By this point, it is no secret just how drastically (insanely?) different medical bills can be when comparing the US and many other countries. This is a huge problem for those seeking certain medical services or medication, but not being able to afford them, which very quickly becomes a matter of life or death in some cases.
TikToker Sarah Vieira has recently shared a video where she dueted with another TikToker @iamchloe.com to compare the cost of insulin in the US and her own country, Brazil, which drew the attention of many internauts.
TikTokers recently dueted to show the drastic difference in the cost of insulin for a person
So, a duet video has been drawing everyone’s attention lately. For those unaware, a duet is a TikTok feature where videos from individual people are put side by side, kind of like a collab. It showcases two separate videos that feature the same visual structure and plot, but differ in their message.
The video starts off by showing some insulin pens with the caption “these are my insulin pens” in Portuguese and English, and then transitioning into showing two young ladies who “need them to live.”
TikToker Sarah Vieira posted a video in duet format where she compares how much insulin costs in Brazil and the US
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
The video she dueted with was by @IAmChloe.com
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
Then they show an individual insulin pen, but this is where it starts to differ a bit: the one owned by Sarah has the caption “lasts 7 days” and the cost indicated is “R$0.00,” whereas the video on the right features Chloe’s insulin pen, also for 7 days, and it costs $168. Yes, you read that right.
And it doesn’t end there. Another frame features different insulin pens, ones that last for 10 days, and Sarah’s, again, is a zero-cost one, while Chloe’s costs $134. And then it transitions into both showing a few months’ worth of pens. Again, Sarah’s pens cost her absolutely zero. Chloe’s, on the other hand, amounted to over $15,000. Mind you, they need them to live.
Since Brazil has a universal healthcare system, it costs nothing for Sarah
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
This isn't the case for Chloe as there is no insulin compensation system in the US
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
The video concludes with both girls showing their medication stashes and the captions “I am privileged enough to live in a country that has a Unified Health System (UHS)” versus “I am privileged enough to be able to afford my disease.”
The last frames also include Sarah captioning “Defend the UHS” and Chloe’s video saying “Not everyone is so lucky.” The former is a reference to plans to reverse 30 years of progress in the healthcare system with the recent austerity measures and new policies brought about by the Brazilian government.
And the costs rack up quickly as diabetes isn't something that goes away after a few shots
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
And this is the case in a number of countries. If the governments of these countries don’t compensate insulin shots in full, they at least make it super affordable. In context, the average price per standard insulin unit in Australia is $6.94, $12 in Canada, $9.08 in France, $11 in Germany, and $14.40 in Japan. And then there’s the US that clocks in at $98.70 in the same statistics. That’s, on average, 10 times more than most other countries, which begs for a healthcare system reform in the US.
The video soon went viral on Twitter, garnering over 3.2 million views with over 79,000 likes and almost 28,000 retweets. The video was also shared by one other user, getting another 45,000 likes and 22,500 retweets.
Due to recent developments that may negatively affect the Brazilian health system, Sarah made this "what could be" video in defense of it
Image credits: Sarah Vieira
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below!