Tis the season to count your blessing!

gimpod · December 2017

First I'm not preaching here I just found some of this info (mainly the cost) this weekend and thought I'd pass it along. Do with it as you wish.

As some of you know I've been in a wheelchair since 1979 and in 2000 when I started going to the V.A. for my health care and they classified me as what they call catastrophically disabled and having SSA disability as my sole source of income I get my health care for free (Thank God, you'll see why in a bit)

Around 2001 or so the V.A. did a study on Hepatitis C and found that at least 48% of all Vietnam era Vet's tested Positive (and as such made the test part of the annual check up), As did I in 2003 but the so called treatment was almost as nasty as chemo with about a 40% chance maybe and took 6 months to do. There was no way I was going through that!.

Now fast forward to 2015 or so and if you have been watching T.V. there is a cure or more specific a couple of them in pill form. That's the good news.

The bad news is the cost (I didn't find out till this weekend & you'll be shocked I was) If it wasn't for the V.A. there is noway I could afford this on my own not even the co-pay See pic,

There are new drugs that have come to market that are about half the cost or less like the one I'm taking "Mavyret" at $13,200.00 a month for 2-3 months! That's just ridiculous I mean unless you get free health care like me or your really really poor and on government assistance or you have more money than god I don't see how an average working man could even afford the co-pay if available.

Here's a few facts about Hep-C and a lik to the CDC's Hepatitis-C Site:

Who should be tested for HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) infection?
HCV testing is recommended for anyone at increased risk for HCV infection, including:
1. Persons born from 1945 through 1965.
2. Persons who have ever injected illegal drugs, including those who injected only once many years ago.
3. Recipients of clotting factor concentrates made before 1987.
4. Recipients of blood transfusions or solid organ transplants before July 1992.
5. Patients who have ever received long-term hemodialysis treatment.
6. Persons with known exposures to HCV, such as health care workers after needlesticks involving HCV-positive blood recipients of blood or organs from a donor who later tested HCV-positive.
7. All persons with HIV infection.
8. Patients with signs or symptoms of liver disease (e.g., abnormal liver enzyme tests).
9. Children born to HCV-positive mothers (to avoid detecting maternal antibody, these children should not be tested before age 18 months)

How common is Hepatitis C?
An estimated 3.2 million people in the United States have chronic Hepatitis C. Most are unaware of their infection. Each year, about 17,000 Americans become infected with Hepatitis C.

How serious is Hepatitis C?
Chronic Hepatitis C is a serious disease that can result in long-term health problems, including liver damage, liver failure, and liver cancer. Approximately 12,000 people die every year from Hepatitis C-related liver disease.

What are the symptoms of Hepatitis C?
Many people with Hepatitis C do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. Even though a person has no symptoms, the virus can still be detected in the blood. If symptoms occur with acute infection, they can appear anytime from 2 weeks to 6 months after exposure. Symptoms of chronic Hepatitis C can take up to 30 years to develop. Damage to the liver can silently occur during this time. When symptoms do appear, they often are a sign of advanced liver disease. Symptoms for both acute and chronic Hepatitis C can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, grey-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice.

Thank God for the V.A.
P.S. I have no idea how I got it, most likely a result of doing something stupid, what I have no clue!

westmassguy · December 2017

Good info Tony. Hope all works out for you. I was just tested, along with a bunch of other things, and all good. We're being screwed by the drug companies to finance all the developing countries.
It's just that simple.

motorhead43026 · December 2017

^^A lot of money to be made in drugs. CVS pharmacies has made a bid to purchase Anthem for 69 billion dollars. Just corporate greed, nothing to do with developing countries.

Drug company lobbyist will make sure Americans pay top dollar for drugs, nothing more, nothing less.

FestYboy · December 2017

Millions of patients + $50-100k "cure" = billions in profit. For the drug companies, there's no down side.

gimpod · December 2017

Thanks David I just finishing my 5th week of treatment with only 3 weeks to go (I hope, I'll find out later this week if there's any virus in my blood work I'll have to go another 4 weeks) and NOT having any side effects which is strange for me as I don't tolerate most drugs very well.

westmassguy wrote: »

We're being screwed by the drug companies to finance all the developing countries.
It's just that simple.

