# Fuck Your Business Model, Doctor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 20, 2025, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010 "2025-11-20T09:02:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/61 "2025-11-28T17:05:04Z")
The one and only time I did not have to wait in the ER or see the bill payment people was when I staggered into the ER at Chicago’s Northwestern Hospital during an episode of anaphylaxis. Hell they didn’t even ask my name - as soon as the triage nurse realized what was going on she must have signaled someone because two guys bodily picked me up, dumped me a on a gurney, and _ran_ me back into a treatment bay. NOT having to wait in the ER is a Very Bad Sign. If they jumped you to the front of the line you’re in a very bad situation. Other than that, though - yeah, it sucks to have to dicker about payment before you see the doc. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/62 "2025-11-28T17:27:19Z")
Nearly a year ago, I visited my GP about the pains in my legs. She examined me and sent me to the nurse, who collected an armful of blood for tests. Three days later, the GP phoned me and said she was referring me to a haematology consultant. A week later, I went to the phlebomist at my local hospital to empty the other arm, and the following day, I had a long consultation with the consultant, who told me \i had multiple myeloma. (Why is it always plural?) The treatment is a load of assorted pills and a weekly injection in the stomach, which has since been reduced to monthly. This is administered in a specialist cancer unit where the staff seem to be chosen for their friendly and helpful attitude. The good news is that although there is no cure, this has stopped any deterioration. I have to get a blood test two days before each visit, and for my convenience, a district nurse calls at my home to take it. What will annoy you USians, is that at no point whatsoever has anyone asked for money or “proof of insurance”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/63 "2025-11-28T19:15:48Z")
Aside: > [@bob\_2](#): > > multiple myeloma. (Why is it always plural?) My husband was recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and I’ve done a moderate amount of research. It’s possible for it to not be multiple when it’s diagnosed, but very rare. At least in the US, they often just say “myeloma” now, however. Oh, and we’ve heard a _lot_ about insurance. Two of the drugs used to treat it are in the list of grossly overpriced drugs. Lenalidomide/Revlomid: > **[The Price of Remission: This Cancer Drug Saves Lives — but Costs a Fortune. I...](https://www.propublica.org/article/revlimid-price-cancer-celgene-drugs-fda-multiple-myeloma)** > > When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked even me. But Revlimid is also, I soon learned, extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each daily pill. (Although, I later discovered, a capsule costs just 25 cents to make.) Or from Wikipedia: > Since its approval, Revlimid cost has increased 26 times.[[35]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenalidomide#cite_note-:0-35) According to a deposition by a Celgene executive, marked as highly confidential, the manufacturing cost of each Revlimid pill has remained approximately $0.25 throughout this period.[[37]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenalidomide#cite_note-ProPublica-37) Celgene claimed its patent protected Revlimid until 2027, and has engaged in several practices to prevent other manufacturers from producing a generic version of the drug, including refusing to sell the drug to other drug makers for testing purposes.[[35]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenalidomide#cite_note-:0-35). Also daratumumab, but I’ve lost the article about it. Maybe I’ll find it later. But it, too, has had enormous price increases basically just because the market will bear the cost. This is the pit, right? Fuck the blood-sucking pharmaceutical industry. > **[Patents over Patients: How Pharmaceutical Companies use the Patent System to...](https://jolt.richmond.edu/2023/11/27/patents-over-patients-how-pharmaceutical-companies-use-the-patent-system-to-keep-drug-costs-high/)** > > Patents over Patients: How Pharmaceutical Companies use the Patent System to Keep Drug Costs High By Kaitlin Carroll The United States is in a drug-pricing crisis.\[1\] One in four Americans report t… ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/64 "2025-11-28T22:16:25Z")
I take Lenalidomide for 21 days and then 7 off. Daratumumab (called Darzalex here) is my monthly injection. I send a nod of thanks to the post-WW2 government and Aneurin Bevan every time. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/65 "2025-11-28T22:32:22Z")
That’s where i hope my husband’s treatment ends up. He’s currently on 4 drugs, those plus dexamethasone and Bortezomib (Velcade). He’s also on lenalidomide 21 days out of 28, but gets the other three weekly. I’ve read that the main reason the US didn’t continue on the universal medicine route it started with Medicaid is that then white people would have to be treated in the same hospitals as black people. Yes, racism is why we can’t have nice things. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/66 "2025-11-28T22:49:58Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The biggest problem for me with the situation as described is that they had trapped OP into coming in without knowing the terms of business. But isn’t that the standard, and hence a problem with controlling medical costs? Whn does anyone get a menu of medical services with costs? It’s all, “We decide what treatment you get and then hide the costs from you until billing.” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/67 "2025-11-28T23:13:37Z")
By “the terms of business” I was referring to that policy about which the OP was complaining, being required to submit payment up front, not to mention asking for references etc. To your point, I agree completely, since (as with prescriptions) everyone gets a different cost based on what insurance they do or don’t have. But this wasn’t the topic of the OP. BTW, on the issue of SSN and a lot of other stuff being asked for on forms, my husband went to a new specialist this week, and there were pages of stuff asked for, including SSN, and pages of signatures to acknowledge compliance with various laws and policies. I left off a lot of information which I didn’t have, including the SSN, and when I handed in the paperwork, the clerk just leafed quickly through it to make sure all the necessary signatures were there. So they will just get along without the information we didn’t provide. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/68 "2025-11-29T00:29:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ve read that the main reason the US didn’t continue on the universal medicine route it started with Medicaid is that then white people would have to be treated in the same hospitals as black people. Yes, racism is why we can’t have nice things. That’s the whole story in 2 sentences. We need to deport 100% of racists _or_ 100% of Blacks. Then, and only then, can we have nice things. I choose the racists for deportation (preferably to the open ocean) and the blacks for retention. That’ll make a _much_ better society than we have today. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/69 "2025-11-29T09:53:56Z")
They irony is that all the White racists STILL wound up treated in the same hospitals as Black people. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/70 "2025-11-29T11:45:17Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > For some reason I’m thinking of the neurologist I went to see once who required me to sign a document stating that I understood that because of Democrats and their horrible policies, my medical expenses would be higher. Utterly insane, that– I’ll lay you 50-1 odds that neurologist had a waiting room where FOX “News” was on full-blast all the time. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/71 "2025-11-30T06:24:11Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > […] I had a long consultation with the consultant, who told me \i had multiple myeloma. (Why is it always plural?) It’s like how it is with MS: **“Multiple Sclerosis— because sometimes a _single_ sclerosis just isn’t enough!”** ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/72 "2025-11-30T06:29:21Z")
The Scelrosi Family Reunion ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/73 "2025-12-03T10:30:47Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I had a long consultation with the consultant, who told me \i had multiple myeloma. (Why is it always plural?) It’s called that because the disease affects multiple areas of the body, and is not limited to just one area. Here’s more on it: > **[Multiple myeloma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_myeloma)** > > Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, anemia, renal insufficiency, and infections may occur. Complications may include hypercalcemia and amyloidosis. > The cause of multiple myeloma is unknown. Risk factors include obesity, radiation exposure, family history, age and certain chemicals. There is an... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010/74 "2025-12-04T05:49:03Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > It’s like how it is with MS: > > **“Multiple Sclerosis— because sometimes a _single_ sclerosis just isn’t enough!”** This one makes sense to me. It takes multiple recurring scars on the myelin sheath before you would have symptoms. A single event (which is what I had) doesn’t count. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-your-business-model-doctor/1025010.md?page=3)