Pay or Die
2022
Documentary
Pay or Die
2022
Documentary
91%
TOMATOMETER
· 11 reviews
80%
AUDIENCE
7.9/10
25
Plot summary
Today, nearly two million Americans are being held for ransom. Without insulin, they'll be dead in days. This is the story of three families who are on the receiving end of ransom notes, revealing the reality of life with this chronic illness.
November 14, 2023 at 12:04 PM
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A Powerful Documentary on the Price of Insulin
Pay or Die was enthusiastically received at its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. The film uses the powerful personal stories of those who have been unable to pay the ridiculously high costs of insulin so that they can stay alive and manage their type 1 Diabetes. Insulin is an extremely inexpensive drug to manufacture making the behavior of big Pharma particularly reprehensible. They focus in on younger patients who are often unable to afford insurance and in some cases have actually died as a result of rationing their insulin. They show patients who have to go to Canada to attain their drugs at a reasonable price where access to medication is treated as health care not as a profit-making business. It is no exaggeration to say that audience members were in tears watching this modern-day American tragedy play out on screen.
Pay or Die also focuses on the activists fighting back and trying to change state and federal laws to make insulin more accessible and affordable. The fact that access depends on different laws in different states is a failure of our highly inefficient and decentralized Federal health care system. While the reforms are imperfect, some states, including amazingly Texas, have begun to change laws to make improvements and public pressure has begun to force drug companies to lower prices.
The film makers also made sure to point out that insulin is only the tip of the iceberg. Insulin is crucial, because unlike a lot of drugs loss of access is life-threatening within a few days. But they want us to realize that many other vital drugs are also too expensive (sometimes even with health insurance) to attain. This applies to life-saving cancer treatments among many other drugs. Pay or Die is an urgent call for universal access to accessible life-saving medications. Our health care system is an American tragedy. Pay or Die is an urgent call to begin to address some of its devastating tragic flaws. I urge everyone to watch this important film and then act on its message so we can begin to save lives.
@VFimovies I have to ask you...Are you D0nald Tr$mp?
Fasting is free. Stop eating fatties! Even if you're born with type one, fasting can cut your insulin need by 50%.
To echo others here, it makes me feel happy and dang proud not to live is a sh!thole Third World country like the US. :) When all is said and done, creating and maintaining a workable system of Universal Health Care is so difficult that only 74 out of the 75 developed nations have managed to pull it off.
Like others have said earlier in this thread... Makes me not only glad but PROUD to be living in a Country with Universal Health Care. The US really is a Third World sh!thole !!!
I am in Canada, and even our health care isn't perfect. The big pharma companies need to be taken to task, profit for murder isn't capitalism. Diabetes has likely already been cured, but who would let out a cure when they can charge 500$ a month for insulin? The people making the profit should not be the people deciding if a cure is allowed out. There is far too much profit and far too little care about the people who want a cure. Like it's their fault they got diabetes or cancer... if these companies are found to be holding back a cure, they need to all go to prison. Not the rich peoples prison, but the ones where the inmates have family that died because of big pharmas greed. Let them see what dying in a prison is like for a change.
A perfect illustration of how laissez faire capitalism will ensure that you do not care for your poor and sick.
America is a third world sh!t hole, populated by idiots.
Just like Green_Hornet said: Makes me not only glad but PROUD to be living in a country with Universal Health Care. In my country all medicine for diabetes is free.
@VFimovies Kudos on the straw man statement! How did you learn to be so passive-aggressive?
Fighting__40 you're absolutely right! People need to take responsibility for getting ill in the first place. If they can't afford the treatment they should die as God intended. As Veterans we need to stick together and F*ck anyone who is not all American. We may have people addicted to drugs and going on killing sprees but so what isn't that what makes America great!
Makes me not only glad but PROUD to be living in a country with Universal Health Care.
@Deezy69 Again, you repeat things that aren't true and I already corrected you on the veteran thing, but I guess reading comprension isn't taught in South AfriKKKa (or you just lack critical thinKKKing skills). So which is it? I hate to break this to you and this will come as a huge shock...but not everything you see on TV is the truth. I don't make excuses for my government's BS, but then again I don't sit around blaming every other country for our self created problems and play the victim. Also, I am glad to hear those who can afford it can go to private hospitals...our countries do have that in common. Well, that and people that blame all of their problems on everyone else. You REALLY think corporations and money don't control South AfriKKKa too?
@Fighting_40 My country is poor compared to yours(2nd richest in Africa with world-class amenities) and we`re still fighting imperialism because countries like yours have control of our banks, land and resources......WHAT`S YOUR EXCUSE? What's the point of all that money, when you can`t even provide healthcare and housing/land for your veterans?.......BTW we have single-payer healthcare AND first-class private hospitals for those who can afford it.....and you won't find a single employed, homeless person in my country (we don`t have people with jobs sleeping in cars here). lastly.....my countries advocating for Palestinians, MEANWHILE, the weapons ameriKKKa provided are being used to bomb children's hospitals.
@Deezy69 You are wrong yet again. I haven't watched this yet, but apparently it has a some anicdotal evidence. I am a veteran and have very inexpensive health care through the VA and optional insurance under my employer as well. Your country is not "growing fast" when your GDP has less than 1% growth can't even keep the power running and you relegate all of your poor citizens to shack villages. I'm not happy with my government at all, but some misinformed, holier-than-thou South African saying it's better than it is here is the funniest thing I have ever heard.
What's the difference between campaign contributions and bribes?
Figuring out healthcare is so difficult that only 74 out of the 75 developed nations have managed to pull it off.
@Deezy69 Congrats on being super clever adding the KKK to America, but you're delusional and disengenious. America is FAR from perfect and has plenty of problems, but at least in the US we have electricity full time, we have employment, we have infrastructure and do not have over half the population live in abject poverty like South Africa. (Except Portland and San Fran). From what I can tell, the state of education in South Africa is pretty bad.
thank God I`m South African, yes my country isn`t perfect, but atleast we`re not joke like ameriKKKa.......in China, corporations are afraid of the government, in ameriKKKa, corporations run the government......yes even China is better......how can a country allow a life saving drug to be sold at up to 5X the price of other countries......i wish I lived in a world where documentaries like these didn`t exsist