Guess who’s rallying for Medicare for All? People who already have it
At a rally in support of Medicare for All, Dylan Kosson-Healy, 30, read aloud from Catherine’s GoFundMe page: “While $15,000 is surely a lot to ask of our family and friends, it is about the cost of her out-of-pocket medical expenses for just the next three months.” The family’s request is one of a quarter million on the platform raising more than $650 million for medical bills annually, according to the site.
Some 30 additional protesters packed into the small field office of Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5) on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, to read more heartbreaking testimonies from Quigley’s constituents. Then they broke into a chant: “Congressman Quigley, support Medicare for All”—known in the House as H.R. 1384.
Led by the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, most of the members of the Chicago Medicare for All Coalition in attendance were over 65.
“Until you sign on and pass Medicare for All, your constituents have to turn to friends, family and strangers on the internet to help them survive,” said Mary Ellen Winkelman, 81, co-chair of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus.
Because seniors already have Medicare and may be retired, changing the healthcare system is not typically considered a key issue for their voting demographic. The problem? “No one’s asked us,” Winkelman tells In These Times. “They just assume we are okay with [the current system].”
Dr. Anne Scheetz, 69, retired from her clinical practice so she could focus on political advocacy work with Physicians for a National Health Program, a coalition member group. […]
TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES
“I think the Democrats’ role is to be vocal. “
~~Rep. Maxine Waters
At Daily Kos on this date in 2011—Pharmaceutical company hikes price of preemie birth preventive:
KV Pharmaceutical is behaving as pharma does in the wake of winning approval from the government to exclusively sell Makena, a form of progesterone used in high-risk pregnancies to prevent premature birth. They’re raising the price of a single injection from $10 to $1,500.
Doctors say the price hike may deter low-income women from getting the drug, leading to more premature births. And it will certainly be a huge financial burden for health insurance companies and government programs that have been paying for it.
The cost is justified to avoid the mental and physical disabilities that can come with very premature births, said KV Pharmaceutical chief executive Gregory J. Divis Jr. The cost of care for a preemie is estimated at $51,000 in the first year alone.
“Makena can help offset some of those costs,” Divis told The Associated Press. “These moms deserve the opportunity to have the benefits of an FDA-approved Makena.”
That sounds just a little like extortion—pay the $1,500 per injection (they’re required weekly for as much as 20 weeks) or experience the “mental and physical disabilities that can come with very premature births.” These moms include a higher percentage of African-American women, as well as low-income women receiving Medicaid. But those with private insurance don’t have any guarantees that the treatments will continue to be covered at the new, insane rate.
And there’s more. ThinkProgress reports that the company is “seeking to prevent other pharmaceutical companies from producing a cheaper version.