Two TikTokers From The US And Brazil Compare Insulin Prices And The Difference Is Surprising
By this point, it is no secret just how drastically (insanely?) different medical bills can be when comparing the US and many other countries. This is a huge problem for those seeking certain medical services or medication, but not being able to afford them, which very quickly becomes a matter of life or death in some cases.
TikToker Sarah Vieira has recently shared a video where she dueted with another TikToker @iamchloe.com to compare the cost of insulin in the US and her own country, Brazil, which drew the attention of many internauts.
TikTokers recently dueted to show the drastic difference in the cost of insulin for a person
@sarahmva##dueto com @@iamchloe.com Hoje sou eu mas amanhã pode ser você. ##DefendaSUS ##fyp♬ Childish Gambino – This Is America / Post Malone – Congratulations – carneyval
So, a duet video has been drawing everyone’s attention lately. For those unaware, a duet is a TikTok feature where videos from individual people are put side by side, kind of like a collab. It showcases two separate videos that feature the same visual structure and plot, but differ in their message.
The video starts off by showing some insulin pens with the caption “these are my insulin pens” in Portuguese and English, and then transitioning into showing two young ladies who “need them to live.”
TikToker Sarah Vieira posted a video in duet format where she compares how much insulin costs in Brazil and the US
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
The video she dueted with was by @IAmChloe.com
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
Then they show an individual insulin pen, but this is where it starts to differ a bit: the one owned by Sarah has the caption “lasts 7 days” and the cost indicated is “R$0.00,” whereas the video on the right features Chloe’s insulin pen, also for 7 days, and it costs $168. Yes, you read that right.
And it doesn’t end there. Another frame features different insulin pens, ones that last for 10 days, and Sarah’s, again, is a zero-cost one, while Chloe’s costs $134. And then it transitions into both showing a few months’ worth of pens. Again, Sarah’s pens cost her absolutely zero. Chloe’s, on the other hand, amounted to over $15,000. Mind you, they need them to live.
Since Brazil has a universal healthcare system, it costs nothing for Sarah
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
This isn’t the case for Chloe as there is no insulin compensation system in the US
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
The video concludes with both girls showing their medication stashes and the captions “I am privileged enough to live in a country that has a Unified Health System (UHS)” versus “I am privileged enough to be able to afford my disease.”
The last frames also include Sarah captioning “Defend the UHS” and Chloe’s video saying “Not everyone is so lucky.” The former is a reference to plans to reverse 30 years of progress in the healthcare system with the recent austerity measures and new policies brought about by the Brazilian government.
And the costs rack up quickly as diabetes isn’t something that goes away after a few shots
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
And this is the case in a number of countries. If the governments of these countries don’t compensate insulin shots in full, they at least make it super affordable. In context, the average price per standard insulin unit in Australia is $6.94, $12 in Canada, $9.08 in France, $11 in Germany, and $14.40 in Japan. And then there’s the US that clocks in at $98.70 in the same statistics. That’s, on average, 10 times more than most other countries, which begs for a healthcare system reform in the US.
The video soon went viral on Twitter, garnering over 3.2 million views with over 79,000 likes and almost 28,000 retweets. The video was also shared by one other user, getting another 45,000 likes and 22,500 retweets.
Due to recent developments that may negatively affect the Brazilian health system, Sarah made this “what could be” video in defense of it
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below!
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Someone needs to find a way to make Americans understand the difference between socialism and communism.
Hear, hear! Socialism is not a four-letter word. Plenty of concepts in American government are socialist in nature. The fire department is a socialist institution. You have no choice but to pay into it, because the service exists to protect all residents! Can you imagine having to voluntarily subscribe to fire protection, and they just wouldn't show up if you hadn't paid?
Load More Replies...
It is so universally unfair, what the citizens of the USA, have to pay for medication that must be taken to be able to live! Big pharma price gouging in the states, is pure evil money making scams. Even if you have a good insurance, you still have tiers for copays! Some of those are unreal also! This needs to change! I hope it changes under Biden.
It won't change. US citizens don't want it to change. They think a universal health service is Communism and that it's totally normal to risk bankruptcy for a medical emergency.
Load More Replies...
Insurance and drug companies in the United States have so much power. I don't understand how this is allowed. It is just not right.