Just saw this the other day "Americans pay the highest pharmaceutical prices in the world". I agree but until someone or something (A single payer system?) come's along and says enough is enough and puts a cap on what they can charge they will charge whatever they want, As long as they make boat loads of money and there free to do as they please they don't care who lives or dies.

westmassguy · December 2017

gimpod wrote: »

Thanks David I just finishing my 5th week of treatment with only 3 weeks to go (I hope, I'll find out later this week if there's any virus in my blood work I'll have to go another 4 weeks) and NOT having any side effects which is strange for me as I don't tolerate most drugs very well.

That's great news Tony

headrott · December 2017

I pray you are free of the Hep. C virus at the end of the 5 weeks Tony. I am glad you get these drugs for "free".

Having Type 1 Diabetes for 33 years now, I absolutely do not appreciate the drug companies. Capitalism does not include "rape". Although, if the "rape" victim ended up with a "disease", I'm sure the drug companies would have a drug to cure it (for a price). I love the idea of Capitalism, but that's not what we have today in some cases (including drugs).

EndersShadow · December 2017

I'm going to take a beating on this as I have somewhat the opposite view here.

I have a unique insight here as my dad has worked as an organic chemist specializing in crystallization in the R&D department of one of these companies for the last 30 years helping develop new drugs.

For every single drug a company brings to market to sell, there were about 100,000 (and I think its more like 1 million) promising drugs for different diseases/conditions that for some reason or another didnt make it to market.

That means that each year there is a CRAPTON of money spent on R&D for drugs that ultimately dont make the cut that needs to be re-couped.

So that means that when a drug DOES make the cut, thats when the start to re-coup some of those R&D costs. And guess what? If you want to continue to get new drugs on the market, your going to have to pay for the R&D for ALL the drugs the company didnt get to market. If you dont, they have no reason to invest in more R&D for newer drugs.

And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?

Now do I think they may go overboard sometimes, maybe.... but when a drug first comes to market to solve something, its pricey. There is no way around it.

The alternatives are that the government set the price limits on all drugs for everyone, which will then limit what companies will spend on R&D, slowing down and severely limiting drugs from coming on the market, or even studied. Or they could nationalize healthcare and then say "We dont like drugs x, y, z. They cost too much. We wont pay for them on ANY healthcare plan. Pay for the entire cost out of pocket." And I dont see many liking that.

We also have a lot more red-tape to get drugs through the system, so cutting some of that down would "in theory" reduce the time to get a drug to market, which "should" reduce its price.

This isn't just a "They just charge whatever they want" argument. There are reasons that the drug is pricey when it first comes to market. The reaons the generics are so cheap (after the patent expires), is that those companies DON'T have ANY OVERHEAD on the cost. They just take the forumla, and produce it. They dont fund research, they dont look for new drugs, they just make product that pre-exist.

I am however not without empathy as I am one of those paying super high prices for my meds. I am on the highest possible dose of Remicaide (on top of my other drugs) and my monthly infusion which I will continue to get until I die is 30k before insurance. Each year I hit my out of pocket max as an individual, and my wife has some health issues herself, so we hit our out of pocket max as a family each year, so we have to budget for it.

This year, that was 10k on top of paying 450 a month for our plan

. So I feel your pain.

That said, if you want them to keep funding R&D and creating drugs that cure/alleviate symptoms, then you have to shoulder their costs by paying more.

Also I'm curious (because I dont know) @gimpod are those just the approximate cost of the treatment before insurance? And do any of those companies offer patient assistant programs? While the numbers in your chart are staggering, everyone is supposed to have healthcare of some sort (subsides or not), so in theory, you shouldn't be paying 94k over 12 weeks.

Viking64 · December 2017

Wow! $30,000 monthly for Remicade? You must be on the highest possible dose, as you said. My ex got Remicaid infusions and they were about $10,000 per dose with one dose every 6-8 weeks.

