• Hi guest! As you can see, the new Wizard Forums has been revived, and we are glad to have you visiting our site! However, it would be really helpful, both to you and us, if you registered on our website! Registering allows you to see all posts, and make posts yourself, which would be great if you could share your knowledge and opinions with us! You could also make posts to ask questions!

[Opinion] Insulin should be cheap. Here’s why it's not.

Everyone's got one.

Scottish_Pride

Meme-y Tree Nymph
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
538
Reaction score
753
Awards
11
Big Pharma is such a huge scam.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Yeah, I feel like it's not even a big secret anymore. It's just that there's so little us peons can do about it, and they know that.

Something also pretty interesting, is that at least according to my ADHD sister who still needs adderall to function, you can now literally get said drug for cheaper on the black market than by doing it the legit way. When even drug dealers on the streets price gouge less than you, that says something.
 

Scottish_Pride

Meme-y Tree Nymph
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
538
Reaction score
753
Awards
11
Update, apparently you can buy insulin off the black market for cheaper too. At least according to Reddit. They'll just grab the stuff from countries where it's cheap or free then scalp it on the deep web, but even with that markup it's still only a small fraction of US prices.
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
11
Reaction score
18
Pricing in Pharmaceutical industry isn't product based but liability insurance influenced. The prices are high to offset any lawsuit directed towards the companies in case an anomaly rises in medecine usage. At least that's how the US laws are architectured with regard to the pharmaceutical companies unless it's a vital and essential medecine.
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
11
Reaction score
18
are you trying to imply insulin isn't exactly that?

Heart disease =========> 635,260 deaths per year
Cancer =========> 598,038 deaths per year
Chronic lower respiratory diseases =========> 154,596 deaths per year
Stroke =========> 142,142 deaths per year
Alzheimer’s disease =========> 116,103 deaths per year
Diabetes =========> 80,058 deaths per year
Influenza and pneumonia =========> 51,537 deaths per year
Kidney disease =========> 50,046 deaths per year

The definition of "vital and Essential" from a legalese standpoint and not from an everyday understanding of the expression. Though these pharmaceutical classifications are penned by law firms for the sole purpose of gaming the judicial system, they often take into the mortality rate of the decease.
 

Mart

Acolyte
Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Messages
322
Reaction score
483
Awards
9
Life isn't just a statistic. It's not a contest of "which has the higher score", that's an incredibly cold, cynical and inhumane way of looking at the issue. It's a fact that there are people are dying, due to being unable to afford a life saving medicine such as insulin and for them it's absolutely a necessity. I couldn't care less what moraly bankrupt fucking lawyers and corporations have to say about it. That's my stance.
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
11
Reaction score
18
Life isn't just a statistic. It's not a contest of "which has the higher score", that's an incredibly cold, cynical and inhumane way of looking at the issue. It's a fact that there are people are dying, due to being unable to afford a life saving medicine such as insulin and for them it's absolutely a necessity. I couldn't care less what moraly bankrupt fucking lawyers and corporations have to say about it. That's my stance.
Perhaps. But I deal in reality and that's just the way the system works. Emotions often cloud jugdement leading man not to see the bigger picture.

It takes billions of dollars, lobbist payouts, incredible amount of manpower to come up with a medicine. Then there is the amount of money spent on the FDA gate keepers, nonprofit watchdogs, to smoothly transition the product into local pharmacies in order for your loved ones to find relief.

Investment must be recupperated. These companies take loans from Hedgefunds to launch products. Hedgefunds must be paid. The scientists who abandonned their families by working 20 hours a day, sleeping in the lab must also be adequately compensated or they won't be able to churn out the next big cure.

The "morally bankrupt fucking lawyers and corporations" as you have put it are not in the exclusive business of fucking people. They are also responsible for lots of good acts. Take the company GE for instance. It sells guns and children toys and band aids and so forth. It also donates funds for scientifical researches.

What would you rather have, no insulin or expensive insulin and hope the government subsidizes the cost?
 

Mart

Acolyte
Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Messages
322
Reaction score
483
Awards
9
None of that developmental cost applies to insulin. It's not expensive by nature, without greedy fucks inflating the cost to insanity.
"In 1916, Nicolae Paulescu developed an aqueous pancreatic extract which, when injected into a diabetic dog, had a normalizing effect on blood sugar levels." It's a hundred year old medicine that is widely used across the world and I'm only aware of US not having their shit together with their clusterfuck of a system. There are plenty of countries that manage to provide affordable insulin and I know some places in US are starting to cap the cost, which is relieving to hear.
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
11
Reaction score
18
None of that developmental cost applies to insulin. It's not expensive by nature, without greedy fucks inflating the cost to insanity.
"In 1916, Nicolae Paulescu developed an aqueous pancreatic extract which, when injected into a diabetic dog, had a normalizing effect on blood sugar levels." It's a hundred year old medicine that is widely used across the world and I'm only aware of US not having their shit together with their clusterfuck of a system. There are plenty of countries that manage to provide affordable insulin and I know some places in US are starting to cap the cost, which is relieving to hear.
Passed. I'll tell you a secret. The United States government is known to impose higher standards on consumer goods and health care products. You can thank OSHA for some of that. Basically it's like the Trump brand. People are paying for the brand name, not the medicine itself. Generic brands will save granny as well as brand names.
 