This is about the 10 000th post I saw about the American Healthcare system. It's on all the social media. Everyone is saying the same: "It's so unfair and inhumane". And yes. it is. But on the other hand, it's a system that the Americans chose and supported whole heartedly. As long as the majority of Americans still think that any arrangement that's beneficial to everyone in their society is "SOCIALIST", it's not going to change. And that's what the companies love about the Americans. Just tell them that something is socialist and the Americans will be against it. That's how they managed to make healthcare a for profit business instead of a service that is by law available to everyone.
You'll find that people like the Koch brothers have invested a loooot of money to convince people of the idea “socialist=end of world“.
Load More Replies... What pisses me off, is that the guys who invented this stuff wanted it to be free. This isn't business: this is extortion.
He wouldn't even patent it bc he wanted it to be available for everyone
Load More Replies... There is a huge problem here, medical matters are just part of the larger rot. The malaise in the US system is absolutely insane. There are many countries with even better amenities and infrastructure and even freedom but people in these (dis)United States are fed lies everyday that it is the greatest country in the world. Its like being given vinegar to drink when thirsty and them made to say it is refreshing like water. Sad but this nation can be great though. Just needs people to stop being lied to and actually want real freedom and live for each other, not the horrible selfishness we see everyday with most.
so many people in USA has the mentality : Why would i paid for others? in canada we paid a s**t load money in taxes but i know that if i got hit by i car i wont have to worried to lost my house to paid for the medical bill.
Selfishness seems to be baked-in to the American psyche. People will go out of their way to not do things which benefit others, at little to no consequence to themselves. Mask-wearing comes to mind.
Load More Replies... In Australia, if you're on a low income, or a pensioner, everything is free for diabetics. Otherwise, insulin costs $77.60 per YEAR and the syringes are free. Same is true for just about any drug that people need to stay alive. It's subsidised by taxpayers like me who are lucky enough not to need it, as is the hospital system which is free. Do I mind subsidising something I don't use? Not in the slightest. Has it ruined our economy? No. Does it make us a 'socialist' country? Depends how you define the term but if it means people pay taxes to provide universal health care (and education) for all citizens, then I guess it does. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
As an Australian, my affection for America ENDS where healthcare is concerned; Michael Moore's "Sicko" was like watching one of those Holocaust-level historical war crime documentaries. And our right wingers (white supremacist and otherwise) see the American model as something to aspire to, just as BoJo's England wanted to before COVID-19 hit. To be dramatic, defend universal healthcare from America at all costs, militarily is necessary.
As an american, the only thing that I like about living here is Hamilton. I wouldn't be surprised if we had another holocaust and if Trump gets reelected I'm leaving the country.
Load More Replies...
I live in Australia and my insulin is free and so are the needles for them. My lancets are subsidised as I am a pensioner so making them cheaper. My strips are about $16 for a 100 strips. Lucky to be a country that helps some. I fill in a form and get a pretty blue card. When I was on non-insulin it cost me about $6 a month and costs about the same for my tablets.
Vote out every single republican, USA. It's the only way to fix this and everything like it.
I knew there'd be one. *sigh *. Are you saying it wasn't like this under Obama? Take the partisan blinders off, pal.
Load More Replies...
My mom pays over $400/month in the US. Health insurance used to be non profit until Nixon allowed it to be profitable for his buddy. That’s what ruined it here in the US. These companies are now too big and powerful for it to change 😡
Problem isn't as much as whether the state pays or not, the problem is hiked prices. And I mean astronomically hiked, 10000% in some cases.
I take a weekly injection (not insulin) which I worked out would cost $1,158 PER. UNIT. I also take a few different medications for my mental illness, which would cost $1,212 for a supply of 100 tablets of one of my medications, and the other costing $1,263 per 100. Then theres my painkillers, iron tablets, other various pill I take...not to mention numerous doctor/hospital visits. I'm glad I live in a country that has free healthcare. I can't help my health, and don't understand why I would have to put myself in debt for something beyond my control. It's bullshit, and I often feel so sorry for countries without such simple things as affordable healthcare.
A friend of mine has to have infusions for severe arthritis every six weeks. Each treatment is over $6000. Her insurance pays all but about $600, which she has to pay. This is in addition to the inhalers she has to purchase at the full cost out of pocket for over $300 each.
why do Americans fight health care and affordable drug care acts?
Load More Replies...
In Brazil, people that need these shots (pens) to live don't have to pay anything. In the USA, people who need these shots (pens) have to pay over $150 to get just 1 and to survive.
