Quick rant here. If I'm going to be forced to

[kacekwl]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Spazito (a host of the Video & Multimedia forum).

watch endless advertisements for prescription drugs and now even medical symptoms that your doctor can treat you for ( unless you want to pay and pay fees not to ) If I'm forced to watch commercials for Comcast, Disney, AT&T etc I would like either my prescription drugs or my internet paid for. Considering the whole premise of cable tv was you pay for a subscription you watch tv commercial free, remember ? ( yes I'm that old ) Pipe dream I know but I'm tired of being charged for the privilege of seeing ad upon ad esp. for drugs.

[Goonch]

1. ;-{)

[kacekwl]

3. That's one drug I

haven't seen a commercial for.

[Lettuce Be]

2. I rant about this once a week -- cable was supposed to eliminate the ads

It's a huge rip-off that they still sell advertising and also charge for access. There aught to be a law! Yeah, I'm that old too.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Me too

[AZ8theist]

13. I cut the cord YEARS ago....

[Karadeniz]

16. AND... I'm paying for a ton of shows NOW that I've been watching over and over for YEARS!!!!

[Quakerfriend]

5. Me too!

“Ask your doctor “ just kills me- My doctor hardly acts like she knows me!
I don’t have enough medical problems...
Funny how they tell people to talk to their MD re: COVID- Doctors are not testing or giving vaccines in their private offices.

[birdographer]

11. Not a doctor fan here

Went to one who was very clearly in the pocket of the pharmaceutical rep. Another one who gave me a bizarre diagnosis for muscle pain and ordered an obscure test that cost me $350 out of pocket. I called and asked if my potassium was low, as it sometimes is. His assistant looked at the labs and said yes (he had not commented at all on that). I pointed out that low potassium can cause muscle cramps. Later found out that doctor was famous in town for handing out drugs left and right to anyone who wanted anything. Next doctor moved on to another facility after I had seen her twice, next doctor saw me once, got pregnant, went on leave, then quit when COVID came along (I get it, she had a baby to worry about). I have seen this last one once, would not recognize her on the street, it was over a year ago. For each visit, had to wait about 12 weeks for an appointment. I'm old enough to remember when doctors knew you and cared about you.

[AZ8theist]

14. The last PCP I had over 2 years ago...

Kept trying to charge me for 2 missed appointments I didn't make.
At the time I was unemployed and covered by state health insurance. WHICH HIS OFFICE DIDN'T ACCEPT.
Why would I schedule and then miss an appointment that I would have to pay 100% out of pocket???

I liked the doctor, but the front office/billing was fucked up.

[captain queeg]

21. I had a dentist like that. Saw the same guy for years and always liked him

But something changed. The place still had the same name but I never saw him anymore. I figured he’d retired and sold the place and now it was run by the money grubbers. I ended up leaving but I had a bridge fall out a couple months ago so went back to the old place to get it recemented. In the past if I had a crown fall out they always fixed it no charge. This time they charged me to reinstall the bridge but at least they got me in right away. And it was my old dentist. I was surprised, hadn’t seen him in 5 yrs and asked if he retired or something. He didn’t really answer just said he was only working part time. He used to talk my ear off when I went in, he’d follow me out to the front gabbing away. He was real quiet this time. Though I don’t know what happened with him the business sure sucks now and I continue to go elsewhere.

[AZ8theist]

24. I had a similar experience with a crown that fell out....

They charged me to re-install it. The same crown they installed in the first place!

Talk about planned obsolescence...

[keithsw]

19. My Physicians love me,

And won't even take money when I try to pay! Of course, one is my wife and the other is our daughter....lol

[magicguido]

6. Yes you are Paying to watch endless corporate drug ads. No other Country does this.

Warning; my cause kidney damage; death or psychosis.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

7. Cable was supposed to be ad free

I remember that.
Net and medicine needs to be free.

For all of us.

Public community and neutral net and
Universal healthcare.

Now. sick of greedy rich pigs taking people for granted. We need to put a leashes on ceo pigs. If they refuse
To accept limits,take away thier corporate charter.

Than go after the chamber of commerce
And put them on a short, short regulation leash.

[Rebl2]

8. Used to be

a time big pharma couldn’t advertise on tv because the government didn’t allow it. Another group that didn’t advertise was lawyers-they are the worst.

[Scottie Mom]

9. Ditto x a million.

I remarked about this the other day. I tend to DVR the programs I want to watch so I can fast forward through the damn commercials.

[mac2766]

10. I'm with you!

I stopped watching ads several years ago.

1. Get an OTA antenna. I'm able to get about 25 channels where I live.
2. Get a set top box that will DVR OTA programs and begin recording them. Get one that will allow you to advance through commercials. I use a product called Tablo.
3. Get a set top box that will allow you to stream video over the Internet. I use Roku.
4. Subscribe to ad free streaming services. I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Discover+.

Voila! No more ads. I haven't watched an ad in years. I hated to pay for cable or for satellite TV and suffer through commercial after commercial, and not really having control over what I was paying for. I pay for what I want and that's all I pay for.

I reduced my cable bill (DirectTV) from about $150 a month to less than $35 a month.

[c-rational]

12. You are not alone. My wife mentioned this tonight. I, at one point, started to write down every

drug advertised. It is a complete waste imho. Not even atypical truly understand these medications. I do believe the purpose of the ads is to help fend off potential lawsuits. If there is a bad outcome and you get to the witness stand, they will ask if you ever saw the commercial that explained the ad-nausem side-effects including death.

These ads need to be outlawed as they are in civilized countries.

[NBachers]

15. Then the cable companies get more money than God and support right wing assholes.

[Evolve Dammit]

17. People in UK that watched Oprahs interview of Meghan and Harry couldn't believe the drug ads.

They don't have any of this BULLSHIT that is our healthcare system. US is 36th. Met your annual deductible yet? Co-Pays, family maximums, individual maximums, "preferred providers", preferred referrals, blah, fucking blah. And don't bother calling, cuz they really wish you wouldn't and will make it difficult to obtain meaningful information. There's my 2 cents.

[dchill]

18. You and me both! Major Pet Peeve.

[William Seger]

20. Even worse are the ads for snake oil

No, a jellyfish extract won't improve my memory. No, EverlyWell cannot diagnose food allergies. Animals with guts have been around for a billion years, and our immediate ancestors a few million, so "no thank you" to swallowing some chemical to make me dump my "5 to 20 pounds" of excess poop (although whoever wrote that commercial might give it a desperation try). It goes on and on.

[FakeNoose]

22. Remember when we used to watch an entire movie with no ad breaks?

Oh my that was ages ago. I think HBO might still be doing that, holding the ads until the end, but none of the other channels do. The entire concept of "cable TV " has changed in the last 20 years. Nowadays if you don't subscribe to the basic-basic "no frills" digital cable, you don't get anything at all. City dwellers can maybe receive a few digital channels without a cable subscription but only if you're lucky enough to live in the right area near a TV antenna. And if no hills are in the way.

[Earth-shine]

23. I'm able to watch "CNN go" free of commercials

I don't know how this is.

I go to Xfinity.com and login.

I choose CNN go, and no commercials, ever.

All the other "go" stations have commercials.

YMMV.

[Spazito]

25. *LOCKING*

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