The sad story of insulin and capitalism
Dystopian ๐ดโโ ๏ธ Capitalism: Episode 1
Alexandre Campos | December 25, 2020
This a story about a medical product that was supposed to be used for public benefit, but US corporations managed to make billions in profits at the expense of ordinary people.
Insulin was invented by Frederick Banting in 1923 and he sold the patent for $1.00 and for the public good.
He (Frederick Banting) felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save lives
-Vox.com
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18293950/why-is-insulin-so-expensive
Pharmaceuticals lobby for laws that give them the monopoly and allow to form cartels to do price gauging.
Since 1996, pharmaceutical corporations have increased the price of a vial of insulin by 1200% in the US!
https://www.ajmc.com/view/the-deadly-costs-of-insulin
But not just that...
PhRMA company has sued Minnesota over a law designed to ensure that people who can't afford insulin can get it.
The Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act was passed in honor of a 26-year-old who died rationing insulin.
https://www.startribune.com/phrma-sues-to-stop-state-s-new-insulin-affordability-program/571582452/
And imagine the consequences... 1/4 of Type 1 diabetes patients in US are rationing it!
The prices of insulin are astronomical, and even patients with good insurance coverage are getting squeezed
-Inquirer.com
https://www.inquirer.com/health/consumer/insulin-ration-diabetes-drug-costs-20190625.html
In extreme cases... people are using dog insulin just because it is less expensive!
Almost 100 years later, they are ripping off consumers for something that should be free and suing to keep doing so. Shameful!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/01/us-healthcare-insulin-diabetes-jordan-williams
If you think this only happens in the US, compare your "welfare state" as it is today and how it was 10 years ago. Neoliberalism is a slow process, it just started earlier in the US!
Some say it's disgusting... others say it's capitalism... both are correct!
Episode
Dystopian ๐ดโโ ๏ธ Capitalism series,
This series explain how capitalism is so crony and corrupt that corporations can exert such an immense power that allows them to destroy the planet, harass workers and collect all the profits!