Load More Replies... Also in Europe it's free. It's obvious that the US, speaking of NHS, are not third word, but fourth or even fifth. Happy are those who, among their citizens, continue to think they are the first.
The NHS has its flaws, but if you need regular medication, it's only £106/year prepayment...
Load More Replies...
I have some chronical stuff to and pay like 5-10€ each month for my meds. Really dont want to imagine what they'd cost in the US.
I know Nevada provides diabetes supplies for free to its citizens with diabetes. More than 12% of the population has diabetes.
Every time a Democrat raises the question of Medicare for all or any universal health care plan in the USA the GOP starts screaming "SOCIALISM!!" Then they say that government run health care is more expensive than our non-system and that there would be terrible wait times. So, nothing gets done. If we had a rule that political advertisements had to tell the truth we could eliminate all Republicans and actually re-join the civilized nations. Hell, the GOP does not even accept the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which began life as the Republican Heritage Foundation's health care plan and was touted by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s.
There are areas of our lives where capitalism shouldn't be involved. Health is on of those
So... Brazil's healthcare system has its own problems: lack of funding, supplies, and doctors and nurses. Their out of pocket and price per capita are some of the lowest in the world. And this is not going to change in the U.S. unless people make noise. Politicians are so afraid to lose their careers (and monetary backing) that they will not rock the boat to cause an overhaul.
I have the good fortune to live in Canada hence the cost of any medicine is $4.11 dispensing fee by the pharmacist, the actual meds are free. The USA is the only Western nation that allows the drug companies, pharmacies, and medical 'professionals' to screw/rob its citizens,
I live in the US. My cost is $8.50 a month out of my pocket for about $650 worth of insulin. My wife was recently given a prescription for a drug that costs $35K a month. It was $10.00 out of her pocket.Oh. and our insurance is paid by the government.
If only that was available to all American residents...
Load More Replies...
Here in the US, I have to starve myself the first few months of the year… because I can’t eat if I can’t afford insulin. So, DRs say my blood sugars are out of control. No Doctor; the “United” States is out of control. I look endlessly for ways to move out of this hellhole but, how can I afford that when I can’t afford to eat. . .
So I had to run into ER, heavy fever. Turns out it was from an infection due to a prostate problem. 5 blood test, 3 urine tests and a complete Doppler scan. Had to have 5 days of drip antibiotics treatment. Am programmed for surgery in January. As a foreigner living in Peru on my wife's social insurance I pay $0, nada, zero, zilch. Anyone has an idea what this would have cost in the US?
The biggest crime is that the Canadian scientists who discovered insulin provided the formulation for FREE, so nobody would profit from it. Colorado recently capped the cost for insurance-provided insulin. The reason this is good news for everyone in Colorado is because those who pay out-of-pocket cannot be charged more than 250% what those with insurance pay. California, Oregon, New York and Vermont have similar proposals in state legislatures. Perhaps states can do what the federal government won't.
Big Pharma is the problem here and President Trump understands that. We pay the exorbitant prices for the same medications that are sent overseas for no return on the investment. Get the pharmaceutical companies in-line and we will get lower drug costs.
We have health care and it cost nothing for patient. Everyone should have health care.
This is what the Republicans would like you to believe. You are not paying for other countries, you are paying into the pockets of greedy corporations.
Load More Replies...
Insulin is not that hard to make, and quite cheap in other developed countries around the world. Insulin prices in the US are 5 to 15 times higher than in other OECD countries. “The average gross manufacturer price for a standard unit of insulin in 2018 was more than ten times the price in a sample of 32 foreign countries:$98.70 in the U.S., compared with $8.81 in the 32 non-U.S. OECD countries for which we have prescription drug data. The U.S. prices for the mix of insulin used in the U.S. were 8.1 times prices paid in all non-U.S. OECD countries combined.“
Load More Replies... Someone needs to find a way to make Americans understand the difference between socialism and communism.
Hear, hear! Socialism is not a four-letter word. Plenty of concepts in American government are socialist in nature. The fire department is a socialist institution. You have no choice but to pay into it, because the service exists to protect all residents! Can you imagine having to voluntarily subscribe to fire protection, and they just wouldn't show up if you hadn't paid?
