4 ms·

I would actually agree, to some degree. Sidenote: If you research more, Shkreli does have reasons for the price hike (research). He says that 60-70% of Darapri

I would actually agree, to some degree. Sidenote: If you research more, Shkreli does have reasons for the price hike (research). He says that 60-70% of Daraprim is given for free and no one is dying from lack of access. I don't know how true it is, but he doesn't seem like a villain.

tristanj 10y ago
>[Shkreli says that for most people,] Daraprim is given for free That's his PR pitch. Shkreli says he's giving drugs away for free, but really he's not. What's actually happening is his company makes a tax-deductible donation to an org that covers patients' co-pays, and leaves health insurers/Medicaid to cover the other 80% of the cost. Covering the co-pay keeps patients on the drug longer so his company can milk more money from insurers. It's a great moneymaking scheme. Shkreli didn't think of this himself, many drug companies do the same. Like you mentioned, I don't think he's a villain for doing this, he's just a smart guy who saw how drug companies abuse the system and tried to copy them. There's a lot more on this topic in this Bloomberg article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/the-real-reason-big-pharma-wants-to-help-pay-for-your-prescription http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/the-real-r...
- witty_username 10y ago
  Well, it's debatable whether that's "abuse". Companies need to make money to fund research (Shkreli says he's trying to find a "2016 version of Daraprim") and pay investors, and if patients aren't hurt, it's not necessarily bad.
  - tristanj 10y ago
    Well, if his actual intent was to help patients who couldn't afford his drug, then he could just sell it to them cheaply. I don't think people would consider that abuse. Instead he chooses make roundabout tax-deductible contributions to a "charity" that covers patients copay's in a legally questionable matter, dumping the cost on their insurer/US government. Is that just some clever money making scheme, or is that abuse? Depends on your perspective. Also, the patients are hurt. Who pays for these drug price hikes? That cost is paid by patients in their higher insurance premiums and American taxpayers in their dollars to Medicaid. Companies that do what Shkreli did make healthcare more expensive for all Americans. The underlying theme is that there are seriously perverse incentives issues in American healthcare that need to be resolved. Until then, some people will make a lot of money.

tristanj 10y ago

>[Shkreli says that for most people,] Daraprim is given for free That's his PR pitch. Shkreli says he's giving drugs away for free, but really he's not. What's actually happening is his company makes a tax-deductible donation to an org that covers patients' co-pays, and leaves health insurers/Medicaid to cover the other 80% of the cost. Covering the co-pay keeps patients on the drug longer so his company can milk more money from insurers. It's a great moneymaking scheme. Shkreli didn't think of this himself, many drug companies do the same. Like you mentioned, I don't think he's a villain for doing this, he's just a smart guy who saw how drug companies abuse the system and tried to copy them. There's a lot more on this topic in this Bloomberg article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/the-real-reason-big-pharma-wants-to-help-pay-for-your-prescription http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/the-real-r...

witty_username 10y ago
Well, it's debatable whether that's "abuse". Companies need to make money to fund research (Shkreli says he's trying to find a "2016 version of Daraprim") and pay investors, and if patients aren't hurt, it's not necessarily bad.
- tristanj 10y ago
  Well, if his actual intent was to help patients who couldn't afford his drug, then he could just sell it to them cheaply. I don't think people would consider that abuse. Instead he chooses make roundabout tax-deductible contributions to a "charity" that covers patients copay's in a legally questionable matter, dumping the cost on their insurer/US government. Is that just some clever money making scheme, or is that abuse? Depends on your perspective. Also, the patients are hurt. Who pays for these drug price hikes? That cost is paid by patients in their higher insurance premiums and American taxpayers in their dollars to Medicaid. Companies that do what Shkreli did make healthcare more expensive for all Americans. The underlying theme is that there are seriously perverse incentives issues in American healthcare that need to be resolved. Until then, some people will make a lot of money.