#New Prescription

[sumthincoolsideblog]

I’m on a new prescription for nerve damage/ pain and holy shit for the first time in 3 years I feel like a person

[a-flickering-soul]

OTC BIRTH CONTROL APPROVED BY THE FDA

[reasonsforhope]

Sorry I'm kind of dissociated and my vocab crashes during that can you explain the Biden drug thing in just. Shorter simple sentences.

Sure! You're not the only one who's mentioned being unclear on what it means either, and I'm happy to help

(Context for anyone else: US Sets Policy to Seize Patents of Government-Funded Drugs if Price Deemed Too High, via Good News Network, December 11, 2023)

From the very basics:

When drug companies create new drugs, they get a legal protection called a "patent." The patent means no one else can make or sell the same drug for whatever number of years.

Usually, this is about 10 years after the drug starts being sold to the public.

So, for those years, that one drug company is the only source of whatever medication. And since people need their medication, drug companies can charge however much money they want.

Meaning a lot of drugs that people need to live cost way too much money to buy.

So, with this, Biden told drug companies "Fuck you, if you keep making medicine too $$$ for people to afford, I'm giving your competition the right to make and sell those drugs too."

The US has never done anything like this before.

This is a huge threat to the whole (awful) drug industry in the US. It will save people thousands of dollars. If he does this, it will save lives.

--

Edit 12/17/23: Quick note, as people have said in the notes, this only applies to drugs made in part using taxpayer money. Which is! Literally all of them!

[hinamie]

congrats on your recovery n all yuuji but unfortunately for you I thought the scars were cool >:/

[chandralia]

I love that bkdk is actually everything, like it’s sunshine x grumpy, then it’s rule breaker x rule follower BUT REVERSED, it’s sun and moon but not who you think, it’s apology in the rain, dramatic rescue missions, hospital scenes, targeted by villains for being too close, knowing the other better than anyone else, rivals that forever chase each other—

[morality-home-care]

A typical doctor’s appointment is mostly short. You only have a little time to ask questions or have a lengthy discussion about your health. Here is some advice to help you make the most of your time with your doctor and leave with a clear picture of your health.

[lookingforcactus]

A big cost and concern for many seniors in the U.S. is the price of prescription drugs and other healthcare expenses—and this year, thanks to The Inflation Reduction Act, their costs may go down dramatically, especially for patients fighting cancer or heart disease.

I learned about the new benefits because my ‘Medicare birthday’ is coming up in a couple months when I turn 65. I was shocked that there were so many positive changes being made, which I never heard about on the news.

Thousands of Americans on Medicare have been paying more than $14,000 a year for blood cancer drugs, more than $10,000 a year for ovarian cancer drugs, and more than $9,000 a year for breast cancer drugs, for instance.

That all changed beginning in 2023, after the Biden administration capped out-of-pocket prescriptions at $3,500—no matter what drugs were needed. And this year, in 2024, the cap for all Medicare out-of-pocket prescriptions went down to a maximum of $2,000.

“The American people won, and Big Pharma lost,” said President Biden in September 2022, after the legislation passed. “It’s going to be a godsend to many families.”

Another crucial medical necessity, the shingles vaccine, which many seniors skip because of the cost, is now free. Shingles is a painful rash with blisters, that can be followed by chronic pain, and other complications, for which there is no cure

In 2022, more than 2 million seniors paid between $100 and $200 for that vaccine, but starting last year, Medicare prescription drug plans dropped the cost for shots down to zero.

Another victory for consumers over Big Pharma affects anyone of any age who struggles with diabetes. The cost of life-saving insulin was capped at $35 a month [for people on Medicare].

Medicare is also lowering the costs of the premium for Part B—which covers outpatient visits to your doctors. 15 million Americans will save an average of $800 per year on health insurance costs, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Last year, for the first time in history, Medicare began using the leverage power of its large patient pool to negotiate fair prices for drugs. Medicare is no longer accepting whatever drug prices that pharmaceutical companies demand.

Negotiations began on ten of the most widely used and expensive drugs.

Among the ten drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiation were Eliquis, used by 3.7 million Americans and Jardiance and Xarelto, each used by over a million people. The ten drugs account for the highest total spending in Medicare Part D prescription plans...

How are all these cost-savings being paid for?

The government is able to pay for these benefits by making sure the biggest corporations in America are paying their fair share of federal taxes.

In 2020, for instance, dozens of American companies on the Fortune 500 list who made $40 billion in profit paid zero in federal taxes.

Starting in 2023, U.S. corporations are required to pay a minimum corporate tax of 15 percent. The Inflation Reduction Act created the CAMT, which imposed the 15% minimum tax on the adjusted financial statement income of any corporation with average income that exceeds $1 billion.

For years, Americans have decried the rising costs of health care—but in the last three years, there are plenty of positive developments.

