Obamacare mandated health plans have drug coverage. That drug coverage is basically worthless because high-deductibles and coinsurance (i.e. cost-sharing) ensures that most enrollees are paying for all of their prescription drugs out of pocket. Drug plans under Obamacare plans usually have tiered formularies and drug copays that vary based on the drug. When picking up a prescription it is often cheaper to whip out a drug discount card and pay cash than to whip out your health plan ID card and pay a copay.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Open Borders and Lax Drug Policies Are Contributing to Fatal Drug Overdoses
Most of the additional fatal overdoses post-Covid involve methamphetamine and fentanyl made in Mexico, China and India. For each overdose death, more than 100 people struggle with debilitating addictions to these dangerous substances.
Coincident with policy changes advertised as civil-rights progress, the comparatively low drug-overdose rate for blacks began to accelerate. It reached the white rate by 2019 and then surged past it during the pandemic to reach 43 annually per 100,000 of the black population by last September.
Lowering Eligibility to Age 60 will Bankrupt Medicare Sooner
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report on lowering the age for Medicare eligibility to age 60. The report Budgetary Effects of a Policy That Would Lower the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 60 found Medicare rolls would rise by nearly 14 million people. It would also increase the budget deficit by $155 billion over a 5-year period.
Wednesday Links
Right to try: The main obstacle is not government; it’s the drug companies.
Covid fact: For people under 25, Covid was less deadly than traffic accidents.
Additional fact: the Asian death rate was about half the white rate, one-third the black rate, and one-fourth the Hispanic rate. (Rough estimates)
Why is the Covid death rate in Australia one-tenth of the U.S. level?