Free COVID Tests and Medication

[ThatOwlWoman]

Good info for those of us on Medicare, or who have elders in your family who are. I wasn't sure under what discussion forum to put this, so mods, please move if "General Politics" doesn't suit.

From Mother Jones:

If you're on Medicare, starting today you can now get up to eight Covid tests a month for free. This marks the first time Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost. And it's actually an easier process than private insurance. All you have to do is show your Medicare card to one of the many participating pharmacies—including Walgreens, CVS, and Costco—to collect a free test. Yep, that's way simpler than having to go through the private insurance reimbursement rodeo.

It's a lot easier to find antiviral pills. And in some communities, like New York City, you can get them delivered straight to your door for free. The Biden administration also recently launched Covid.gov to help people find the best spots to get the life-saving medications—which, according to a friend, helped reduce her symptoms right away.

 

[Celticguy]

they're not free you realize, just no cost to the insured.

a nice cash cow for Big Pharma from a government thats broke. tests you can just have whether they're needed or not.
see why Big Pharma / Big Med love socialized medicine ?
the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Nordberg]

they're not free you realize, just no cost to the insured.

a nice cash cow for Big Pharma from a government thats broke. tests you can just have whether they're needed or not.
see why Big Pharma / Big Med love socialized medicine ?
the gift that keeps on giving.

yeah, fuck those old and vulnerable people, they might cost money for their health.

What a waste of your personally hard-earned tax money.

 

[Taichiliberal]

they're not free you realize, just no cost to the insured.

a nice cash cow for Big Pharma from a government thats broke. tests you can just have whether they're needed or not.
see why Big Pharma / Big Med love socialized medicine ?
the gift that keeps on giving.

Ahh, but what you are witnessing is a myopic form of socialized medicine, as it ONLY benefits the corporations in the long run. Such is not the case in true socialization of medicine in other countries.

 

[Taichiliberal]

And remember folks, the PCR tests are NOT accurate in determining Covid infection. Never have been, no matter how fast the result. The Nobel Prize winner who invented the damned thing stated for YEARS that his PCR DID NOT DETERMINE WHAT MAKES YOU SICK. The old fashioned blood test is the only way to determine Covid and Covid type infections...that takes longer and is more specific.

 

[Celticguy]

yeah, fuck those old and vulnerable people, they might cost money for their health.

What a waste of your personally hard-earned tax money.

we I AM one of those old geezers but it IS also MY tax money (actually printed money as this is all deficit spending).

the point remains, why give out things willy nilly ? only one reason...

But I forgot your team is all about (un)affordable healthcare....

 

[Celticguy]

Ahh, but what you are witnessing is a myopic form of socialized medicine, as it ONLY benefits the corporations in the long run. Such is not the case in true socialization of medicine in other countries.

presumably others who are under tighter financial management would issue ONE test were there some reason to think the patient might be ill. we are not concerned about money because Congress and the White House are owned by Big Pharma and financial ruin is meaningless to them.

 

[Celticguy]

And remember folks, the PCR tests are NOT accurate in determining Covid infection. Never have been, no matter how fast the result. The Nobel Prize winner who invented the damned thing stated for YEARS that his PCR DID NOT DETERMINE WHAT MAKES YOU SICK. The old fashioned blood test is the only way to determine Covid and Covid type infections...that takes longer and is more specific.

yeah but making them and giving railcar loads of them to Uncle Sam is cheap, easy and lucrative.

 

[Taichiliberal]

Quote Originally Posted by Taichiliberal View Post
Ahh, but what you are witnessing is a myopic form of socialized medicine, as it ONLY benefits the corporations in the long run. Such is not the case in true socialization of medicine in other countries.

presumably others who are under tighter financial management would issue ONE test were there some reason to think the patient might be ill. we are not concerned about money because Congress and the White House are owned by Big Pharma and financial ruin is meaningless to them.

Currently we are under "one test".....the PCR nasal swabs...which according to their inventor DO NOT DIAGNOSE WHAT IS MAKING YOU SICK, AND WOULD BE HIGHLY INACCURATE IF USED AS SUCH.

This is a result of Big pharma lobby in Congress, subsequent with former members entering the FDA, CDC and NIH. Corporate corruption and collusion rampant under a capitalist mandate in our medical industry. Gov't contracts via such machinations are a warped use of the term "socialism". You and I receive no such socialism, and pay for play/health eventually.

 

[Nordberg]

we I AM one of those old geezers but it IS also MY tax money (actually printed money as this is all deficit spending).

the point remains, why give out things willy nilly ? only one reason...

