
Chopper
Certifiably Surly-
Posts
7700 -
Joined
-
Days Won
4
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Downloads
Recruiting - 2020
2019-2020 Football Season
Football
Entertainment
Sports
News and Business
Cloak Room
Transfer Portal
Recruiting
Events
Everything posted by Chopper
-
Things continue to slide for Trump's wannabe Attorney General, the noted magatard, rapist, sex trafficker and property of Putin, Matt Gaetz.
-
The bar itself has to still be around somewhere, I would think. My neighbor purchased something similar in Chicago where she used it in her basement. When she moved to CO, she designed her house around using it as a kitchen counter, and cut off a portion to use in her laundry room. It's awesome.
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
It's frustrating and distressing because it happened so quickly to my (somewhat mild) near-sightedness that I thought I was losing my mind just on the short drive home from the hospital. Also I had ordered new frames and lenses before I started with HOC and I can't even use 'em so I have no idea if they're even correct. Fortunately Fort Collins is small and I rarely have to drive more than a couple of miles. Before I started using the HOC I didn't need reading glasses but about a week ago my far-sightedness got worse. Tomorrow is my last day of using the HOC for at least 3 and a half weeks so we'll see if my eyesight returns to base. Apparently the therapy can "temporarily" change the shape of the eye lens. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
Temporary blurry vision is a common side effect. -
Also The Spy is lit. Sacha Baron Cohen in a real acting role.
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
If you're familiar with what a hyperbaric oxygen chamber can do to a person's eyesight, hopefully temporarily, you'll understand when I tell you I cannot get the essentials of that full chart on my computer screen in a way that it's readable to me. It's too wide. -
2 other excellent gangster shows that came to mind are Mr Inbetween and Boardwalk Empire. I also enjoyed Magic City but it was canceled after only 2 seasons, and I can't recall exactly how much action- or suspense-packed it is.
-
There's both a US movie and a BBC special series. The BBC version is 7 episodes, stars Alec Guinness, and is superb. The movie is good but bad editing makes it a bit confusing. MI5, known as Spooks in the UK. Whitechapel, which is about MI6. Both of those are multi-season tv series. Smiley's People A Spy Among Friends Line of Duty - an excellent brit series about a police internal crimes unit that deals with nefarious crimes and is extremely well-written and produced. Not as highly produced as Slow Horses but definitely more realistic. Little Drummer Girl Tehran Homeland The Americans McMafia Burn Notice Deutschland 83, Deutschland 85 and Deutschland 87. Killing Eve
-
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes near Kazakhstan's Aktau Airport
Chopper replied to RPM's topic in Food and Travel
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
The EBITDA in the pharma industry is 32% higher than the average of the S&P 500, and their profit margin (both gross and operating) is nearly double that of the S&P 500, thanks to the monopolization advantages to which they're gifted. Clearly they're doing alright without government subsidies (not counting their COVID subsidies). What society needs from them is to serve a public purpose but given their significant profit margins, they're gouging the fuck out of us. From one of the NIH studies I believe I linked above. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7054843/ Gross Profit Margin: Pharmaceutical companies have a significantly higher gross profit margin (70.3%) compared to the S&P 500 companies (37.4%) EBITDA Margin: Pharmaceutical companies have a higher EBITDA margin (25.2%) compared to the S&P 500 companies (19.0%) Net Income Margin: Pharmaceutical companies have a higher net income margin (10.2%) compared to the S&P 500 companies (7.7%) (Table 3). Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: Pharmaceutical companies dedicate a larger percentage of their revenue to R&D expenses (17%) compared to other industries (average R&D expenses as a percentage of revenue range from 2% to 10% for various industries) (Table 4). Marketing and Sales Expenses: Pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing and sales expenses (18-22 billion USD) compared to R&D expenses (8-12 billion USD) for some of the largest pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Bayer, Johnson & Johnson) (AHIP analysis). Operating Expenses: Pharmaceutical companies have higher operating expenses (selling, general, and administrative expenses) compared to other industries, with some companies allocating over 30% of their revenue to these expenses (AHIP analysis). Profitability: Pharmaceutical companies are generally more profitable than other industries, with an average operating profit margin of 23.1% compared to 12.1% for the S&P 500 companies (Table 4). My recollection is that I asked him the question you quoted because patent thickets were a key part of a topic in 2 prior posts of mine to which he responded but didn't address the topic of patent thickets. Also how the fuck am I to be expected to know what he does for a living? Logically it makes zero sense to me that multiple studies by the federal government and higher education over the past several years including by USCPB, the NIH, HHS, GAO and UCSD have pointed to the same problems with pharma patents, including a high rate of patent abuse. But hey a poster on Surly who apparently works for pharma is convinced about the correctness of his own arguments, which (unless I'm reading between the lines incorrectly which is certainly more than possible) seem quite likely to benefit him financially. -
I've been waiting roughly a couple years so far too, feel the same. The Kyiv Independent has an article up:
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
and why would they divide pharmaceuticals into 2 categories? That just alters the overall numbers for the sector. fwiw here's a study published in JAMA that found no link between high drug prices and R&D expenses https://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.18623 -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
