Comments on: Wal-Mart Ordered To Stock Contraceptives In Massachusetts.

By: Standard Mischief » Blog Archive » The evil meanie Mall-wart is going to bring down drug prices free market style

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 21:06:45 +0000

[...] I’ve always said that the problem with the way we do medicine in this country is that it does absolutely nothing to encourage providers to compete on prices. Just think about it, if your copay is $15 for prescriptions you are not likely to price shop around for the best deal, you just get it filled where it’s most convenient. When I called around to get the price on off-label Plan-B using generic birth control pills, one clerk was confused, and actually asked to be sure I wanted the cash price, and not my co-pay. Obviously no one price shops for prescriptions. Let’s hope this changes that . [...]

By: Standard Mischief » Blog Archive » Plan B, personal responsibility, and the FDA

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 06:28:57 +0000

[...] (I?ve already covered EC, Plan B and it?s off-label, but still safe and effective alternatives here and here.) [...]

By: Standard Mischief

Standard Mischief — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 03:14:26 +0000

Thanks for dropping by.

SayUncle and I both use WordPress, and it has the feature of a comment feed in addition to the story feed. I subscribe because of the great comments over there, thus, I’ve already read and replied. There’s even the feature to get an RSS feed for just a specific thread, it should be somewhere at the bottom of this post.

Yea, I’ve got no email posted, but I’ll email this to you, assuming you have left me a valid email address. If not, I understand, although email addresses are never shown publicly here.

You may be interested in this thread here.[1] I put forth a modest ?needs? test before allowing infringements on the rights of the pharmacy. I actually ?lose? here, because I dared them to show me one wal-mart without a CVS within 2 miles (one hour’s modest walk). I ?lose? because there actually is one, it’s three or so miles away, of course I ?win? too, because there’s a different pharmacy just over one mile from the store. Free market is working great.

Yea, sure it’s only a minor restriction, but I’m arguing ?slippery slope? here. They’ll start with this modest requirement, then they will restrict how big they can build their stores [2], and then they will write vanity legislation to make them to offer health care [3]… it’s all down hill from there. I don’t know, some people think the ?slippery slope? is a logical fallacy, not me.

I also would not saddle Planned Parenthood’s pharmacy, [4] requiring them to carry stuff outside their mission like Viagra. Of course the way the law is written, they should be required to stock a bunch of extra crap, everything that is “commonly prescribed”. If they aren’t being zinged by the same enforcement board, then that’s unequal treatment under the law. Since they are a mail order pharmacy, I suppose they could move over the state line, to avoid such oppressive laws. They already state that they will mail EC and BC to any US address, in any state. Viva la free market!

[1] http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2006/03/04/wednesday-repro-rights-blogging/

[2] http://www.ibuyaustin.com/news-Wal-MartBigBoxLaw.php

[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28219-2005Apr5.html

[4] http://www.pplm.org/clinic/services/pills_by_mail_frm.html

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:10:40 +0000

And on this issue, we’re simply not going to agree. As I said in the original thread at Uncle’s place, you have a lot more faith in the “free market” than I do. You clearly have no problem at all with allowing private entities to even further restrict access to things which are already limited by government intervention. It’s too bad that Wal-Mart is going to be irreparably harmed by this ruling, to the extent that they can no longer even turn a profit. /sarcasm

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:05:04 +0000

Off-topic, not knowing how else to contact you, I wanted you to know that I responded to you here, which I felt was necessary since the post has cycled off Uncle's main page.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:01:51 +0000

Ha! That’s because I flipped the image.

By: Standard Mischief

Standard Mischief — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 03:35:40 +0000

Thanks for clearing that up. I was scratching my head. It’s not apparent that that’s what you are making fun of (at least to me), but I like it. Oh and BTW the gun geek in me says that the ejection port is located on the wrong side.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 03:18:28 +0000

Oh and Feministe people, what?s with the little girl in the excrement colored overalls playing with the pistol grip pump shotgun with the ejector set up for a left-handed person? Am I missing out on some kind of strange cultural reference?

I’m the designer. It makes fun of all sorts of feministe stereotypes, primarily the militant feminist (I happen to find it funnier that it’s a pigtailed child). All in good humor.