Cochlear Americas Pays $950,000 to Settle Federal Kickback Allegations

If you live in the US, someone is over-profiting off of all of your health care somewhere, whether it be a doctor via big pharma, CIs, orthotics, or anything else; insurance companies; goverment; lobbiests....etc.
 
JennyB said:
If you live in the US, someone is over-profiting off of all of your health care somewhere, whether it be a doctor via big pharma, CIs, orthotics, or anything else; insurance companies; goverment; lobbiests....etc.
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No doubt. To claim it doesn't happen in the CI industry as well is to be extremely naive.
 
Jenny it does? Well there you have it. I'm not surprised stuff like this happens since our health care industry is EXTREMELY capitalist. Gotta make as much money as possible for the CI companies after all. But I would have thought that Canada was a little better since it has universal health care.
 
Im sure it happens here..I think my audi office sells more of phonak than any other aid..although they work with siemens alot too but im sureeee they have lil deals back and forth..most clinics do with medical companies..same thing goes for certain types of Rx's ...if you use theirs they will give you kick backs and help u out..this happens in almost every industry..lol it's how companies stay afloat most of the time
 
deafdyke said:
Jenny it does? Well there you have it. I'm not surprised stuff like this happens since our health care industry is EXTREMELY capitalist. Gotta make as much money as possible for the CI companies after all. But I would have thought that Canada was a little better since it has universal health care.
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It is rampant within big pharma. It is [one of] the reason I am against the gardasil vaccine. It is kind of ridiculous how much it affects the psychiatric industry too.
 
AliciaM said:
ya gardasil is so heavily promoted its actually nauseating
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What is really nauseating is the fact that Ontario launched a mass vaccination campaign for girls in grade 7-9. However, the vaccine was only trialed on 100 girls in the age range and the mass vaccination campaign came way to early to actually know the long term affects of this vaccine.

Why did this happen do you ask? MONEY
 
ya no kidding..thats why I didn't get it ..I told my dr it wasn't researched enough and that I wasn't gonna be a guinea pig for anything new that could harm me later so that I said thanks but no thanks..and its sad that they RECOMMEND you get it but you have to pay like almost 200 bucks to get the vaccine...pfft u can keep ur vaccine thanks very much...i didn't get that swine flu bs vaccine either...
 
AliciaM said:
ya no kidding..thats why I didn't get it ..I told my dr it wasn't researched enough and that I wasn't gonna be a guinea pig for anything new that could harm me later so that I said thanks but no thanks..and its sad that they RECOMMEND you get it but you have to pay like almost 200 bucks to get the vaccine...pfft u can keep ur vaccine thanks very much...i didn't get that swine flu bs vaccine either...
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I didn't get H1N1 vaccine either, instead I just got H1N1 before the vaccine came out...
 
That is why I chose MedEl 2 years ago... Cochlear Americas and Advanced Bionics were too shady for me to deal with...Not to mention the lies ...
 
Ya know.... does it even matter that they get paid? People are still overlooking the fact that it is still a CHOICE. It isn't as if the people are FORCED to get a CI. That's like yelling at Tire Company X for paying mechanics to get their clients to use their product over the other product.

That's definitely capitalism. But are you really going to blame every company whenever a consumer makes the "wrong choice" or at least what you perceive to be a "wrong choice"? You're gonna yell at Tire Company X for influencing people to buy their brand over Best Tire Brand Y? If a mechanic comes up to me and says "Oh this brand is the best. Get it.", and I blindly accept it, who is to blame?

If it were me, I'd focus on misinformation/lack of information of options over this stuff.
 
Daredevel7 said:
Ya know.... does it even matter that they get paid? People are still overlooking the fact that it is still a CHOICE. It isn't as if the people are FORCED to get a CI. That's like yelling at Tire Company X for paying mechanics to get their clients to use their product over the other product.

That's definitely capitalism. But are you really going to blame every company whenever a consumer makes the "wrong choice" or at least what you perceive to be a "wrong choice"? You're gonna yell at Tire Company X for influencing people to buy their brand over Best Tire Brand Y? If a mechanic comes up to me and says "Oh this brand is the best. Get it.", and I blindly accept it, who is to blame?

If it were me, I'd focus on misinformation/lack of information of options over this stuff.
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totally agree with you...again this is how companies esp medical and pharmaceutical companies stay in business by promoting their products and Rx's as the best so that the pharmacy recommends it and if the pharmacist recommends it then most of the time that is what the consumer is going to buy
 
Daredevel7 said:
Ya know.... does it even matter that they get paid? People are still overlooking the fact that it is still a CHOICE. It isn't as if the people are FORCED to get a CI. That's like yelling at Tire Company X for paying mechanics to get their clients to use their product over the other product.

That's definitely capitalism. But are you really going to blame every company whenever a consumer makes the "wrong choice" or at least what you perceive to be a "wrong choice"? You're gonna yell at Tire Company X for influencing people to buy their brand over Best Tire Brand Y? If a mechanic comes up to me and says "Oh this brand is the best. Get it.", and I blindly accept it, who is to blame?

If it were me, I'd focus on misinformation/lack of information of options over this stuff.
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Yeah, that's what I say, too; as long as its all aboveboard.
 
Back when I could hear I worked for a very good Dr. It was common for drug and product reps to pay kickbacks to the docs, the clinic, the hospital and all. Every time the doc rx'd the preferred product he got a bit of profit as did the system. Therefore if "trusted, old brand" worked well, the system encouraged you to use "new, improved brand" anyway. It was costlier for the patient so that all in the system could get kick backs. Once a month this same rep would take the ENTIRE department out to a NICE restaurant. They would also leave coveted pens, cups and high tech gadgets for favorite departments. Now lets up that for equipment such as diagnostic equipment, scopes, cameras, and patient care items. When the clinic buys such equipment they do schedule that equipment for lots of use. Not for diagnostic justification but to pay the thing off or cover the rent on it. They also cut patient visit times but billed you for a full visit, this allows them to make more money by seeing more patients to pay the equipment off. Patient personal use equipment was handled the same way. Patients pay more. You do not always get a choice if you are not told that there is a choice. Many times the presentation is slanted in favor of New Improved when Old and Trusted is still great, cheaper for the patient and has a proven safety record. You may apply this philosophy to all medical equipment. In the end it is the patients who pay.
 
Not surprised at all by what Nanna and others have discussed above <"kickbacks"> don't agree with it! but not surprised.....many agencies/"authorities" or bodies said to be open for "choices" or for "so-and-so's good" appear to be so but in reality are promoted in such a way in practice that what looks one way in print doesn't really end up happening and those who are negatively impacted are often the people who were the targets of the original plan-those for whom it was made to appear to "benefit"
 
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