It took her 6 months to get approval by the State of Florida health insurance program before she moved to Florida to ensure her infusions were covered. She was initially told that they were NOT! Being a neuro-psychologist that researches pain medications, she was able to find in the rules where she was eligible for coverage. Most patients would have simply given up, and I am sure you know what the result of that would have been.

EndersShadow · December 2017

Viking64 wrote: »

Wow! $30,000 monthly for Remicade? You must be on the highest possible dose, as you said. My ex got Remicaid infusions and they were about $10,000 per dose with one dose every 6-8 weeks.

It took her 6 months to get approval by the State of Florida health insurance program before she moved to Florida to ensure her infusions were covered. She was initially told that they were NOT! Being a neuro-psychologist that researches pain medications, she was able to find in the rules where she was eligible for coverage. Most patients would have simply given up, and I am sure you know what the result of that would have been.

6-8 weeks and a single does is standard. I like in all things, am NOT standard

. I need a double dose, every 4 weeks. That is the max they can prescribe per does, and the earliest they can go between doses.

When I started initially with a single dose every 8 weeks, my insurance covered the entire dose, but thats been years and my frequency and dosage has changed drastically since

pitdogg2 · December 2017

EndersShadow wrote: »

The reasons the generics are so cheap (after the patent expires), is that those companies DON'T have ANY OVERHEAD on the cost. They just take the formula, and produce it. They don't fund research, they don't look for new drugs, they just make product that pre-exist.

OK While I do agree with most of your post, These Generic folks must buy the active ingredients from the patent holder in most cases. In some cases the generic comes from a subsidiary of the original company. So the original patent holder can make money front and back.

steveinaz · December 2017

Thank you for your service brother, and God Bless you.

kharp1 · December 2017

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

rooftop59 · December 2017

kharp1 wrote: »

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

I agree, man. I know we all got to make a living, and I think that people with PhDs in chemistry developing these drugs should make a better living than a lot of us, but why can't someone be satisfied with making a solid living and knowing that what you do every day actually makes a difference in people's lives? But that is the logic of capitalism, accumulation of wealth for its own sake, eff everything else...

And of course, we all know its the CEOs, investors, and marketing folks that make the most money, not the lowly PhDs...

pitdogg2 · December 2017

kharp1 wrote: »

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

rooftop59 wrote: »

kharp1 wrote: »

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

I agree, man. I know we all got to make a living, and I think that people with PhDs in chemistry developing these drugs should make a better living than a lot of us, but why can't someone be satisfied with making a solid living and knowing that what you do every day actually makes a difference in people's lives? But that is the logic of capitalism, accumulation of wealth for its own sake, eff everything else...

And of course, we all know its the CEOs, investors, and marketing folks that make the most money, not the lowly PhDs...

HEAR HEAR YES

EndersShadow · December 2017

kharp1 wrote: »

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

Just to clarify. I sincerely wish that we as a society would put our heads together to solve problems for the sole benefit of stopping suffering. Most of the people working to MAKE the drugs and DO the research have this goal in mind. But they aren't the people running the company necessarily. Cancer, Alzheimers, etc all suck and I wish we could just eradicate them like we did with smallpox, polio, etc.

However I am a realist and in a capitalistic society, profitability helps drive decision making. And in order to continue to fund existing products in the pipeline, the companies need a massive return on the investments that DO make it to market, and also still need to show a profit.

kharp1 · December 2017

EndersShadow wrote: »

kharp1 wrote: »

Dan, this is what bothers me..."And lets also not kid ourselves. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, simply to cure diseases. This is AMERICA. They are FOR PROFIT companies. So they need to answer to their shareholders, and also turn a profit, otherwise why would they continue to operate?"...there was a time when cures were developed out of the desire to help humanity. Just look back over history at the great work done by many to bring about cures to many diseases and most were done "for the greater good." Today, capitalism rules.

Just to clarify. I sincerely wish that we as a society would put our heads together to solve problems for the sole benefit of stopping suffering. Most of the people working to MAKE the drugs and DO the research have this goal in mind. But they aren't the people running the company necessarily. Cancer, Alzheimers, etc all suck and I wish we could just eradicate them like we did with smallpox, polio, etc.

