(don't) take your medicine

subway

seemingly a new form of protest is for medical card holders to refuse to take medicine

http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3916/57/
http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3915/57/

the idea being to show the govt that it will cost them more if they have a stroke/fit/attack

dont get me wrong, people are free to protest in whatever way they like, and i am not here to argue over the cutback they are trying to avoid (hence trying to avoid expressing an opinion on that part of the article) but this strikes me as the most idiotic protest Ive ever heard of

what do you think? would you refuse treatment in this way?

Princess Peach

These people are idiots.

DM addict

Not certain I would. It's an odd decision, but I think I'd pay. However, 12.50 a week isn't a lot of money for me - I might think otherwise if I was on a pension or a limited income. Or indeed if I needed a large quantity of medication and would be forced to pay an exorbitant amount.

But if you want to, I guess, go for it. I'd keep a friendly paramedic nearby though

Lab_Mouse

Princess Peach wrote: »

These people are idiots.

Probably dead idiots in the near future if they aint careful

orourkeda

subway wrote: »

seemingly a new form of protest is for medical card holders to refuse to take medicine

http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3916/57/
http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3915/57/

the idea being to show the govt that it will cost them more if they have a stroke/fit/attack
dont get me wrong, people are free to protest in whatever way they like, and i am not here to argue over the cutback they are trying to avoid (hence trying to avoid expressing an opinion on that part of the article) but this strikes me as the most idiotic protest Ive ever heard of

what do you think? would you refuse treatment in this way?

It'll cost less to bury them though.

Besides, these protsters are probably better off dead if this is their attitude.

-Corkie-

That will really piss off Brian Cowen. If they got rid of Guinness that would be a way of annoying him..

Princess Peach

I understand he is on a fixed income, but to risk his life for an extra €7.50 a month is just retarded.

Damn poor people, they get free cheese, free healthcare and now they do this!

cedissapointed

Bit of a suicidal protest not good eh?I wouldn't try it,im sure there are other non FATAL ways to protest about this,and it's only what (at the very least 50 cent and up to a tenner that is good ****ing value) i know a close friend of mine who has to pay 100 pm for her meds,and what she has after that is **** all in the week

bonerm

Princess Peach wrote: »

Damn poor people, they get free cheese, free healthcare and now they do this!

Not to mention 2 years extra worth of retirement to enjoy that the rest of us will never have thanks to this government.

minidazzler

I will probably laugh if I hear of this guy dying for the sake of 12.50 a month. Not being cruel, but he is a miser if he won't pay that little bit with the country in dire straits.

My name is URL

Fcuk it.. Darwin Awards for all participants. They thoroughly deserve them

Fluorescence

I would have thought €12.50 was a reasonable price to pay for your health.

Oranage2

Well done everybody, Lets all laugh at everybody elses protests..... but when this Goverment F*cks you over everybody will laugh at you!

Princess Peach

bonerm wrote: »

Not to mention 2 years extra worth of retirement to enjoy that the rest of us will never have thanks to this government.

This guy won't cause he'll be dead

ytareh

"....Irish research (which) estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 older people die in Ireland each winter because they cannot afford to keep warm."

Bloody hell ...more than road deaths and suicide combined possibly ...

bonerm

Princess Peach wrote: »

This guy won't cause he'll be dead

Nah, those guys will live to 100 just out of spite.

sollar

The reaction to this cost angers me, its only small fry - pay up. There should a similar charge for visits to the doctor by medical card holders imo.

What about the working poor who are just outside the threshold for a medical card they have to fork out €50 for one visit to the doctor and up to €120 a month for their medication. 50cents cop on!

starbelgrade

Mr Nutley has already stopped taking certain medication in protest at the new prescription charges introduced last month.

“I am fortunate enough to have good health,” he said.

“I was just on aspirin to prevent a stroke, but I’m not taking it because of the 50 cent charge per prescription.

Feckin' eejit.... does he not know that you don't need a prescription to buy aspirin?

