4 ms·

I wonder if this has anything to do with drug re-importation laws. I wish someone would do something about it. Like an executive order or something.

addflip 6y ago
Can't tell you're being sarcastic or not but there was an executive order[1] signed in July to address this. We'll see if this will bring down prices. 1.) https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-access-affordable-life-saving-medications/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-or...
- tigershark 6y ago
  Yeah, it worked perfectly, now it’s cheaper than water.
- hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
  That executive order shows the full-on insanity and dysfunction of our political system in the US: 1. Other countries achieve lower drug prices because their governments regulate those prices. 2. The US (especially a particular political party) is anti-government regulation, especially when it comes to price controls, so drug prices are MUCH higher in the US. 3. Thus, the US president has issued an executive order to allow reimportation of drugs so that the US can take advantage of other countries' lower drug prices. In other words, we won't pass our own regulations, so we are explicitly delegating our regulatory authority to other nations so that we can take advantage of the effects of their regulations. Honestly, whether or not you are pro or anti regulation, this current state is just f'ing insane. You certainly can't consistently state that you are anti-regulation and be for this policy.
  - Consultant32452 6y ago
    It's regulation that is stopping me from buying the cheapest price. I don't want the US to force a particular price in the US. And even if they did, I would still want to be able to buy from anywhere in the world, regardless of where the lowest price is.
    - hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
      Yeah, you want to take advantage of the regulation of those other countries, which you can't get in the US.
      - Consultant32452 6y ago
        Let's not forget the need for patent reform in this area. The current state of patents around drugs in the US is crazy.
      - dantheman 6y ago
        You mean the regulations that limit competition in the US and restrict manufactures and grant monopoly rights? These are the regulations that are good right?
        hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
        What are you talking about when it comes to manufacturing insulin? I mean, yes, I definitely do want regulations around the safety of drug manufacturing, but beyond that what regulations specifically are you referring to that restrict the manufacturing of insulin?
        Consultant32452 6y ago
        One example: >The second reason, the authors noted, is that there isn't significant competition in the U.S. insulin market. Price competition typically comes from the introduction of a generic drug that directly competes with a branded product. >But the authors said that current insulin makers have blocked the entry to such products by getting new patents based on things such as a new delivery device. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-11-07/why-are-insulin-prices-still-so-high-for-us-patients https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-11-07/... Patent reform would help bring generics on the market and reduce prices.
      - x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
        I'm not sure why people don't see the problem with "I don't want any price regulation in the US, but I want to personally benefit from price regulation done in other countries". It's a whole different level of selfishness.
- HarryHirsch 6y ago
  It certainly fits in nicely with American Civil Religion. The government can't do anything, so you take personal responsibility for your own survival and make the drug run into Canada or Mexico every month.
ghostbrainalpha 6y ago
Is this a reference to the first Presidential debate? As a diabetic I was excited to hear when Trump said that he had made Insulin as cheap as water. However it still looks like it costs around $300 per vial at my pharmacy.
- Consultant32452 6y ago
  https://www.forbes.com/sites/avikroy/2020/07/24/trumps-most-favored-nation-prescription-drug-executive-order-will-reduce-costs-for-seniors--taxpayers/#322fcecb1860 https://www.forbes.com/sites/avikroy/2020/07/24/trumps-most-... As one might expect, the pharma companies are fighting his executive order in the courts. Here's one article with some details.
  - doomslice 6y ago
    There's also no timeframe for implementation, lacks specific implementation details, and the only teeth it seems to have is that these Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) may potentially be excluded from grants.
- csa 6y ago
  Yeah, my friend who has a daughter with Type 1 laughed her ass off at that comment.
- crocodiletears 6y ago
  I'll be the first to admit that I have very limited knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, but from what I've gleaned, it's such a tangled, multi-tiered morass of different actors, contracts, and regulations, that it may be a few years before we see any movement on the market's pricing, if at all. I have a lot of hope for his ambitions to enact a favored nation's policy wrt Medicare's drug pricing, but since his administration's seemingly been lackluster on executing his order limiting insulin markups by federally funded clinics, I doubt his policies are anything other than paper tigers.
- mensetmanusman 6y ago
  Trump water has gold flakes, so it is still true for him.