But I forgot your team is all about (un)affordable healthcare....

Willy nilly. Slant your language much? I am of that age. My wife is a bit paranoid about Covid because she has Leukemia. The left wants universal medical care which is CHEAPER and covers all.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

The medication for this Fauci Plague testing should be Thorazine...

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Willy nilly. Slant your language much? I am of that age. My wife is a bit paranoid about Covid because she has Leukemia. The left wants universal medical care which is CHEAPER and covers all.

Tell the British that...

 

[Hawkeye10]

Geert Vanden Bossche remains apoplectic that we fucked ourselves with the Max Vax Program.

Have a Wonderful Day!

 

[Nordberg]

Tell the British that...

They love it. So do Canadians.Run on ending healthcare and you will get slaughtered,

 

[T. A. Gardner]

They love it. So do Canadians.Run on ending healthcare and you will get slaughtered,

Um, actually no. The NHS is tolerated in the UK, not loved.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/8056/Healthcare-System-Ratings-US-Great-Britain-Canada.aspx

And, Fauci Plague only made it more unpopular

Across the UK, according to a British Social Attitudes survey, public satisfaction with the NHS slumped by 17 percentage points between 2020 and 2021, to 36 per cent. It is the lowest level recorded since 1997 and the largest year-on-year drop in the survey’s history.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/herald-vi...nuMWLUx1MtC5P2MsfnIf-w_C5BN3ac3PQ5RYjolTN3UXT

10 charts that show why the NHS is in trouble

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-42572110

The same can be said of nationalized medicine in Canada.

Here in the US, the comparable system in place would be the VA hospital system. It too is very hit and miss in quality and mostly seen by veterans as a choice of last resort, not first.

Yes, the US system is costly but it works well. What doesn't work is letting the incompetence of government run your healthcare. Government doesn't do it well and it too is expensive. Those that can afford to op out--that is, the rich--do. Everybody else is stuck with the same shitty levels of care the government deigns to provide.

 

[Nordberg]

Um, actually no. The NHS is tolerated in the UK, not loved.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/8056/Healthcare-System-Ratings-US-Great-Britain-Canada.aspx

And, Fauci Plague only made it more unpopular


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/herald-vi...nuMWLUx1MtC5P2MsfnIf-w_C5BN3ac3PQ5RYjolTN3UXT


https://www.bbc.com/news/health-42572110

The same can be said of nationalized medicine in Canada.

Here in the US, the comparable system in place would be the VA hospital system. It too is very hit and miss in quality and mostly seen by veterans as a choice of last resort, not first.

Yes, the US system is costly but it works well. What doesn't work is letting the incompetence of government run your healthcare. Government doesn't do it well and it too is expensive. Those that can afford to op out--that is, the rich--do. Everybody else is stuck with the same shitty levels of care the government deigns to provide.

Actually yes citizens love it. It can be improved, but they at least have the care implemented.. There is no industrial nation that does not have universal medical care, except us. It damages the economy. Workers suffer the most. In America, if you want to start a business, you have to find a way to supply healthcare or go without. If you want to move jobs, you can have a 90-day gap in coverage. That can be scary. I have Canadians in the family and when I ask if they would rather have our health care, they laugh out loud. It is nice not to have a fear of bankruptcy if you or a family member gets sick or injured.
Read what Americans who move abroad think after a while. They are so happy to use the government system. And they are so pleased to eliminate the fear of guns.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Actually yes citizens love it. It can be improved, but they at least have the care implemented.. There is no industrial nation that does not have universal medical care, except us. It damages the economy. Workers suffer the most. In America, if you want to start a business, you have to find a way to supply healthcare or go without. If you want to move jobs, you can have a 90-day gap in coverage. That can be scary. I have Canadians in the family and when I ask if they would rather have our health care, they laugh out loud. It is nice not to have a fear of bankruptcy if you or a family member gets sick or injured.
Read what Americans who move abroad think after a while. They are so happy to use the government system. And they are so pleased to eliminate the fear of guns.

So, you ignore actual facts and data with regard to the UK's NHS, then trot out an irrelevant appeal to popularity fallacy. Are you aware that the US got the system it has because FDR imposed wage and price controls on business during WW 2? It's likely had that not happened, the US medical system would be a free market one with much lower costs. The proof of that is in the one segment of that market not operating on insurance: Cosmetic surgery.

The poll by the British Medical Association revealed that 70 per cent of those surveyed think that the NHS is going in the wrong direction.

