• kingshrubb@lemmy.ml
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    3 hours ago

    Horrible. A family member of mine needs a medication called Tolvaptan according to their doctor to prevent kidney failure due to a genetic disease.

    From drugs.com: “The cost for tolvaptan (15 mg oral tablet) is approximately $4,482 for a supply of 10 tablets, while the brand Jynarque can cost around $21,238 for a supply of 56 tablets, depending on the pharmacy. Prices may vary based on factors like location and insurance coverage.”

    15mg is the lowest dose of this medication too. Often the dose is 30mg or 45mg, up to 60mg max.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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      4 hours ago

      Probably the best part of the biden administration. But let’s be real, the oligarchs were making moves to replace her either way.

  • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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    19 hours ago

    When will we start holding these people accountable? It is easy to say “corporations are bad” and then sit on your hands. It’s different to start calling out the people who ultimately make the corporations evil.

    We have whole classes of people comfortable fucking people over – sometimes with deadly consequences.

    • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
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      37 minutes ago

      While I desperately want to believe that we have finally reached a tipping point where it becomes time to start investing in companies that make diagonal shaped blades, I’m resigned to the fact that no matter how angry we get, most of the hoi polloi is too lazy to care about it as long as they have the newest fun gadget in their hands and a bigger TV than last year.

    • Zink@programming.dev
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      6 hours ago

      “We” as in society, the government, and the legal system, will never hold them accountable.

      Shielding against personal responsibility and liability is one of the bedrock features of American corporations. Piercing the corporate veil is the rare exception and is seen as a big deal. And that’s because the veil protects rich people.

      “We” as in highly motivated individuals who may or may not have a plumbing company with their brother, seem the most likely to do something about it.

    • SmilingSolaris@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      People don’t make corporations evil. The system of economics makes evil corporations win. Until the system changes, nothing else can

    • Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 hours ago

      Well, the Law is supposed to protect us from Bad People, or so they and the powerful tell us again and again (and again, and again, and again).

      Of course, in reality as the Ju$tice System’s reaction to Luigi’s action compared to their reaction to abusive and even murderous actions done by those hidden behind UnitedHealth makes painfully obvious, the Law mostly protects powerful Bad People from our reaction to those people doing Bad Things.

  • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io
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    20 hours ago

    This shit is straight up evil, will the company be held accountable for their crimes? This is what our justice system is for. Based on what we know so far, more crimes would be bound to come out in an investigation.

      • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io
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        8 hours ago

        Did he though? The company is still doing all this shit and making tons of money.

        Sure, they publicly mourned him and condemned the killing, but they also went right back to business, making cash hand over fist with no pause or real consideration to what they are doing to their customers at all.

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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          3 hours ago

          Well if the public keeps hearing that they overcharged patients 1000% and that he was CEO during 51,000 denials for life saving health care it may get the jury to not prosecute. Which in turn would mean change your practices or it may be open season on Healthcare executives.

          I imagine overhauling their practices and publicly trying to show they are changing them may ensure he gets charged and then they would have to try to float back to ripping people off quietly.

          Odds he walks are slim, odds he walks and they don’t change their practices which leads to more executives deaths is higher from the outrage I’ve seen

    • Lon3star@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      The justice system that just allowed a convicted criminal to run out the clock on a heinous crime and become president

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Even if they’re held to account there just gonna Texas two step and declare bankruptcy.

      And then spin up another subsidiary and start over,

      • Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        I wish it wasn’t the case. "Corporations are people too should go both ways… Death penalty if you do evil enough crimes.

        • Zink@programming.dev
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          5 hours ago

          This should absolutely happen. And it’s not just because corporations bad. It’s because it would fix the process of risk analysis and decision making.

          It’s one thing to have an accident or run into unintended consequences of business decisions. Maybe some of those could carry the death penalty in extreme cases of negligence, but probably not the vast majority.

          But if the company spent decades lying and conspiring in order to make some money while destroying lives and killing people left and right? The government should seize all shares of the company (yes even the ones in our 401ks) overnight and detain the officers and directors of the company for the criminal investigation.

      • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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        3 hours ago

        That’s how leftists traditionally point out that the rule of law is often immoral and unfair. An important distinction and longstanding ideological point of disagreement.

        But when the law says one thing but the judges say another out of fear of political consequences, it’s not even legal system either. Which is what happened with Trump’s cases and is going to keep happening increasingly often especially with a strongly partisan SC.

        Americans need to understand that the rule of law is dead or dying and won’t save them. It does not matter anymore what the law says, the fascists and oligarchs control all three branches of federal government and are open about the fact that they’ll drop all pretense of political neutrality or independence. The judicial branch won’t stop the executive from violating your rights and vice-versa. The only counterpowers are the states and the people, to the extent that they give a shit (election says about 3/4 of Americans do not give a shit or actively support fascism). It’s not a legal system anymore. It does not matter that the law is on your side when your enemy makes regular “campaign contributions” to the rulers.