Load More Replies... It is so universally unfair, what the citizens of the USA, have to pay for medication that must be taken to be able to live! Big pharma price gouging in the states, is pure evil money making scams. Even if you have a good insurance, you still have tiers for copays! Some of those are unreal also! This needs to change! I hope it changes under Biden.
It won't change. US citizens don't want it to change. They think a universal health service is Communism and that it's totally normal to risk bankruptcy for a medical emergency.
Load More Replies... Insurance and drug companies in the United States have so much power. I don't understand how this is allowed. It is just not right.
This is about the 10 000th post I saw about the American Healthcare system. It's on all the social media. Everyone is saying the same: "It's so unfair and inhumane". And yes. it is. But on the other hand, it's a system that the Americans chose and supported whole heartedly. As long as the majority of Americans still think that any arrangement that's beneficial to everyone in their society is "SOCIALIST", it's not going to change. And that's what the companies love about the Americans. Just tell them that something is socialist and the Americans will be against it. That's how they managed to make healthcare a for profit business instead of a service that is by law available to everyone.
You'll find that people like the Koch brothers have invested a loooot of money to convince people of the idea “socialist=end of world“.
Load More Replies... What pisses me off, is that the guys who invented this stuff wanted it to be free. This isn't business: this is extortion.
He wouldn't even patent it bc he wanted it to be available for everyone
Load More Replies... There is a huge problem here, medical matters are just part of the larger rot. The malaise in the US system is absolutely insane. There are many countries with even better amenities and infrastructure and even freedom but people in these (dis)United States are fed lies everyday that it is the greatest country in the world. Its like being given vinegar to drink when thirsty and them made to say it is refreshing like water. Sad but this nation can be great though. Just needs people to stop being lied to and actually want real freedom and live for each other, not the horrible selfishness we see everyday with most.
so many people in USA has the mentality : Why would i paid for others? in canada we paid a s**t load money in taxes but i know that if i got hit by i car i wont have to worried to lost my house to paid for the medical bill.
Selfishness seems to be baked-in to the American psyche. People will go out of their way to not do things which benefit others, at little to no consequence to themselves. Mask-wearing comes to mind.
Load More Replies... In Australia, if you're on a low income, or a pensioner, everything is free for diabetics. Otherwise, insulin costs $77.60 per YEAR and the syringes are free. Same is true for just about any drug that people need to stay alive. It's subsidised by taxpayers like me who are lucky enough not to need it, as is the hospital system which is free. Do I mind subsidising something I don't use? Not in the slightest. Has it ruined our economy? No. Does it make us a 'socialist' country? Depends how you define the term but if it means people pay taxes to provide universal health care (and education) for all citizens, then I guess it does. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
As an Australian, my affection for America ENDS where healthcare is concerned; Michael Moore's "Sicko" was like watching one of those Holocaust-level historical war crime documentaries. And our right wingers (white supremacist and otherwise) see the American model as something to aspire to, just as BoJo's England wanted to before COVID-19 hit. To be dramatic, defend universal healthcare from America at all costs, militarily is necessary.
As an american, the only thing that I like about living here is Hamilton. I wouldn't be surprised if we had another holocaust and if Trump gets reelected I'm leaving the country.
Load More Replies... I live in Australia and my insulin is free and so are the needles for them. My lancets are subsidised as I am a pensioner so making them cheaper. My strips are about $16 for a 100 strips. Lucky to be a country that helps some. I fill in a form and get a pretty blue card. When I was on non-insulin it cost me about $6 a month and costs about the same for my tablets.
Vote out every single republican, USA. It's the only way to fix this and everything like it.
I knew there'd be one. *sigh *. Are you saying it wasn't like this under Obama? Take the partisan blinders off, pal.
Load More Replies... My mom pays over $400/month in the US. Health insurance used to be non profit until Nixon allowed it to be profitable for his buddy. That’s what ruined it here in the US. These companies are now too big and powerful for it to change 😡
Problem isn't as much as whether the state pays or not, the problem is hiked prices. And I mean astronomically hiked, 10000% in some cases.
I take a weekly injection (not insulin) which I worked out would cost $1,158 PER. UNIT. I also take a few different medications for my mental illness, which would cost $1,212 for a supply of 100 tablets of one of my medications, and the other costing $1,263 per 100. Then theres my painkillers, iron tablets, other various pill I take...not to mention numerous doctor/hospital visits. I'm glad I live in a country that has free healthcare. I can't help my health, and don't understand why I would have to put myself in debt for something beyond my control. It's bullshit, and I often feel so sorry for countries without such simple things as affordable healthcare.
