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As a former health insurance exec, I don’t think the public appreciates how heartless & profit-obsessed the industry is. One example that doesn& #39;t get enough attention? Low-income people with diabetes who have insurance - but still can& #39;t afford the insulin they need to live. (1/9)
In many cases, people with diabetes have insurance through work or the marketplace -- but their copays & deductibles are so high, they can’t afford to pick up their prescriptions. Which means no insulin... or cutting out a household necessity. All due to industry greed. (2/9)
1 in 4 Americans (many of them insured) put their lives at risk by rationing insulin. To provide some relief, CT lawmakers introduced a bill to cap the cost of insulin supplies at $25/month for health plans regulated by the state, like Medicaid. (3/9) https://www.registercitizen.com/politics/article/Insurance-industry-balks-at-health-reform-measures-15426437.php">https://www.registercitizen.com/politics/...
Unfortunately, the proposed law would NOT apply to those who get insurance through an employer, because those plans don& #39;t have state oversight. It would only apply to a small group in CT (the poorest). And still, lobbyists for the insurance industry are trying to kill it. (4/9)
The bill would save lives, but that& #39;s of little concern to the lobbying group for the state’s insurers. They argue that capping copays "doesn’t do anything to address the actual cost of the drugs and the supplies.” I honestly don’t know how those people sleep at night. (5/9)
There are 2 things to understand here: 1) We’re talking about pocket change compared to the huge profits insurers make, but they don’t want to give up a dime. By trying to kill this bill, they’re putting the interests of their shareholders above the interests of patients. (6/9)
The other thing to understand? The insurance companies, through public comments, are acknowledging that they& #39;re largely incapable of holding down the cost of medications by any means other than making their customers pay more out of their own pockets for life-saving drugs. (7/9)
The industry’s top lobbyist in CT says insurers use copays as leverage in negotiating lower prices with drug companies. That& #39;s like admitting they view patients as hostages, and threaten to deny patients affordable access to drugs they need, unless they get lower prices. (8/9)