-via Good News Network, February 25, 2024

[letalis-psyche]

Drew Arcade… Peace and love on planet eartf….. He’s wearing gloves. and his prescription is so high his glasses get a little magnified

[pocket-watcher]

This one’s for all my glasses-wearers out there.

The eye test had been painless enough. A new prescription needed, but no major issues.

I perused the frames, a million different styles. The assistant had been nice, he watched on as I struggled to find a pair that was right for me.

He also seemed to scan the room, which was odd. There were only a few others there, all busy with his colleagues.

Eventually I found a sleek black pair I liked.

“I like these.” I told him, happy that I was finally able to find a pair that suited me. He smiled back at me.

“Okay, let’s just check if these fit.” He directed me in front of him.

“Look into my eyes.”

And that’s when I felt it. The rush of warmth to my cheeks.

You don’t expect to hear hypnotic phrases in public like that, especially for something so mundane. My mouth gaped open slightly as he looked for something, probably how my eyes were positioned behind the frames. Definitely not some kind of recognition behind my eyes at the phrase.

“Good.” I almost expected him to give some more… detailed praise.

“I’m just going to check here as well.” He said as his hand moved towards my ear and pushed against the glasses lightly, checking they wouldn’t move. He was so close to me. My eyes flitted down in embarrassment at the thought.

“Keep looking at me.” He said immediately, and I obeyed without question.

Obeyed is the wrong word.

A hypnotic word.

And that was just a fantasy, after all.

His hand brushed against my neck as he moved it back down to his waist and I shivered slightly at the contact. He pulled out a small ruler to measure whatever it was he needed to measure.

“This really suits you.” He said, more of a cocky smirk on his face as he continued to measure. I stared up at him.

“…The glasses?” I managed to say, but it was hard to think.

He dropped his voice low and stepped closer to me.

“That blank look on your face.”

I fumbled and moved back slightly, blushing furiously, breaking out of whatever trance I’d been in. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and removed the glasses from my face before I could fully process it all.

“I’ll send these off to get your prescription added.” He said, returning to his more chipper tone.

“They’ll be ready in two weeks. If you come at this time,” he pointed to the paper but my eyes were still locked on his, “it’ll be quieter, so we can run more…tests.”

My stomach flipped. Was he really implying…

Without realising I was walking out of the store as he was waving to me, a mischievous glint in his eye.

I’d be back soon. I had an appointment, after all.

[lazycranberrydoodles]

i ,am normal and can be trusted around reagan ridley

[lonely-fried-art]

silly and fun alternate outfits GO

[bearofohu]

my favorite fact about the layton games that most people dont realize is that even though hershel is the protagonist every game is through luke’s POV

[politijohn]

Source

[reasonsforhope]

"The Biden Administration last week [early December, 2023] announced it would be seizing patents for drugs and drug manufacturing procedures developed using government money.

A draft of the new law, seen by Reuters, said that the government will consider various factors including whether a medical situation is leading to increased prices of the drug at any given time, or whether only a small section of Americans can afford it.

The new executive order is the first exercise in what is called “march-in-rights” which allows relevant government agencies to redistribute patents if they were generated under government funding. The NIH has long maintained march-in-rights, but previous directors have been unwilling to use them, fearing consequences.

“We’ll make it clear that when drug companies won’t sell taxpayer funded drugs at reasonable prices, we will be prepared to allow other companies to provide those drugs for less,” White House adviser Lael Brainard said on a press call.

But just how much taxpayer money is going toward funding drugs? A research paper from the Insitute for New Economic Thought showed that “NIH funding contributed to research associated with every new drug approved from 2010-2019, totaling $230 billion.”

The authors of the paper continue, writing “NIH funding also produced 22 thousand patents, which provided marketing exclusivity for 27 (8.6%) of the drugs approved [between] 2010-2019.”

How we do drug discovery and production in America has a number of fundamental flaws that have created problems in the health service industry.

It costs billions of dollars and sometimes as many as 5 to 10 years to bring a drug to market in the US, which means that only companies with massive financial muscle can do so with any regularity, and that smaller, more innovative companies can’t compete with these pharma giants.

This also means that if a company can’t recoup that loss, a single failed drug can result in massive disruptions to business. To protect themselves, pharmaceutical companies establish piles of patents on drugs and drug manufacturing procedures. Especially if the drug in question treats a rare or obscure disease, these patents essentially ensure the company has monoselective pricing regimes.

However, if a company can convince the NIH that a particular drug should be considered a public health priority, they can be almost entirely funded by the government, as the research paper showed.

Some market participants, in this case the famous billionaire investor Mark Cuban, have attempted to remedy the issue of drug costs in America by manufacturing generic versions of patented drugs sold for common diseases."

-via Good News Network, December 11, 2023

[well-maxed-kaiser]

[laz-kay]

I relate to Tina and Linda on a personal level here😂

Bob's Burgers, Boys just wanna have Fungus (S10: E2)