Scottish_Pride

Meme-y Tree Nymph
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
538
Reaction score
753
Awards
11
Life isn't just a statistic. It's not a contest of "which has the higher score", that's an incredibly cold, cynical and inhumane way of looking at the issue. It's a fact that there are people are dying, due to being unable to afford a life saving medicine such as insulin and for them it's absolutely a necessity. I couldn't care less what moraly bankrupt fucking lawyers and corporations have to say about it. That's my stance.
Same here. These people are human, they know what diabetes means. Their bottom line shouldn't be worth more than human lives, even if it's clearly prioritized that way.
 

Grundy

Zealot
Joined
Apr 18, 2021
Messages
116
Reaction score
182
Awards
5
Passed. I'll tell you a secret. The United States government is known to impose higher standards on consumer goods and health care products. You can thank OSHA for some of that. Basically it's like the Trump brand. People are paying for the brand name, not the medicine itself. Generic brands will save granny as well as brand names.
As someone in the food supplement mfg industry, yes this is true. There a lot of them aswell you got OSHA, the FDA, then you got the smaller ones like halal and Kosher certifications liability insurance exportatio licenses etc.

Also when submittine products for fda approval there are studies, more certifications etc.

Not saying meds like insulin should be expensive but the entire certification and approval industry does drive up the costs. However there is a lack of transparency and regulation for meds which i always found disturbing.

Medications are a commodity rather a luxury as its needed by so many people and the disparity of prices among nations simole reflects how many ppl are making money off the bandwagon fron start to finish.

Also keep in mind some gate keepers dont accept one time payments rather they accept retainers on a monthly basis.

Still there really should be transparency. Its easy to drive up market srp if there is no checks and balances to define whether a pharma develooer is recouping cost or simply profiting immoraly off other people's pain.
 

Mart

Acolyte
Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Messages
322
Reaction score
483
Awards
9

o5ezvyulby671.png
 

SkullTraill

Glorious Light of Knowledge and Power
Staff member
Custodian
Librarian
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
1,784
Reaction score
14,483
Awards
19
I think the real demon here is the whole "insurance" system in the US. Medicine is priced ridiculously because "if you have insurance it's free". I agree with PP on things that really do require extensive R&D to come up with, like cancer medicine, anti-ageing medicine (if they are ever invented/discovered), and other such treatments for rare and difficult to cure diseases.

But, like Mart said, Insulin is not one of those things. It's produced for cents in countries like india, and you'll never have me believe that US insulin is 100s of times better than a cheaply produced insulin. Bureaucracy leads to safety, high standards, and good products, which leads to faith in bureaucracy which leads to more power to bureaucracy which leads to corruption and greed in bureaucracy which leads to where we are now.

Medicine and healthcare in the US is maybe 5-10% better than it is in the rest of the developed world, but costs 1000%+ more. That ain't right. Especially because it is forced on everyone.
 

Scottish_Pride

Meme-y Tree Nymph
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
538
Reaction score
753
Awards
11
I think the real demon here is the whole "insurance" system in the US. Medicine is priced ridiculously because "if you have insurance it's free". I agree with PP on things that really do require extensive R&D to come up with, like cancer medicine, anti-ageing medicine (if they are ever invented/discovered), and other such treatments for rare and difficult to cure diseases.

But, like Mart said, Insulin is not one of those things. It's produced for cents in countries like india, and you'll never have me believe that US insulin is 100s of times better than a cheaply produced insulin. Bureaucracy leads to safety, high standards, and good products, which leads to faith in bureaucracy which leads to more power to bureaucracy which leads to corruption and greed in bureaucracy which leads to where we are now.

Medicine and healthcare in the US is maybe 5-10% better than it is in the rest of the developed world, but costs 1000%+ more. That ain't right. Especially because it is forced on everyone.
Definitely no denying that insurance companies are a major player, if not the major player. It's no secret whatsoever, but of course citizens are largely powerless in the matter. Almost none of the politicians we have to choose from will have the balls to really do anything about it. They get metric fuck tons of "lobbying" money (i.e. bribes) from the medical industry, just so it stays that way. I've heard insurance companies be compared to a sort of mafia protection racket before, and tbh that's not too far from reality.
 

ChaosExplorer11

Neophyte
Joined
Jul 15, 2021
Messages
14
Reaction score
24
Big Pharma is such a huge scam.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
I agree completely, I also think that big pharmacy companies make huge amount of money and profits from pandemics such as the one that's still present. ..

And they also make huge profits from people who have alergies, specially if it is an alergy that's present all the time like allergic rhinitis. Most anti-alergic medications hold a big price even in, countries that aren't considered zones with high wages and prices or the so called ''expensive standart countries''. Imagine having to buy these anti-alergic medicines every week.

And on the topic of insulin price, it is totally unfair. Another forum member said that ''Human life must always be the top priority, and profits should NOT be the main priority of humanity". I agree,but sadly the bank system has enslaved and corrupted everything long ago,or it was actually human greed that did it and then manifested in bank system and loan sharks. ..
 

Jarhyn

Acolyte
Joined
Jan 27, 2022
Messages
289
Reaction score
258
Awards
3
Big Pharma is one of the sucking mouths of Mammon, and many are it's pharma-bro teeth.

Mammon has eaten the souls of those who stand at the gateway to treatment of treatable illness and has put in chains made of his own teeth those who would have bled him down to size on this front.

The only way to dislodge him now will be much like removing a tumor: it will see to it that it will take much healthy tissue, and perhaps the whole organism with it, to see the blight removed.
 
Top