However I am a realist and in a capitalistic society, profitability helps drive decision making. And in order to continue to fund existing products in the pipeline, the companies need a massive return on the investments that DO make it to market, and also still need to show a profit.

Yet, all the reasons mentioned for such high prices, it still doesn't negate the fact that drug companies pocker insane cash yearly. Look at their books. I agree with your arguments to some degree, yet, when you look at the annual bottom line, the crazy money spent on sales women and management compensation ot just doesn't add up to anything more than greed. As a fairly aware investor I can't reconcile it any other way. Capitalism is great...unchecked capitalism is not.

pitdogg2 · December 2017

Thank you for your sacrifice Tony

EndersShadow · December 2017

kharp1 wrote: »

Capitalism is great...unchecked capitalism is not.

True, but thats all around us in every type of company. Look at data plans for phones, internet data plans and throttling, health care premiums, gas prices, etc

And I wont get to much farther into it so I dont get banned lol....

lightman1 · December 2017

EndersShadow wrote: »

kharp1 wrote: »

Capitalism is great...unchecked capitalism is not.

True, but thats all around us in every type of company. Look at data plans for phones, internet data plans and throttling, health care premiums, gas prices, etc

And I wont get to much farther into it so I dont get banned lol....

FCC is taking away Net Neutrality for the benefit of a conglomerate.

gimpod · December 2017

@EndersShadow , in reply to your first post and your direct question to me.

It's so nice to see the same song & dance from the drug companies haven't change in the last 40-50 years. Look at this link from "Forbes" in 2016 about just one drug.

How Abbvie's Humira Undercuts The Drug Industry Price Defense

There's something I learned during my 10 1/2 month long rehab in the hospital and that was if you tell someone something (true or false) often enough they will sooner or later start to believe it.

Now in reply, Without contacting your health care insurance provider there is no way to find out if they even cover this drug and if so what the co-pay will be. I do know that "GoodRX.com" with there free coupon I can get a 28 day supply of "Mavyret" from my local Haggens, Albertsons or Safeway (the cheapiest places in my area) for only $13,552. By the way Medicare Part D does not cover this and I believe there's very little help from the "ACA".

Now if I could meet AbbVie's eligibility it would only be as little as $5.00 (how can that be? Because most people can't meet the eligibility).

AbbVie's eligibility requirements from there own companies web site:

"Eligibility: Available to patients with commercial prescription insurance coverage for MAVYRET. Co-pay assistance program is not available to patients receiving prescription reimbursement under any federal, state or government-funded insurance programs (for example, Medicare [including Part D], Medicare Advantage, Medigap, Medicaid, TRICARE, Department of Defense or Veteran’s Affairs programs) or where prohibited by law. If at any time a patient begins receiving prescription drug coverage under any such federal, state or government-funded healthcare program, patient will no longer be able to use the AbbVie HCV Co-pay Card and the patient must call PSKW at 1-844-865-8725 to stop participation. Patients may not seek reimbursement for value received from the AbbVie HCV Co-pay Program from any third-party payers. Offer subject to change or discontinuance without notice. Restrictions, including monthly maximums, may apply.
This is not health insurance."

Anyway that's all I'm going to say about this as I don't want to get get banned or start a flame war. So I'm done here, bye bye.

verb · December 2017

Hello Gimpod - I'm new to this forum and was doing a search for your infamous XO boards. Found a lot of info, and I'm gonna redo my 1C's with your boards if they are available.

Much to my surprise I found something I was not expecting !!!

I have to say I was touched by your post and this thread. My older brother has had MS for over 20 years and I watched him slowly deteriorate during that time. It started with numbness and blurry vision but today he is in a wheelchair and requires 24/7 care. We live in different states so I cannot offer any support other than daily phone calls and occasional financial help.

I visited him this past weekend and it was extremely hard to keep a positive outlook. He is but a shell of the man that he used to be, barely 100 pounds on a 5"11"' frame.

