4 ms·
In other words, stop voting for Republicans.
by coldpie 8y ago
In other words, stop voting for Republicans.
- genzoman 8y agoBig Pharma knows no party.
- minikites 8y agoThen why are only Democrats pushing for Medicare For All and other comprehensive public health plans while Republicans want to dismantle the ACA (Obamacare)?
- danharaj 8y agoA subset of Democratic politicians and officials are pushing for Medicare for All. Most of the Democratic party machine is tepid-to-opposed.
- minikites 8y agoThere are more than zero Democrats working on the problem. There are zero Republicans working on the problem.
- will_brown 8y agoBig Pharma is the only party who wins under a universal healthcare system or private insurance based system. It’s not like ACA or even Medicare covers all Rx...hence Medicare Part D (ie drug coverage) which was done under GW Bush, at the time the GOP distanced themselves and later Obama tried to dismantle Medicare part D, but the dems has to pull him back (politically dems couldn’t gut drug coverage for Medicare patients).
- cc439 8y agoMedicare for all would do nothing to harm Big Pharma as the government is not legally allowed to use its monopsony status to negotiate prices under Medicare Part D (the section of Medicare that accounts for 85% of government drug spending). If anything, it would be a boon to Big Pharma as it removes barriers to access for an enormous number of new "customers". Interestingly, it was the Trump administration [1] who made the first move to allow the government to negotiate drug prices by loosening the restrictions against such practices for Medicare Part B spending (which represents 15% of government drug spending). I'm not saying the American right wing's approach is in any way comparable to the left's, I'm just saying that the left's approach suspiciously overlooks any solutions that might actually threaten Big Pharma. [1]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/trump-forces-pharma-to-face-more-medicare-drug-price-negotiation https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/trump-for...
- zrail 8y agoThe M4A bills that are working their way through Congress right now all remove that restriction.
- coldpie 8y agoNah, this is dumb. There's a clear distinction between parties in terms of how they feel about the current healthcare system and where it should go. To imply they're the same is utter nonsense.
- snarf21 8y agoBig Pharma knows both parties. They own them both, they really don't care much who wins. Welcome to life in a plutocracy.
- maxxxxx 8y agoLike the banks. They own both parties.
- drak0n1c 8y agoThe President and other Republicans are currently making regulations requiring drug companies to charge US customers the same low rates they charge international customers. The price difference is entirely in the price charged, this isn't a case of single payers offsetting the cost. The US public has been subsidizing pharmaceutical research for the entire world with these inflated prices and hopefully that changes soon.
- rossenberg79 8y ago> The US public has been subsidizing pharmaceutical research for the entire world with these inflated prices and hopefully that changes soon. This is what some people refuse to acknowledge when they mock the US for having such high prices. If US prices drop over night to match RoW pharma companies are not just going to go quietly into that good night, there will be consequences. Most likely, a lowering of US prices will result in a rise everywhere else, so enjoy your low prices while they last. It’s time for Americans to put America first.
- mast 8y agoIs this really true? Is there any proof that companies don't or can't make a profit at European & Canadian prices. US prices are much higher because companies are allowed to charge more. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20170602.060376/full/ https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20170602.06037...
- rossenberg79 8y agoResearch in pharma is expensive, you can easily spend billions and have nothing to show for it. Where else do you think all that money comes from?
- maxxxxx 8y agoIs anybody forcing them to sell in Europe? If it's not profitable I would assume they wouldn't sell there.
- sctb 8y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19870180 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19870180.
- GeekyBear 8y agoObama certainly campaigned on putting a stop to drug company price gouging inside the US by finally allowing Americans to purchase prescription drugs from Canada where price gouging is not allowed. However, a back room deal was quickly cut. >WASHINGTON — After weeks of talks, drug industry lobbyists were growing nervous. To cut a deal with the White House on overhauling health care, they needed to be sure that President Obama would stop a proposal intended to bring down medicine prices. On June 3, 2009, one of the lobbyists e-mailed Nancy-Ann DeParle, the president’s health care adviser. Ms. DeParle reassured the lobbyist. Although Mr. Obama was overseas, she wrote, she and other top officials had “made decision, based on how constructive you guys have been, to oppose importation” on a different proposal. Just like that, Mr. Obama’s staff signaled a willingness to put aside support for the reimportation of prescription medicines at lower prices and by doing so solidified a compact with an industry the president had vilified on the campaign trail. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/us/politics/e-mails-reveal-extent-of-obamas-deal-with-industry-on-health-care.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/us/politics/e-mails-revea... Supposedly, the industry promised to control costs themselves in exchange for the deal, but looking at the data on drug prices, we know they never followed through.