Health Insurance Costs – Citizens Report https://citizensreport.org a digital channel commited to health & medical rights. Wed, 17 Jan 2024 09:06:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.24 https://citizensreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-cr-icon-1-32x32.png Health Insurance Costs – Citizens Report https://citizensreport.org 32 32 The $8,000 Band-Aid https://citizensreport.org/2014/08/07/8000-dollar-band-aid-outrageous-medical-bills/ https://citizensreport.org/2014/08/07/8000-dollar-band-aid-outrageous-medical-bills/#respond Thu, 07 Aug 2014 16:44:39 +0000 http://www.citizensreport.org/?p=3611 “If I severed a limb, I’d carry it to the next emergency room in the next city before I go back to this place.” That’s what a New Jersey man told NBC New York. His anger came from the fact that a hospital charged him over $8,000 to put a bandage on just one of […]

The post The $8,000 Band-Aid appeared first on Citizens Report.

]]>
“If I severed a limb, I’d carry it to the next emergency room in the next city before I go back to this place.” That’s what a New Jersey man told NBC New York. His anger came from the fact that a hospital charged him over $8,000 to put a bandage on just one of his fingers. No stitches. No x-rays. But still over $8,000 essentially for a band-aid.

The above is just one ridiculous case of the problems our country’s medical system has. NBC New York did a great job explaining the intricacies of this case. Read their story here.

The post The $8,000 Band-Aid appeared first on Citizens Report.

]]>
https://citizensreport.org/2014/08/07/8000-dollar-band-aid-outrageous-medical-bills/feed/ 0
The Biggest Medical Myth https://citizensreport.org/2014/05/16/the-biggest-medical-myth/ https://citizensreport.org/2014/05/16/the-biggest-medical-myth/#respond Fri, 16 May 2014 12:35:41 +0000 http://test.tigerdesign.me/?p=2658 All those frivolous lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies increase the costs of healthcare This is one of the biggest pieces of misinformation disseminated by Big Pharma to protect their already-inflated profit margins.  The politicians who parrot this popular talking point on their behalf are flat wrong — and, we feel, morally suspect. The fact of the […]

The post The Biggest Medical Myth appeared first on Citizens Report.

]]>
All those frivolous lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies increase the costs of healthcare

This is one of the biggest pieces of misinformation disseminated by Big Pharma to protect their already-inflated profit margins.  The politicians who parrot this popular talking point on their behalf are flat wrong — and, we feel, morally suspect.

The fact of the matter is that medical and pharma lawsuits have an absolutely minimal effect on the nation’s health care costs.

Dr. Marty Makary, an associate professor of surgery and health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said “the notion that frivolous claims are routinely resulting in $100 million payouts is not true.” Tort reform, which many politicians ask for, would have a marginal impact on health-care costs, and ultimately only serve to further insulate the massive pharma companies from accepting responsibility for the injuries caused by some of their medications.  In fact, when it comes to malpractice lawsuits, study after study show that their costs only make up around 1% of the nation’s $2.6 trillion health-care bill.

Other studies show that a very small percentage of the victims of medical side effects, from prescription drugs and medical devices, decide to sue. Why? Well, for many it’s because of a misunderstanding. Even though a prescription drug like Yaz may have ruined their life, they choose not to sue because they like their doctor and don’t want them getting in trouble.

What the victims don’t realize is that lawsuits for prescription and medical device side effects don’t hurt the doctor. Doctors are protected by something called “informed consent.” These types of lawsuits only go after Big Pharma, and in most cases, these companies pre-bill for the anticipated settlements by charging Americans outrages prices for their medications. 

Big Pharma is getting rich off of drugs that they know can seriously hurt people. In an effort to profit, these companies will downplay the risk of side effects, or even hide the risks altogether.  This is why they prefer to settle such cases out of court.  Innocent people are dying at the hands of Big Pharma, and that is why many Americans are fighting back.

The victims of Yaz, Lipitor, Ocella, transvaginal mesh, Granuflo, and many other drugs have taken the fight to court. Using the power of mass tort lawsuits, these Americans have found a no-risk way to defend themselves. The attorneys they hire only get paid if a case is won, and even then the attorneys only take a small cut.

If you’ve suffered prescription side effect and want to see a list of on-going lawsuits, click here!

The post The Biggest Medical Myth appeared first on Citizens Report.

]]>
https://citizensreport.org/2014/05/16/the-biggest-medical-myth/feed/ 0