A friend of mine has to have infusions for severe arthritis every six weeks. Each treatment is over $6000. Her insurance pays all but about $600, which she has to pay. This is in addition to the inhalers she has to purchase at the full cost out of pocket for over $300 each.
why do Americans fight health care and affordable drug care acts?
Load More Replies... In Brazil, people that need these shots (pens) to live don't have to pay anything. In the USA, people who need these shots (pens) have to pay over $150 to get just 1 and to survive.
Load More Replies... Also in Europe it's free. It's obvious that the US, speaking of NHS, are not third word, but fourth or even fifth. Happy are those who, among their citizens, continue to think they are the first.
The NHS has its flaws, but if you need regular medication, it's only £106/year prepayment...
Load More Replies... I have some chronical stuff to and pay like 5-10€ each month for my meds. Really dont want to imagine what they'd cost in the US.
I know Nevada provides diabetes supplies for free to its citizens with diabetes. More than 12% of the population has diabetes.
Every time a Democrat raises the question of Medicare for all or any universal health care plan in the USA the GOP starts screaming "SOCIALISM!!" Then they say that government run health care is more expensive than our non-system and that there would be terrible wait times. So, nothing gets done. If we had a rule that political advertisements had to tell the truth we could eliminate all Republicans and actually re-join the civilized nations. Hell, the GOP does not even accept the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which began life as the Republican Heritage Foundation's health care plan and was touted by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s.
There are areas of our lives where capitalism shouldn't be involved. Health is on of those
So... Brazil's healthcare system has its own problems: lack of funding, supplies, and doctors and nurses. Their out of pocket and price per capita are some of the lowest in the world. And this is not going to change in the U.S. unless people make noise. Politicians are so afraid to lose their careers (and monetary backing) that they will not rock the boat to cause an overhaul.
I have the good fortune to live in Canada hence the cost of any medicine is $4.11 dispensing fee by the pharmacist, the actual meds are free. The USA is the only Western nation that allows the drug companies, pharmacies, and medical 'professionals' to screw/rob its citizens,
I live in the US. My cost is $8.50 a month out of my pocket for about $650 worth of insulin. My wife was recently given a prescription for a drug that costs $35K a month. It was $10.00 out of her pocket.Oh. and our insurance is paid by the government.
If only that was available to all American residents...
Load More Replies... Here in the US, I have to starve myself the first few months of the year… because I can’t eat if I can’t afford insulin. So, DRs say my blood sugars are out of control. No Doctor; the “United” States is out of control. I look endlessly for ways to move out of this hellhole but, how can I afford that when I can’t afford to eat. . .
So I had to run into ER, heavy fever. Turns out it was from an infection due to a prostate problem. 5 blood test, 3 urine tests and a complete Doppler scan. Had to have 5 days of drip antibiotics treatment. Am programmed for surgery in January. As a foreigner living in Peru on my wife's social insurance I pay $0, nada, zero, zilch. Anyone has an idea what this would have cost in the US?
The biggest crime is that the Canadian scientists who discovered insulin provided the formulation for FREE, so nobody would profit from it. Colorado recently capped the cost for insurance-provided insulin. The reason this is good news for everyone in Colorado is because those who pay out-of-pocket cannot be charged more than 250% what those with insurance pay. California, Oregon, New York and Vermont have similar proposals in state legislatures. Perhaps states can do what the federal government won't.
Big Pharma is the problem here and President Trump understands that. We pay the exorbitant prices for the same medications that are sent overseas for no return on the investment. Get the pharmaceutical companies in-line and we will get lower drug costs.
We have health care and it cost nothing for patient. Everyone should have health care.
This is what the Republicans would like you to believe. You are not paying for other countries, you are paying into the pockets of greedy corporations.
Load More Replies... Insulin is not that hard to make, and quite cheap in other developed countries around the world. Insulin prices in the US are 5 to 15 times higher than in other OECD countries. “The average gross manufacturer price for a standard unit of insulin in 2018 was more than ten times the price in a sample of 32 foreign countries:$98.70 in the U.S., compared with $8.81 in the 32 non-U.S. OECD countries for which we have prescription drug data. The U.S. prices for the mix of insulin used in the U.S. were 8.1 times prices paid in all non-U.S. OECD countries combined.“
Load More Replies...
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