Whilst the survey sample was relatively small at just 1,031 adults, dissatisfaction in the NHS has doubled since polls from 2015 and 16.

https://wearethecity.com/poll-unhappy-nhs/

DR WON'T SEE YOU NOW Taking too long to get an appointment sees satisfaction with GP’s service hit lowest level for 25 years

https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/18107818/gp-appointment-satisfaction-25-year-low/

On Canadians, yea, sure... Canadians flock to Arizona where they cross into Mexico for cheap prescription drugs, cheap doctors with no waiting, and cheap dentists. In Mexican border towns like Los Algodones, there are dozens of doctors, dentists, and pharmacies that cater specifically to Americans and Canadians.

Canadian "snowbirds" flock to Arizona for the winter, and while they're here stock up medicine and get procedures done that have months long waiting lists back in Canada.

This guy quite literally wrote the book on why Canada's system sucks

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/CanadianHealthPolicyFailures2009.pdf

The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care
Socialized medicine has meant rationed care and lack of innovation. Small wonder Canadians are looking to the market.

https://www.city-journal.org/html/u...ian-health-care-13032.html?wallit_nosession=1

I personally am eligible to use the VA medical system. Thank god I don't have to. The Phoenix VA is the worst in the US.

VA’s long list of performance failures

https://www.legion.org/veteransheal...receded,of the time for patients at high risk.

https://www.veterans.senate.gov/201...hoenix-va-negligence-failure-is-not-an-option

Those are facts, not opinions which is all you are offering. Anecdote isn't evidence either.

 

[Taichiliberal]

So, you ignore actual facts and data with regard to the UK's NHS, then trot out an irrelevant appeal to popularity fallacy. Are you aware that the US got the system it has because FDR imposed wage and price controls on business during WW 2? It's likely had that not happened, the US medical system would be a free market one with much lower costs. The proof of that is in the one segment of that market not operating on insurance: Cosmetic surgery.


https://wearethecity.com/poll-unhappy-nhs/


https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/18107818/gp-appointment-satisfaction-25-year-low/

On Canadians, yea, sure... Canadians flock to Arizona where they cross into Mexico for cheap prescription drugs, cheap doctors with no waiting, and cheap dentists. In Mexican border towns like Los Algodones, there are dozens of doctors, dentists, and pharmacies that cater specifically to Americans and Canadians.

Canadian "snowbirds" flock to Arizona for the winter, and while they're here stock up medicine and get procedures done that have months long waiting lists back in Canada.

This guy quite literally wrote the book on why Canada's system sucks

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/CanadianHealthPolicyFailures2009.pdf


https://www.city-journal.org/html/u...ian-health-care-13032.html?wallit_nosession=1

I personally am eligible to use the VA medical system. Thank god I don't have to. The Phoenix VA is the worst in the US.


https://www.legion.org/veteransheal...receded,of the time for patients at high risk.

https://www.veterans.senate.gov/201...hoenix-va-negligence-failure-is-not-an-option

Those are facts, not opinions which is all you are offering. Anecdote isn't evidence either.

And here's how the rug is pulled out from under the continuing PR wonk attack against Canada's health system:


After Pushing Lies, Former Cigna Executive Praises Canada's Health Care System


NPR'S Michel Martin speaks with former health insurance executive Wendell Potter about the differences between U.S. and Canadian health systems highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/8843...-executive-praises-canadas-health-care-system

 

[T. A. Gardner]

And here's how the rug is pulled out from under the continuing PR wonk attack against Canada's health system:


After Pushing Lies, Former Cigna Executive Praises Canada's Health Care System


NPR'S Michel Martin speaks with former health insurance executive Wendell Potter about the differences between U.S. and Canadian health systems highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/8843...-executive-praises-canadas-health-care-system

Anecdote isn't evidence

 

[Matt Dillon]

Actually yes citizens love it. It can be improved, but they at least have the care implemented.. There is no industrial nation that does not have universal medical care, except us. It damages the economy. Workers suffer the most. In America, if you want to start a business, you have to find a way to supply healthcare or go without. If you want to move jobs, you can have a 90-day gap in coverage. That can be scary. I have Canadians in the family and when I ask if they would rather have our health care, they laugh out loud. It is nice not to have a fear of bankruptcy if you or a family member gets sick or injured.
Read what Americans who move abroad think after a while. They are so happy to use the government system. And they are so pleased to eliminate the fear of guns.

Half of Canada has American health insurance and waits until they come here in the winter to get things done.