Sauve

There's a cap of €10 per month per family for the cost of mediction. If I was in that position I think other things would get cut out of my budget to make way for the €2.50 per week. It's half a pint of beer. It's two packets of biscuits. Healthcare would always come first.

Especially when those who have medical cards get free doctor and hospital care, I think this charge is more than fair.
I pay about 50 quid a month for VHI, plus fork out for all doctor and dental visits, maybe I should start protesting about that!

Sauve

starbelgrade wrote: »

Feckin' eejit.... does he not know that you don't need a prescription to buy aspirin?

That aspirin he was on about is probably the 75mg one, which does need a prescription.

PanchoVilla

This protest is a bit crazy but I think the government should be cutting salaries and pensions of high earning public servants before they even consider taking money from people with illnesses. Typical FF policy of hitting the ones with little or no power.

Einhard

subway wrote: »

seemingly a new form of protest is for medical card holders to refuse to take medicine

http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3916/57/
http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/3915/57/

the idea being to show the govt that it will cost them more if they have a stroke/fit/attack

dont get me wrong, people are free to protest in whatever way they like, and i am not here to argue over the cutback they are trying to avoid (hence trying to avoid expressing an opinion on that part of the article) but this strikes me as the most idiotic protest Ive ever heard of

what do you think? would you refuse treatment in this way?

Well when he collapses dead because he idiotically refused to pay the tenner a week that would save his life, the state will save on the benefits it would otherwise have to pay him. So fair play to him for doing his bit to reduce the deficit.

ytareh wrote: »

"....Irish research (which) estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 older people die in Ireland each winter because they cannot afford to keep warm."

Bloody hell ...more than road deaths and suicide combined possibly ...

I wouldn't say that many old people die from hypotermia in Siberia, let alone Ireland. We have relatively benign winters, and our pensioners receive amongst the most generous benefits in the world, so if they're dropping cos they can't keep warm then they're doing something wrong. Buy a bloody cardigan instead of moaning about it. That might seem cruel but the state provides pensioners with the means to keep warm and live a decent life. If they're incapable of doing so, then I fail to see how the state can be blamed.

PanchoVilla wrote: »

This protest is a bit crazy but I think the government should be cutting salaries and pensions of high earning public servants before they even consider taking money from people with illnesses. Typical FF policy of hitting the ones with little or no power.

Well we spend approx €20 billion a year more than we rake in. And even cutting higher paid civil servants pay to naught would raise a few tens of million. So all options have to considered simulataneously. Otherwise it won;t be just the profligate pensioners freezing in their homes.

BillShorey

My name is URL wrote: »

Fcuk it.. Darwin Awards for all participants. They thoroughly deserve them

I agree.

Moronic.

Sticky_Fingers

Oranage2 wrote: »

Well done everybody, Lets all laugh at everybody elses protests..... but when this Goverment F*cks you over everybody will laugh at you!

We should laugh when it's so bloody ridiculous. This fella's fight isn't like that of the hunger strikers though I would give him some grudging respect if he went as far as wearing a blanket and daubing his sh!t over his own living room walls in protest.

smk89

Why are you angry? This is natural selection at its finest

PanchoVilla

Einhard wrote: »

Well we spend approx €20 billion a year more than we rake in. And even cutting higher paid civil servants pay to naught would raise a few tens of million. So all options have to considered simulataneously. Otherwise it won;t be just the profligate pensioners freezing in their homes.

I bet you I could cut the €20 billion without going near welfare recipients who actually need it. Our government is overgrown and overpaid. There needs to be a slash and burn policy in the public sector. The administration cost of the HSE is a huge drain on resources and our health services are still years behind other countries in Europe. We need to increase tax take for the wealthiest in this country. If you look at the following graph, we spend a disproportionate amount of money on health and housing, giving too much our money to private landlords through rent allowances.

http://www.ronanlyons.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/expenditure1.png