Comments for Obama announces agreement with drug companies »
Posted By suzanek 5 months, 2 weeks ago in Political NewsPresident Barack Obama on Monday welcomed the pharmaceutical industry's agreement to help close a gap in Medicare's drug coverage, calling the pact a step forward in the push for overhaul of the nation's health care system .
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EDWARDIII5 months, 2 weeks ago
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What should he do, calitennflo?
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Should doctors set drug prices?
Should presidents set drug prices?
Should consumers set drug prices?
Should some committee of "experts" set drug prices?
And if any of the above should set drug prices then why not all prices? Why not your wages? You are greedy and get too much for what you do. I vote we should make you work the first 3 hours of every day for free so the savings can trickle down to the consumer, or do you think the old and infirm should have to pay the same as the rich for the benifits you render?-
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quackpot5 months, 2 weeks ago
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You are dreaming of a free market with respect to drugs. This was tried and it failed miserably once the leading snake oil sales people were able to gain an appreciable share of the market in the 19th century.
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The trade off between unregulated snake oils salesmen and over regulation is not clear, but it should be clear that the market place is NOT free.
The government benefits the drug companies in many ways:
--issues highly profitable patents to the drug companies
--Determines which compounds can be marketed as drugs (safety and efficacy)
--Regulates the manufacture of the drugs (good manufacturing practices)
--Pays for a large portion of drug sales (Medicare part D)
Without a say in reasonable pricing policies, the scales are heavily tipped against the consumer.-
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EDWARDIII5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Who the hell are you to say what I am dreaming of?
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Think about this though. When a doctor or lawyer or tow truck operator or cop saves you from disaster are you grateful or not? Do you not wish them all the best?
What about drug companies who invent a drug today that might save your life, albeit twenty years forward in time, or your grandchild's life fifty years from now? Wouldn't you be glad to have them prosper in the mean time?
Now suppose we have a rule that if a drug company spends billions on development only to discover a dead end, well, those are the breaks. They eat their losses. But if they discover a successful drug they must sell it at manufacturing price. Would you go into the drug business under those rules?
Suppose, on the other hand drug companies were encouraged to make as much as they could earn. 1. Rich people spending vast sums on the initial output serve as a test group for the rest of us. They suffer any unpredicted side effects. 2. The drug will become a cheap generic eventually, and available to everyone. Many drugs that are ubiquitous now started that way. 3. Successful drugs create the economic cusion necessary for companies to investigate more new drugs which might or might not become profitable.
The government owes the drug companies the service of patent protection. That's what a govenment is for. Their scattergun tangle of regulations, though, have the effect of keeping new and small-cap companies out of the market and potentially helpful drugs off the shelves. Compare a few lives lost on unusual side effects to thousands of lives lost waiting for new drugs to become available. It is a matter of balance, and just now the balance is way off.
Read Thomas Sowell-
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quackpot5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Each of the professions that you mention has huge leverage over the consumer caught in an emergency situation and therefore unable to negotiate the best deal. In each case, the permissible and/or customary rates are largely set by society (i.e. government) so as to allow a decent profit while preventing scalping.
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Doctors: prices are largely regulated by HMOs with medicare being the big determinant of a base value.
Lawyer: public defenders are available
Tow Truck: largely regulated by state laws.
Cop: Salary paid by the government
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lloydm655 months, 2 weeks ago
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I get most of my drugs for less than five dollars for a thirty day supply,ninty day supplyis ten dollars.Most are generic,but some are brand.I have a membership card with Savon.They are located in the Albertsons super markets here in the Dallas Tx area.The card cost ten dollars,then they give you a gift card for the store worth ten dollars.Its a lot better than medicare part D
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EDWARDIII5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Charlson is right. The big companies are well positioned to handle more regulations if they get to insert a few clauses. They can minimize harm to themselves while driving the start-ups and the small-caps off the planet. Otherwise, if the business of inventing new and revolutionary life-saving drugs becomes too risky because of government interference, they can make huge volumes of generics using economies of scale to out-compete other companies. They can also go into vitamins, for which marketing advantages can be used and they can save their research dollars for cosmetics which are less regulated. And the government is all too glad to go into agreement with a few big players. It makes them look business-friendly and consumer friendly at the same time while they stifle innovation.
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