"Holy shit that's a nasty surprise. There are things you expect to cost $500, like a Nintendo Switch, or tix to see Ed Sheeran 2 weeks ago 👀... being able to breathe is not one of them."

22-year-old with severe asthma who showed up at a pharmacy with a prescription for an Advair discus inhaler. Then this happened. His dad had insurance through his employer. What he didn't know, his parents said, was that his plan changed its list of covered drugs. The preventative Advair discus inhaler he had used for years, cost Cole no more than $66.86. Suddenly, it's $539.19. John Oliver on our broken health care system, people unnecessarily. #MedicareForAllNOW. He said, 'Cole, call them minutes after leaving Walgreens.' A roommate drove Cole to the hospital. The roommate drove Cole to the hospital, but Cole was unconscious by the time they got there. He died days later. He couldn't get his Advair that night. We were told by his roommate that it was over $500. He had to make a decision that night, pay that exorbitant price for his medicine or other bills. What I thought, without it, is absolutely tragedy. And it was completely preventable. This is the richest country in the world. And yet, for some reason, our current health system still forces people to walk away from medicine that will literally keep them alive because they can't fucking afford it. Apparently, they're cheaper now. I have no idea why. But being able to breathe is not one of them. Fortuitously, Optum Rx, even later admitted that it replaced that on its coverage list, not for medical reason, but based on rebates their manufacturers agreed to pay. Based on rebates their manufacturers agreed to pay. Let his father pick up the story from there. He says, 'Cole, call them minutes after leaving Walgreens.' A roommate drove Cole to the hospital. The roommate drove Cole to the hospital, but Cole was unconscious by the time they got there. He died days later. He couldn't get his Advair that night. We were told by his roommate that it was over $500. He had to make a decision that night, pay that exorbitant price for his medicine or other bills. What I thought, without it, is absolutely tragedy. And it was completely preventable. This is the richest country in the world. And yet, for some reason, our current health system still forces people to walk away from medicine that will literally keep them alive because they can't fucking afford it. Every body but them wants it to work very differently. Because right now, companies like United exist. They are at best, pointless time wasting, and at worst, algorithmically driven, ruthless arbiters of who lives and who dies. May they have explosive diarrhea, not just tonight, but every night. Exactly.