I was gonna make a flippant but joking response yesterday about a plethora of such pnecks. But I didn't think it would prove true. What is up with the lack of black block jnecks?
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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"
- Thread starter B-string
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I was gonna make a flippant but joking response yesterday about a plethora of such pnecks. But I didn't think it would prove true. What is up with the lack of black block jnecks?
Mark, I haven't been looking for a couple of days. I've been looking for months. I saw one, got excited, and discovered it was an old posting on stratosphere that had sold months prior. Unreal.
Ok, a GOF gripe. Apparently on Medicare a person can't use "coupons" for the expensive medications. I'm sure this will change things for me.
You DO save money on the Medicare coverage and supplemental innsurance...but...
You DO save money on the Medicare coverage and supplemental innsurance...but...
The same goes for co-pay assistance programs. If the government pays at least 1¢ for your healthcare, you are not eligible. The “retail” price of the Tremfya I get just went up to $12,700 per injection and that injection occurs once every 8 weeks. My co-pay was $3400. Not sure it will be going forward.
Yikes! I can't like that!
I just looked that up. Personally, for me I would not take that drug. For me, based on the cost. I discontinued a drug that had a very high copay. The Dr wasn't very happy, but he got over it.
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I used to pay $100 for a 90-day supply of a drug on my old plan. Then I did the Medicare thing and the cost went up by $1,000. Mrs. Tango just started a new job with much better health plans than the one we were on last year, before I had to do Medicare, such that the cost of that drug on the new plan will be $68. It’s such a racket.
No sign of it stopping. The drug companies and their deep pockets will make sure of that
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Did he get over losing the kickback from the drug company(says cynical old me)?
Eggzackly my thoughts too!
No need to be cynical. It happens all the time. One example of many.
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As anti-kickback laws with no teeth are passed, loopholes are left in for abuse.
It's interesting and irritating to look at the Medicare or insurance statement or doc's statement to see what was charged and actually paid. Say 300 for some visit. Doc files that with Medicare or insurance. Medicare or insurance pays 175. Doc's office accepts it. You owe nothing or some trivial amount. If the docs will take something less than the original charge, then why not agree that's what the cost is and be done with it? Maybe people feel like they are getting a good deal by seeing that.
It's kinda like buying stuff at Kohls - You have no idea what it will really cost until checkout.
I proudly quit going to Kohl's for the most part. It's not on sale...it's for sale.It's interesting and irritating to look at the Medicare or insurance statement or doc's statement to see what was charged and actually paid. Say 300 for some visit. Doc files that with Medicare or insurance. Medicare or insurance pays 175. Doc's office accepts it. You owe nothing or some trivial amount. If the docs will take something less than the original charge, then why not agree that's what the cost is and be done with it? Maybe people feel like they are getting a good deal by seeing that.
It's kinda like buying stuff at Kohls - You have no idea what it will really cost until checkout.
This was an interesting comment from Novartis:
Novartis representatives said on Wednesday that the company had gone through a transformation and had agreed to new corporate integrity obligations in the United States through 2025. They said that Novartis was moving away from the traditional speaker program model that had drawn federal authorities’ scrutiny.
So... After 2025 all bets are off? Shouldn't that be FOREVER? The last statement implies "we'll do something else that doesn't draw attention but we haven't completely given up on this". Shouldn't that be STOP doing it NOW?
Novartis sells generic drugs as well as what they call bio-similars, not quite the same. So they were paying doctors to prescribe generics. The industry has always paid doctors to prescribe their products. One way they get around it is to send doctors to resorts a couple of times a year for conferences and training. They don’t actually do much conferencing or training, just enough to make it look good. Then there are regular lavish dinners, golf club events, gifts, etc. where doctors meet with salespeople.
How about hiring doctors to participate in “research” projects, write papers, clinical trials. They don’t know much about research but that doesn’t matter. Another loophole is a doctor getting an appointment at a university. Then they get a huge research grant to do what real researchers call country club research. Nothing serious. The university takes a cut of the grant so they lend the name of the institution to it. It helps to get papers published at the above mentioned conferences.
Not all medical people are involved in these sort of schemes. The greedy ones are.
How about hiring doctors to participate in “research” projects, write papers, clinical trials. They don’t know much about research but that doesn’t matter. Another loophole is a doctor getting an appointment at a university. Then they get a huge research grant to do what real researchers call country club research. Nothing serious. The university takes a cut of the grant so they lend the name of the institution to it. It helps to get papers published at the above mentioned conferences.
Not all medical people are involved in these sort of schemes. The greedy ones are.
Way ahead of their time for 1965. See 18 minutes in for the bass part.
I called the phone company today and cut the cable service. Nice to save almost a grand a year. Been enjoying the smart TV on the internet. They responded by raising my internet fees by $10 a month. You just can't win.
It's that bundle discount to encourage you to buy all their stuff.
Speaking of pricing, I got the renewal notice for the XM in the Honda. 190 friggin' bucks plus taxes. It goes up every year. We have the mostly music package. They will be getting a call so I can express my displeasure. Geez. They gave us 3 yrs at 99/yr for everything on the Corvette including listening online or phone app. I suspect they will lower the price. This might turn into an annual bargaining call.
- Oct 22, 2015
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