addflip 6y ago

Can't tell you're being sarcastic or not but there was an executive order[1] signed in July to address this. We'll see if this will bring down prices. 1.) https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-access-affordable-life-saving-medications/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-or...

tigershark 6y ago
Yeah, it worked perfectly, now it’s cheaper than water.
hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
That executive order shows the full-on insanity and dysfunction of our political system in the US: 1. Other countries achieve lower drug prices because their governments regulate those prices. 2. The US (especially a particular political party) is anti-government regulation, especially when it comes to price controls, so drug prices are MUCH higher in the US. 3. Thus, the US president has issued an executive order to allow reimportation of drugs so that the US can take advantage of other countries' lower drug prices. In other words, we won't pass our own regulations, so we are explicitly delegating our regulatory authority to other nations so that we can take advantage of the effects of their regulations. Honestly, whether or not you are pro or anti regulation, this current state is just f'ing insane. You certainly can't consistently state that you are anti-regulation and be for this policy.
- Consultant32452 6y ago
  It's regulation that is stopping me from buying the cheapest price. I don't want the US to force a particular price in the US. And even if they did, I would still want to be able to buy from anywhere in the world, regardless of where the lowest price is.
  - hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
    Yeah, you want to take advantage of the regulation of those other countries, which you can't get in the US.
    - Consultant32452 6y ago
      Let's not forget the need for patent reform in this area. The current state of patents around drugs in the US is crazy.
    - dantheman 6y ago
      You mean the regulations that limit competition in the US and restrict manufactures and grant monopoly rights? These are the regulations that are good right?
      - hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
        What are you talking about when it comes to manufacturing insulin? I mean, yes, I definitely do want regulations around the safety of drug manufacturing, but beyond that what regulations specifically are you referring to that restrict the manufacturing of insulin?
        Consultant32452 6y ago
        One example: >The second reason, the authors noted, is that there isn't significant competition in the U.S. insulin market. Price competition typically comes from the introduction of a generic drug that directly competes with a branded product. >But the authors said that current insulin makers have blocked the entry to such products by getting new patents based on things such as a new delivery device. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-11-07/why-are-insulin-prices-still-so-high-for-us-patients https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-11-07/... Patent reform would help bring generics on the market and reduce prices.
    - x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
      I'm not sure why people don't see the problem with "I don't want any price regulation in the US, but I want to personally benefit from price regulation done in other countries". It's a whole different level of selfishness.
HarryHirsch 6y ago
It certainly fits in nicely with American Civil Religion. The government can't do anything, so you take personal responsibility for your own survival and make the drug run into Canada or Mexico every month.

ghostbrainalpha 6y ago

Is this a reference to the first Presidential debate? As a diabetic I was excited to hear when Trump said that he had made Insulin as cheap as water. However it still looks like it costs around $300 per vial at my pharmacy.

Consultant32452 6y ago
https://www.forbes.com/sites/avikroy/2020/07/24/trumps-most-favored-nation-prescription-drug-executive-order-will-reduce-costs-for-seniors--taxpayers/#322fcecb1860 https://www.forbes.com/sites/avikroy/2020/07/24/trumps-most-... As one might expect, the pharma companies are fighting his executive order in the courts. Here's one article with some details.
- doomslice 6y ago
  There's also no timeframe for implementation, lacks specific implementation details, and the only teeth it seems to have is that these Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) may potentially be excluded from grants.
csa 6y ago
Yeah, my friend who has a daughter with Type 1 laughed her ass off at that comment.
crocodiletears 6y ago
I'll be the first to admit that I have very limited knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, but from what I've gleaned, it's such a tangled, multi-tiered morass of different actors, contracts, and regulations, that it may be a few years before we see any movement on the market's pricing, if at all. I have a lot of hope for his ambitions to enact a favored nation's policy wrt Medicare's drug pricing, but since his administration's seemingly been lackluster on executing his order limiting insulin markups by federally funded clinics, I doubt his policies are anything other than paper tigers.
mensetmanusman 6y ago
Trump water has gold flakes, so it is still true for him.