        • Machinist@lemmy.world
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          16 hours ago

          That system seems to be malfunctioning severely. Bypassing that system has physical risks to the user and should not be attempted lightly.

    • datavoid@lemmy.ml
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      19 hours ago

      From where I’m sitting, the justice system seems to be more interested in investigating poor individuals than rich companies. I can’t think of many modern examples of rich companies (or even people) being held accountable for something that didn’t involve stealing from other rich people.

      • krashmo@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        There’s examples but they aren’t proportional. Oh, a company with 3 billion in revenue poisoned the water supply for a whole county? Let’s fine them $10 million.

        That definitely teaches them a lesson about consequences, except the lesson is that they don’t matter.

    • Vertelleus@sh.itjust.works
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      19 hours ago

      US Government: Best I can do is a slap on the wrist to the tune of about 0.0000001% of their yearly profits and a hardy, “don’t do that.”

        • JoeyHarrington@lemmy.ca
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          19 hours ago

          Because it’s a stupid, non standard way to say it. I understood it fine but I still thought it was a needless abbreviation.

          • morbidcactus@lemmy.ca
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            4 hours ago

            Formatting of the number changes the way people interpret it. Which looks larger from a quick glance 1k or 1,000? You’re 1h% correct, it’s totally needless, makes it less clear and honestly was probably done intentionally.

          • P1nkman@lemmy.world
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            16 hours ago

            K = kilo, which stands for 1000. It’s extremely standard. Saying it’s stupid is like saying $ or π or & or # or % is stupid.

              • Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                5 hours ago

                It’s literally the stupidest possible way to write it

                Nah.

                For example:

                “UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000,000,000μ%”

                would be even more stupid and I’m sure using something else than base-10 would yield its very own class of stupid.

                Stupidity is probably boundless.

              • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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                18 hours ago

                Okay. I don’t typically get that caught up in the formatting of a number if the meaning is clear. 1k means 1000 in basically every context, and a unit indicator doesn’t make it more confusing to me. Are you likewise baffled by something being written as “1km”?

                • jeffw@lemmy.worldM
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                  4 hours ago

                  I have literally never seen k used in percentages before. Km is common, as is using it if you’re writing out LARGE numerical values (10k or above).

                  I’m not saying it’s difficult to understand. I’m saying it looks stupid.

      • workerONE@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        Yeah 1000% is 10x but they were charged 11x what they should have paid. Overcharged by (over) 10x.

      • Hawke@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        11 times what they should have paid unless you think that “overcharging by 100%” would be charging exactly the right price or if you feel that all medication should be free somewhat cheaper. Or more expensive. Whichever way the math works for that.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
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    19 hours ago

    So people are going to jail over this and proper hard measures are going to be taken to address the obvious imbalance of power that allows companies like this to do this over and over again right? They’re not just going to give the company another slap on the wrist fine that won’t even cover how much money they’ve stolen from people, leaving them still making a profit for doing this and leaving the door wide open for more abuse like that to happen over and over again, right?

    Right?

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    16 hours ago

    UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson

    Not quite correct sort of. This is OptumRx, which is owned by United Health Group, which also owns United Health Care, which Brian Thompson was nominally the CEO of. In other words, this is like the sibling of the company Brian Thompson ran.

    To be clear, Brian Thmpson wasn’t a billionaire, he was a mid-level at best millionaire worth only $41 million. He was just another star-bellied prole who thought he was in the aristocracy.

    Point being, the whole thing is stupid. The health care system, the people getting rich off it, Luigi’s reaction to it, our reactions to it, the media’s reporting on it, all of it.

    • rektdeckard@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      What part about our reaction, or Luigi’s, is stupid? Is it maybe, just maybe, totally justifiable anger?

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      As many people here can tell you, I am not cheering on the idea of assassinating CEOs as a way of making systemic change because I simply do not think it will work.

      That said, I 100% sympathize with Luigi Mangione and I 100% understand exactly why he did what he did. He was driven to the breaking point by a heartless company that, like all healthcare companies and, in fact, all for-profit companies in America that put their profits over human health and life.

      He was desperate and driven to the brink of madness by the system that should have been helping him. Of course he did what he did. I’m honestly amazed someone hadn’t done it sooner.

      I still don’t think it will solve a damn thing, and neither will killing a half dozen more healthcare CEOs if that happens, but I will totally understand if it happens again and likely sympathize with the killer.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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      16 hours ago

      What are you trying to say? That you could do a better job then Luigi?

      Brian Thompson was accessible and his location was known. Probably why Luigi allegedly went after him.