He like you is also eager to try the latest drug or treatment - to delay the inevitable, in his case. I do agree somewhat with the capitalist comments above but nonetheless they can be so incredibly expensive.

I work in the corporate world (automotive) and understand the need for profit. My salary depends on it. However as a corollary, a 1st gen electric or autonomous vehicle will never make profit. Just look at Tesla, they have yet to make money. The goal is to get the technology out there at a loss to drive competition and development and thus eventually drive the costs down. After the 2nd or 3rd gens arrive, they may be profitable. But it's a huge risk for any corporation.

Back to my brother, he currently does monthly IV treatments that retail for 15K each !!! And he is on a waiting list to try yet again the next generation of treatments. I hope the pharmaceutical companies continue to develop MS drugs !!!

He has good insurance through the company he worked for from which he was forced to retire. Recently he transitioned to Medicare, of which for me a lot of warning flags went up. Having to rely on the fickleness of government ...

But all is well for now. Medicare is comparable to what he had before. Continuing to be nervous about that.

Just wanted to let you know Gimpod I'm with ya. My thoughts are with you. And, I will regard my 1C mod project a little differently from now on. Take care.

BTW - USAF (E5) 83-87 !!!

deronb1 · December 2017

Also, why do these pham companies need a billion dollar ad budget when there is no competition?

TNTsTunes · December 2017

Did you see the new drug for blind people suffering from a specific genetic condition?

https://biopharmadive.com/news/fda-spark-blindness-treatment-gene-therapy-luxturna/513431/

Only estimated at 1 million dollars per patient for the price.

gimpod · December 2017

verb wrote: »

Hello Gimpod - I'm new to this forum and was doing a search for your infamous XO boards. Found a lot of info, and I'm gonna redo my 1C's with your boards if they are available.

Much to my surprise I found something I was not expecting !!!

I have to say I was touched by your post and this thread. My older brother has had MS for over 20 years and I watched him slowly deteriorate during that time. It started with numbness and blurry vision but today he is in a wheelchair and requires 24/7 care. We live in different states so I cannot offer any support other than daily phone calls and occasional financial help.

I visited him this past weekend and it was extremely hard to keep a positive outlook. He is but a shell of the man that he used to be, barely 100 pounds on a 5"11"' frame.

He like you is also eager to try the latest drug or treatment - to delay the inevitable, in his case. I do agree somewhat with the capitalist comments above but nonetheless they can be so incredibly expensive.

I work in the corporate world (automotive) and understand the need for profit. My salary depends on it. However as a corollary, a 1st gen electric or autonomous vehicle will never make profit. Just look at Tesla, they have yet to make money. The goal is to get the technology out there at a loss to drive competition and development and thus eventually drive the costs down. After the 2nd or 3rd gens arrive, they may be profitable. But it's a huge risk for any corporation.

Back to my brother, he currently does monthly IV treatments that retail for 15K each !!! And he is on a waiting list to try yet again the next generation of treatments. I hope the pharmaceutical companies continue to develop MS drugs !!!

He has good insurance through the company he worked for from which he was forced to retire. Recently he transitioned to Medicare, of which for me a lot of warning flags went up. Having to rely on the fickleness of government ...

But all is well for now. Medicare is comparable to what he had before. Continuing to
be nervous about that.

Just wanted to let you know Gimpod I'm with ya. My thoughts are with you. And, I will regard my 1C mod project a little differently from now on. Take care.

BTW - USAF (E5) 83-87 !!!

Flyboys - There all the same. (Discharged 12/73 USS Monticello LSD-35).

My best wishes to your brother, I lost a friend a couple years back to MS, when I met him he was in a chair but was still working for Fluke designing testing & calibration gear for them. When it started coming on strong he went pretty fast. MS is so much worse than a Spinal Cord Injury.

If your brother is a vet get him over to the V.A. as they would most likely classify him at least as catastrophically disabled and if by any luck they found the MS while he was on active duty (even if it was dormant, contact the local PVA rep.) it could be considered service connected, ether way his health care would be free and better than Medicare (Not all places take it) JMO.

