicare will announce the final prices. The program will begin paying those prices in 2026. The process will begin anew when, in February 2025, Medicare will announce another 15 drugs that will be subject to negotiation, with those prices to take effect in 2027. In every subsequent year, more drugs will be added to the negotiation program.
you need to read up on the Chip & Scienc Act, signed into law in 2022, to expand US industrial base, lessening dependence on mfg overseas. The Chips and Science Act aims to build greater resiliency and lower dependence on China as a result, five major chipmakers — GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung Foundry, TSMC, and Texas Instruments — are building new semiconductor production facilities in the U.S. These efforts will inevitably be bolstered by a new wave of funding provided by the newly-approved CHIPS act
what does that have to do with my comment? And most of the microchip process is automated ... unless the bots plan on unionizing.
I'm suggesting we spend time educating people on the merits of proper diet and exercise. the food industry does not force people to eat at macdonalds, or the all you can eat buffet at Olive Garden, nor make them drink sugary sodas. there are plenty of alternatives. I'm 65, and could not tell you the last time I had a carbonated beverage that was not seltzer, or tonic as part of a g&t. I eat protein, minimize carbs, and go to CrossFit several times a week. I didn't start the latter until I was 60. it can be done.
