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The drug was developed over 30 years ago in Europe and has been freely available for years. But now a drug maker has an exclusive license to it and will be charging around $375,000 a year per person for it. As solid an argument as any that medical research should be conducted at universities or hospitals with public funding and drugs manufactured strictly by non-profits at cost. Profits kill people when it comes to healthcare.
Hmmmm. Here we are in America, bamboozled by all the talk about how we are going to pay for healthcare, which is good in itself, but no one talks about how to drive the costs down! People in these big health corporations are the ones who set the prices, which as shown here, are crazily overpriced. We should be having both discussions simultaneously.
You missed the step where someone did all the research, trials and so forth which is a huge sunk investment.
Imagine that if you did all of that, your competition could then just copy and sell the drug without those costs?
Or how about if you spent $60million making a hit movie and then anyone can show it, sell DVD's of it, merchandise, play it on their network etc?
While I do not support some of the egregious gouging that has occasionally happened, there has to be some sort of financial reward for an investment like that or it wouldn't be done in the first place.
In short, I'm hearing *solutions* that would certainly end the problem because nobody would go to the trouble of coming up with the drug in the first place and the people with this problem would just go without.
I would suggest that to make these more reasonable we would need to:
1) Make the development process cheaper without the webs and layers of govt. approval being so thick.
2) Don't allow other countries with socialized healthcare to foist the development costs on us by using monopoly buying power to push down their costs at our expense. Let them contribute or go without.
3) if you're going to allow monopoly power for the seller via patent, they have to accept some degree of price regulation so they don't pull a fast one like with epi-pen.
The fact that American Pharma companies sell the same drugs on the international markets for as little as one-fourth to one-sixth of American prices ... and still make huge profits, pokes holes in the 'research and production cost' arguments. Things that seem to keep our drug prices high is government regulations, an unwillingness to limit drug prices and free-market competition in drugs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ore-for-drugs/
There are probably arguments on both sides, but, IMO, drug prices (like hospital bills) in the U.S. are largely determined on a "whatever profit the traffic will bear" basis. Another major factor in this is likely insurance company monopolies. Although drug prices are outrageous, people accept it because most drugs are at least partially, if not entirely, covered by insurance.
I think everyone would like to see drug prices limited and some caps placed on arbitrary increases, but, nobody wants to give-up the availability of drugs that work. And, if caps/limits were placed on drugs, the Pharma companies would probably respond by pulling less profitable drugs from the market. Perhaps the key is to open up international drug markets to U.S. buyers (??) - Nevertheless, as long as the pivotal drug cost issue is "profits," things are unlikely to change!
Hmmmm. Here we are in America, bamboozled by all the talk about how we are going to pay for healthcare, which is good in itself, but no one talks about how to drive the costs down! People in these big health corporations are the ones who set the prices, which as shown here, are crazily overpriced. We should be having both discussions simultaneously.
LOL! No, the big Pharm can’t dictate the price in a free market. Except we don’t have a free market. Health industry is heavily regulated and the cost to entry the market is extraordinarily high.
So get rid of the government regulations, you will have cheaper costs
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,604,784 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifeexplorer
LOL! No, the big Pharm can’t dictate the price in a free market. Except we don’t have a free market. Health industry is heavily regulated and the cost to entry the market is extraordinarily high.
So get rid of the government regulations, you will have cheaper costs
Are you kidding? Of course they can. As long as they are willing to have no sales at all at the insanely high price by sticking to their guns, then that will be the price....
The fact that American Pharma companies sell the same drugs on the international markets for as little as one-fourth to one-sixth of American prices ... and still make huge profits, pokes holes in the 'research and production cost' arguments. Things that seem to keep our drug prices high is government regulations, an unwillingness to limit drug prices and free-market competition in drugs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ore-for-drugs/
There are probably arguments on both sides, but, IMO, drug prices (like hospital bills) in the U.S. are largely determined on a "whatever profit the traffic will bear" basis. Another major factor in this is likely insurance company monopolies. Although drug prices are outrageous, people accept it because most drugs are at least partially, if not entirely, covered by insurance.
I think everyone would like to see drug prices limited and some caps placed on arbitrary increases, but, nobody wants to give-up the availability of drugs that work. And, if caps/limits were placed on drugs, the Pharma companies would probably respond by pulling less profitable drugs from the market. Perhaps the key is to open up international drug markets to U.S. buyers (??) - Nevertheless, as long as the pivotal drug cost issue is "profits," things are unlikely to change!
Thous shalt not interfere with big pharma owning congress.
IE it aint gonna happen.
A few things would help
Repeal the law that says govt cannot negotiate drug prices
Ban outright any exclusive rights for off patent drugs
Allow importation of off patent drugs
Law that says companies cannot charge more than the median price for a drug in Aus, UK, Germany, Canada and Japan.
More complex
Ban evergreening and rebranding.
Will not happen. The congress is owned wholly by big pharma on this issue.
Are you kidding? Of course they can. As long as they are willing to have no sales at all at the insanely high price by sticking to their guns, then that will be the price....
Yeah, every greedy Pharm Exective wants to set high prices so that they get zero sales.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,604,784 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifeexplorer
Yeah, every greedy Pharm Exective wants to set high prices so that they get zero sales.
It only takes a couple suckers with deep wallets like a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet willing to pay the insane price, while us plebes have to do without due to lack of ability to pay
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