Thank you for your interest in my boards and yes there still avilable through @westmassguy (David) at DHS Speaker Service and the support site for Hardware, Parts List & Placement, Tips & Hints, and Schematics at gimpod's Custom SDA Circuit Boards

WARNING RANT!
BTW: It isn't the fickleness of government as much as it's the fickleness of the entire medical industry ("medical industry" isn't that just disgusting, it use to be about helping people now it's bout making as much money as you can) as there the ones who wrote most if not all of the current Medicare & Medicaid laws.

deronb1 wrote: »

Also, why do these pham companies need a billion dollar ad budget when there is no competition?

Because they can and there's nothing we can do about it.

TNTsTunes wrote: »

Did you see the new drug for blind people suffering from a specific genetic condition?

https://biopharmadive.com/news/fda-spark-blindness-treatment-gene-therapy-luxturna/513431/

Only estimated at 1 million dollars per patient for the price.

I don't know anything about gene therapy, but I would not be surprised if it doesn't cure the problem but makes it so it you want to keep benefiting from it you have to keep paying.

To be honest I'm surprised they (drug companies) came up with a basically a simple cure for Hep-C. After all once cured you don't have to keep taking there drug, this model is not in the drug companies best interest financially.

50-60 years ago it was about helping humanity, the science and some profit. After all making money is one of the reasons one starts a company, But I would to know when profit became the sole driving force at the expense of all else and there is never enough profit.
END RANT

afterburnt · December 2017

Thank you for your service, sacrafice, and post. It reminds me to check with my doctor, stupid things are what I do.

gimpod · December 2017

afterburnt wrote: »

Thank you for your service, sacrafice, and post. It reminds me to check with my doctor, stupid things are what I do.

Hey were guys, stupid things are all we know how to do well.!

verb · December 2017

Thanks Gimpod - Already reached out to Dave. And thanks for your best wishes.

My brother was not a vet, but for right now he's covered.

I did get checked out after his diagnosis and all is well. One of many reasons to be thankful and count my blessings !!!

I look forward to the 1C upgrade. Although done before, I plan to post my journey in this forum.

tonyb · December 2017

kharp1 wrote: »

Capitalism is great...unchecked capitalism is not.

Lots of truth there.

Capitalism is one thing, the good and bad of it, but more so I think the problem lies within the hearts and souls of men. Men absent of any humanity think only for themselves, their pockets. The culture does little to change that too.

Obviously the big Pharma companies have billions to throw around. Would it hurt them to donate some of these expensive meds to 30,40, 50 people every so often ?

Even car dealers donate cars every now and then, but we are talking life saving stuff here, not luxuries. Doctors donate their time and money to help 3rd world countries, nurses too. Your average joe donates in various ways. Maybe I'm just not aware, but I rarely see big pharma helping out at home. Our seniors, our sick kids...no compassion there huh.

Dan,
I'm not buying the fact for every drug 100k others don't make it. You don't have enough people to put 100k drugs through the process. Drug companies know, that when it comes to life or death, you'll pay anything. You'll mortgage the house to the hilt, cash in your investments, retirement accounts, even borrow from family.

The same drugs, that these companies sell here at top dollar, can be had cheaper in other countries. Why is that ? I do believe to some extent we are subsidizing drugs for other countries. That isn't the whole problem but a contributing factor anyway.

What average joe citizen can afford a 90k medication ? Next to none, so that means these meds are only for the wealthy, the deserving, or they have no problem taking everything you've worked for your whole life, and then some. I simply find it ridiculous that we as a country, in todays age, can not manage to find a way to bring cheaper drugs to market. If the will was there, we would, but unfortunately it isn't.

BTW Tony, great news....in a financial way. Keep on rockin' bro, music is the best medicine anyway....and a naked girl walking on your back helps too.

gimpod · December 2017

@tonyb I agree and Thanks, All my test have come back negative for the virus, one more week and I'm done.

easy peasy japnesey.

westmassguy · December 2017

gimpod wrote: »

@tonyb I agree and Thanks, All my test have come back negative for the virus, one more week and I'm done.

easy peasy japnesey.

Outstanding Tony!

Tis the season to count your blessing!

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