Posted on 03/13/2020 7:44:36 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) points out how much coronavirus testing could cost the average American and that the administration has the power to make it free.
(snip)
PORTER: Great, so you are familiar. Dr. Redfield will you commit to the CDC right now using that existing authority to pay for diagnostic testing free to every American regardless of insurance?REDFIELD: Well, I can say that we are going to do everything to make sure everybody can get the care they need.
PORTER: Nope, not good enough. Reclaiming my time. Dr. Redfield you have the existing authority. Will you commit right now to using the authority that you have invested in you under law that provides in a public health emergency for testing, treatment, exam, isolation without cost? Yes or no?
REDFIELD: What I am going to say is I'm going to review it in detail with CDC and the department--
(snip)
REDFIELD: What I was trying to say is that CDC is working with HHS now to see how we operationalize that.
PORTER: Dr. Redfield I hope that that answer weighs heavily on you because it is going to weigh very heavily on me and on every American family.
REDFIELD: Our intent is to make sure every American gets the care and treatment they need at this time of this major epidemic and I'm currently working with HHS to see how the best operationalize it.
PORTER: Dr. Redfield you don't need to do any work to operationalize. You need to make a commitment to the American people so they come in to get tested. You can operationalize the payment structure tomorrow.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
ALL THINGS could be free, AND anything to score cheap points politically.
it should not cost that much to make a kit, the latest test in taiwan is free and only takes 15 minutes , similar to south korea’s drive thru.
i believe with time, the test kit will get cheaper.
they may have also figure the cost of analysts here too
All Americans do not need to be tested.
Yeah? Make it free and the price will suddenly go up to $2660. And then $3990. And then, say, have you ever even heard of The Law of Supply and Demand, Katie?
Maybe they can perform cancer screenings, pap smears, cholesterol screening, check heart, liver, and kidney functions, and perform abortions, all at the same time and all for free when these patients come in? After all its the underlying health conditions that are talking these people out.../s
The test costs a few dollars, only by bundling in an ER visit can they make it seem more expensive than it is.
Yo, Katie, how are the manufacturers going to be able to pay their employees if they don’t charge anything for their product?
Grandstanding publicity whore!
Nothing is ‘free’.
The technicians don’t work for free.
The reagents are not free.
The equipment, also not free.
The buildings that house the technicians, reagents and equipment, DEFINITELY not free.
etc.
What a moron she is.
What she MEANS is taxpayers will pay.
Unless she works for zero dollars and has no pension contributions or healthcare paid for by the REST of us?
What’s the protocol for treating this coronavirus vs treating the common cold, which is also a coronavirus??
Why test? Do we test for the common cold? Sometime maybe the flu, but it’s not necessary since there are no specific drugs to be taken for either. In each case, the symptoms are simply treated.
it should not cost that much to make a kit, the latest test in taiwan is free and only takes 15 minutes , similar to south korea’s drive thru
........
Yeah but Korea doesn’t have democrats. ....and republicans. ...
Porter destroyed Robert Redford.
He pointed out that the FDA is not allowing NY to license NY labs to do CV tests. Trump needs to start firing people at the FDA starting apparently with the commissioner.
Good point. A test is a diagnostic tool, not a cure. It might provide some benefit to know whether you have it, but it’s not like that alone is going to make you feel any better. What good does it do to hear the shot that kills you?
I like it...keeping it real, telling it like it is.
Katie,
How much of your re-election campaign funds will you use to ensure the people of the district you represent get tested?
” What good does it do to hear the shot that kills you?”
Yep.
“He’s been shot!”
“By what? We can’t treat him until we know the caliber of the gun that shot him!”
I wonder why that test in Taiwan is free.
How difficult can this be? My daughter went to urgent care for a bad TMJ attack yet they swabbed her nasal passages and tested her for flu. Five minutes later Negative. When she asked why the doc said they do it to every patient in flu season. Once they got the dna and genome sequence with covid 19 the tests should have followed immediately.
Excellent post! More Americans need to understand that free is not free.
But if Porter is soo concerned- she can work for free.
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