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Okay, so @carterforva is without question my pick for the Virginia governor primary and I'll be carving out some time to volunteer for the campaign.
Let's talk Del. Carter and insulin since this is making the rounds on diabetes twitter right now. Big thread here.
Let's talk Del. Carter and insulin since this is making the rounds on diabetes twitter right now. Big thread here.
Carter introduced a co-pay cap on insulin in Virginia to cap co-pays to $50. It passed. We know that Virginia doesn't have jurisdiction to regulate most insurance plans. As such, this co-pay cap impacts approx. 23% of plans in the state. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AG5XsDtEpIM6Q5Thhld5hFdhTP_fykqJu8_JXWObcjg/edit#gid=0
Like every other politician that has done one of these bills, Carter's messaging on this bill has never been great.
- its absolutely not a price cap on insulin
- outlining who the plan actually impacts is of dire importance when people are budgeting literally for their lives
- its absolutely not a price cap on insulin
- outlining who the plan actually impacts is of dire importance when people are budgeting literally for their lives
And, it's not as simple as it applying to private insurance either when ~60% of private insurance is regulated at the federal level under ERISA (self-funded employer plans). If you work for a large company, you probably have a self-funded plan!
These nuances are incredibly important & need to come from the politicians themselves. Why are they important? Again, we're budgeting for our lives here. If someone is expecting to pay $50 for their insulin and get hit full price with their deductible... What will they do? Die?
It's not like this shit is intuitive. Most people don't understand the basics of how their insurance plan works. And, a lot of the state senators introducing these bills didn't know either and my work educated them. Our insurance system in this country is incredibly fractured.
The media is doing the most damage. This was the latest article that made me scream the other night. @PWCtimes should fix this headline immediately and add clarification.
Carter's estimate about tens of thousands impacted matches mine at least. https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/news/new-virginia-law-capping-insulin-prices-at-50-a-month-goes-into-effect-friday/article_cc1ea210-4a26-11eb-9ca2-dbcea0627c72.html
Carter's estimate about tens of thousands impacted matches mine at least. https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/news/new-virginia-law-capping-insulin-prices-at-50-a-month-goes-into-effect-friday/article_cc1ea210-4a26-11eb-9ca2-dbcea0627c72.html
But, it's confusing that Carter mentioned Medicare enrollees in here, because, without secondary, private coverage, this isn't going to impact Medicare.
It also won't help "anyone on private insurance" because of the ERISA problem. He needs to get this nuance right!
It also won't help "anyone on private insurance" because of the ERISA problem. He needs to get this nuance right!
The co-pay cap being introduced by Carter felt off brand. (I actually used it to convince people he wasn't "too socialist" when I was canvassing for him.)
Because, it is a pharma-approved American Diabetes Association bill. Can't ignore that. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/states-are-trying-cap-price-insulin-pharmaceutical-companies-are-pushing-n1236766
Because, it is a pharma-approved American Diabetes Association bill. Can't ignore that. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/states-are-trying-cap-price-insulin-pharmaceutical-companies-are-pushing-n1236766
To me, this shows a lack of knowledge from him around how patient advocacy organizations work and their role in exploiting patients.
Coupled with needing better, more honest messaging, I 100% understand why other diabetes advocates feel disappointed by Carter.
Coupled with needing better, more honest messaging, I 100% understand why other diabetes advocates feel disappointed by Carter.
But, I don't buy that he is exploiting us. The insulin co-pay cap is one of his biggest legislative accomplishments. I feel like the difference between him and other legislators who did this is his huge platform and political ambitions.
Between the platform and insulin being a buzz topic to politically minded non-diabetics, there is a huge a problem with political stans.
@Kidfears99 is 100% right that the dem socialists are no better than the MAGA twats who rallied around Trump. https://twitter.com/Kidfears99/status/1345285747973230593
@Kidfears99 is 100% right that the dem socialists are no better than the MAGA twats who rallied around Trump. https://twitter.com/Kidfears99/status/1345285747973230593
We saw this with Bernie. It was a lot of "people are rationing insulin and dying" as a retort against other candidates. It was this idea that Bernie was just going to hand out free insulin, lol. It sucked but Bernie was still our best chance at transformative insulin legislation.
Same thing with @carterforva. I'm ultimately going to vote for him in the primary and volunteer my efforts because he is our best chance at transformative insulin legislation in Virginia among other wonderful things I also want for our state.
