Capitalism at its best ….. or worst
It has just been brought to my attention that the makers of insulin pumps are perpetrating an enormous scam on people suffering from diabetes and the U.S. government is turning a blind eye to it.
Here is how the scam works. The most popular insulin pumps and initial supplies, including tubing, syringes, cartridges, and dressings, cost more than $5,000. But the insulin pump makers like Animas, Accu-Check, Asante, Medtronic and others are not selling pumps, they are selling four-year warranties.
At the end of four years, the pump maker will notify the pump owner that he will have to buy another insulin pump. If anything goes wrong with the pump, they will not repair it, even if the owner is willing to pay for any repairs. It’s buy another pump or you do not have a pump.
Now that’s the same as if you bought a new Chevy and GM says that at the end of the warranty you have to buy another Chevy because they will not repair your car even if you will pay for the repairs. Of course, GM cannot do this because there are plenty of independent car repair shops that will do the work for you.
Unfortunately for the insulin pump owners, there are few, if any, independent insulin pump repair shops to be found.
If this is not an enormous scam, I’ll eat my John Deere cap. This is capitalism as its best for the manufacturer, but at its worst for the consumer. Uncle Sam, where the fuck are you?
1 comment:
And of course the doctors who do the installation work are not going to complain too loudly, are they?
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