So there's little or no patent abuse by pharma and their monopolies shouldn't really bother us...do I correctly understand what you're saying? Here's an NIH study. It's a few years old and the data is only through 2018, but pharma profitability has only increased since then. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7054843/ Here's another NIH study, this one's from 2020 and here's their recommendations for reform from 4 years ago https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7311400/ -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
It might only be 2 or 3. I had to leave and forgot to leave the link though. https://archive.is/HV3K7 -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
Well then you know the point isn't necessarily the date they expire. It's the barrier that having to litigate over potentially 80 or more patents for one medication presents to potential competitors. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
I don't think I even implied they do, let alone stated it as a truth. In the example you quoted doctors weren't even a part of it. The discussion about price variations came about because of the way health insurers, their PBMs, and pharmaceutical companies conspire to gouge consumers. edit to add - the example I used of 10 different people at the pharmacy for the same med was specific to illustrate the lack of transparency. Most people won't know how much their medication will cost until after the pharmacy fulfills it. That's why it's good to know about GoodRX but it comes with some negatives to the individual and huge positives to the insurer. Depending on your plan and the med, GoodRX may be lower than your co-pay amount, but Cuban's pharmacy is usually less expensive than GoodRX if a patient has the time to deal with it. -
A couple months ago I ordered Snow's using their shipping service. Didn't get the chance to consume it 'til tonight. Served with homemade sides of winter slaw, mac and cheese, and maple bacon baked beans. We used the sous vide to heat it, didn't bother to crisp it before serving. Excellent. Still have another whole brisket and a sausage link in the freezer for January.
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
Certainly. But you may not be aware that patent thickets, mentioned in a post above, have replaced the direct application for an extension - the improvements are still just as illusory and bogus, they're just using a circuitous route to obtain patent extensions. I-Mak, an organization that works for patent reform and healthcare equity, put out this report in 2022 (pdf) https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Overpatented-Overpriced-2022-FINAL.pdf Each medication will have multiple dozens of patents. The top-sellers in 2022 had an average of 74 patents on it - for just one medication. 2/3 of the patents were filed for AFTER the med was on the market. That's a patent thicket. Those companies are desperate to protect the huge revenue streams that exist because of their monopolies. We're talking $24 million per day of revenue. In Europe, where the laws are much more consumer friendly, patent thickets are not as prevalent and as a result of that, they have more generic medications on the market competing with the most popular medications. Also, if you're a company that's about to come out with a generic version of any medication that's been on-patent, especially in the US, get ready to be sued for hundreds of millions of dollars. It's a huge impediment to market and huge cost of doing business, because pharma co's has been stuffing their pockets for years off monopolistic prices, and can pay endless litigation. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
But yes of course the pharmaceutical co is going to try to extend their patent. Typically based on an illusory improvement in the medication. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
If there are 10 different people in line at a pharmacy each with a script for the same medication, all 10 will pay a different price depending on their insurer and their particular plan. It's worse than airlines because there's zero transparency. We haven't even touched on the evil-ness of the drug formulary scam. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
-
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
Eh I am certainly a prick but today the MIL is at my house and well... -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
GoodRX is built off the symptoms of a highly dysfunctional pharmacy/insurer system. The problem with it from the insured's side is that you're not able to use the insurance you're paying $5k a year for, and the money you spend doesn't count toward your deductible or OOP. A minor cost for an individual perhaps but it adds up for the insurers. My thoughts on this are, first, 20 years is a helluva long time and second, that pharmaceutical companies are using other schemes to allow them to extend patents - terminal disclaimers or patent thickets they're called. The FTC just withdrew a proposed rule that would've done something about those but -- to heavily summarize and editorialize -- realized it was pointless given the political/Supreme Court situation. -
CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York
Chopper replied to Bevo's topic in Daily Texan
There are multiple enormous scams going on between insurers and pharmaceutical companies. In one such scam the insurers own the pharmacy benefit managers. In many cases the prices FOR GENERICS your insurer will charge are multiple times higher than Mark Cuban's store. The only way to get a 3 months supply in most cases is to go through the PBM. If you want your med through a local pharm, it'll be the same high price and you'll have to go every month. In another scam, the pharmaceutical company will offer a coupon for those high-priced, name brand medications you mention, then behind the scenes the pharma company and the insurer make their own deals with money changing hands that doesn't even show up on your insurance out of pocket. But employers and insureds are paying for their scam. Another scam is when pharma makes a meaningless tweak to one of their patented meds and are thereby able to extend their patent and monopoly on a product. It's touching that you're concerned about the profits of both big pharma and insurance companies but they are busy fucking you and the rest of us over every day 24x7.
Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!