<story><title>EpiPen Maker Quietly Steers Effort That Could Protect Its Price</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/business/epipen-maker-mylan-preventative-drug-campaign.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bradleyjg</author><text>This whole drug company argument -- that the only thing that really matters is what end users pay as a co-pay or co-insurance and that no one should care what insurance companies (including governments) pay -- is so breathtakingly bad I can only imagine it is in bad faith. Where do they expect us to believe the institutional payments are coming from, out of thin air?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>codegeek</author><text>This. Exactly This. I am sick of hearing &amp;quot;oh you just pay $20 co-pay&amp;quot;. No we don&amp;#x27;t. The real cost is much more and these pharmas and insurance companies know it. I know because I paid it for a family of 4. It costs $1500&amp;#x2F;Month for a decent plan that does not have high &amp;quot;out of pocket&amp;quot; costs (Read capped at $5000). So you pay $1500 per month and in worst case scenario, you can still pay $5000 out of pocket for a year IF the insurance company does not deny a claim.&lt;p&gt;I usually don&amp;#x27;t make political comments but one thing that was disappointing with Obamacare was the fact that it did not address this root cause and instead touted that now anyone can get insurance. Sure, someone with pre-existing condition is now probably a little better off but overall, obamacare did not address the main issue: getting rid of middlemen (insurance companies) and let doctors&amp;#x2F;hospitals work on fair and transparent pricing. Isn&amp;#x27;t that what America is all about ? Free Market, eh.&lt;p&gt;If I may steal the legendary MLK&amp;#x27;s words, I have a dream. A dream where I can call any doctor&amp;#x2F;hospital and ask what will it exactly cost to get a simple X-Ray done without saying &amp;quot;Oh no, I ain&amp;#x27;t got no insurance&amp;quot;. Just a dream.</text></comment>
<story><title>EpiPen Maker Quietly Steers Effort That Could Protect Its Price</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/business/epipen-maker-mylan-preventative-drug-campaign.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bradleyjg</author><text>This whole drug company argument -- that the only thing that really matters is what end users pay as a co-pay or co-insurance and that no one should care what insurance companies (including governments) pay -- is so breathtakingly bad I can only imagine it is in bad faith. Where do they expect us to believe the institutional payments are coming from, out of thin air?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>gizmodo59</author><text>One of the things I do not understand is, the explanation given is that Obamacare fixes the donut hole where people who are not enrolled in company sponsored&amp;#x2F;medicare could get insurance.&lt;p&gt;This has just let the drug companies to raise the price without any backslash because the end user is &amp;quot;not&amp;quot; paying the price. However, the rising premiums and plans with high deductibles meant that the drugs are still not affordable even if you are covered by some insurance.&lt;p&gt;What is the solution to this? Single-payer health care?</text></comment>