Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Medicare for All

[Rhiannon12866]

As presidential candidates continue to discuss Medicare for All, John Oliver explores how much it might cost, what it will change, and who it will help.

[B Stieg]

1. And he didn't even mention "Pharmacy Benefit Managers"...

one, genuine, major cause of needlessly high drug prices.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thanks for bringing that up, that's disappointing

Usually they research these topics pretty thoroughly and it's got to be important to JO personally, since he's a citizen now and has made his home and has a family in the U.S.

I looked it up and ran across this article, sounds like he could do an entire show on just this topic - which would be right up his alley:

Are pharmacy benefit managers the good guys or bad guys of drug pricing?
https://www.statnews.com/2018/08/27/pharmacy-benefit-managers-good-or-bad/

[B Stieg]

5. Yep. I only discovered their existence about 3 years ago...

and apparently, they are responsible for "uneeded middleman" costs that really drive up prices and even copays. I take 12 pills (6 different meds) a day, and whenever my company (Univ of Cal) switches these guys--almost every year--my copays go in wildly different directions. My diabetes test strips just went (Jan. 1) from a $10 to a $3 copay, while my Seroquel went from a $5 to a $17.00 copay! And there seems no rhyme or reason for these people to even exist, as they're just a redundent layer of management...

[ninaholm]

3. 0. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Medicare for All

HBO not coming slow

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Kick and recommend

Hope this helps more people realize that healthcare in America is still badly broken, despite more people being insured than before. Bold ideas are needed to close the gap for the still-uninsured.

[jmbar2]

6. Best explanation of our problems and potential solutions EVER!

[tomhagen]

7. 500 dollars for an anti redness med. Still a 280 copay with insurance.

This will end when Sanders boots Chump from the Stage.

[Uncle Joe]

8. Kicked and recommended

Thanks for the thread Rhiannon.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Thanks for posting Rhiannon!

I have been meaning to watch this and just got around to it. You know, maybe if our government just got their priorities straight and stopped wasting so much money on tax cuts for the rich and giving billions of dollars away to the MIC, we could afford this without much pain. I'm am just so disgusted by the fact that there always seems to be money for whatever the 1% wants to spend it on and never enough money to help the people who really need it in this country.

Thanks again! I love John Oliver!

[Rhiannon12866]

10. He really is excellent, was so glad to see him back!

Especially on a current issue - not to mention on a week when all the other late night guys are in repeats or preempted!

[JudyM]

11. This was great, thanks for posting it!