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Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
A "caravan" of Americans living with Type 1 diabetes made its way across the U.S. border into Canada over the weekend in search of affordable medical care in a country where they can get the "exact same" life-saving drugs for a dramatically lower price.
"We're on a #CaravanToCanada because the USA charges astronomical prices for insulin that most people can't afford," tweeted caravan member Quinn Nystrom as she shared updates on the journey.
Nystrom was among a group of Minnesotans who piled into cars on Friday to make the 600-mile journey from the Twin Cities to Fort Frances, Ontario, where she said insulin, the hormone patients with Type 1 Diabetes rely on to regulate their blood glucose levels, can be bought for a tenth of what it costs in the U.S.
The caravan was organized as part of a campaign launched under the banner "#insulinforall" to call on the U.S. government to regulate the cost of life-saving drugs, including insulin, and make medication affordable for anyone who needs it.
[...]
President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to address calls for greater drug pricing regulation. But, Democrats, including Cummings, have criticized the U.S. leader for being all talk and no action on that promise.
"Tweets are not enough," Cummings said in a statement, after Trump lamented high drug costs on Twitter. "We need real action and meaningful reform," Cummings said.
(Score: 5, Informative) by sshelton76 on Tuesday May 07 2019, @08:39PM (4 children)
Have you tried to see a specialist in the USA?
IF you can get approval from your insurance to see one at all I can promise you it's 6 months out before he can see you unless you have a so called "cadillac" plan like are given to government employees and of course politicians. For the rest of the plebs, seeing a specialist can and frequently does involve traveling to a different country.
The USA has quite literally the most expensive healthcare in the world with the worst outcomes. Even third world countries have this one nailed down. We however can't seem to get our act together, instead choosing profit over lives.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday May 07 2019, @09:12PM (1 child)
Our Healthcare, at one time, was the envy of the World. The absolute envy of the entire World. And in many ways, it still is. I'm fortunate to have EXCELLENT Health -- my Doctor says I may live to the age of 200 if I give up Fast Food (a tough one). But if I want to see a Specialist, I take out my Checkbook. And there's never any problem there. I guarantee it.
The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their Universal System is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks.
The Insurance, we're working very hard on that one. I was never planning a vote prior to the 2020 Election on the wonderful HealthCare package that some very talented people are now developing for me & the Republican Party. It will be on full display during the Election as a much better & less expensive alternative to ObamaCare. ObamaCare is a disaster, far too expensive and deductibility ridiculously high -- virtually unusable! Moving forward in Courts and Legislatively!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 08 2019, @12:28PM
No-one in Britain is marching against the NHS. They're marching against your corrupt mate Nigel Farage's pet project of Brexshit.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Tuesday May 07 2019, @10:00PM (1 child)
That's the case for the fully-private specialists, yes... I don't know about other HMOs, but while mine (Kaiser) has a lot of frustrating flaws, I can say that the wait for one of its specialists is rarely more than 4 weeks.
(Score: 2) by dry on Wednesday May 08 2019, @06:03AM
Canada, it depends on the Province (healthcare is Provincial with the Feds using bribery to enforce standards like how your highways work) but here, it can be months for something like a hip and days for a heart. Lots of triaging based on need rather then wealth.