Quote:
Originally Posted by heims01
(Post 2001886)
Seeing a new add sponsored by PhRMA stating that allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices will reduce availability of drugs. I think that might be a fib but wonder what others think. I know drug prices are very high for many Tier 4 and 5 drugs when on Medicare.
S.99 - Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act
116th Congress (2019-2020)
|
Big Pharma desperately wants YOU, through your health insurance, to keep being their Cash Cows. (Bear in mind that a huge percentage of us have mutual funds that are making us money by investing in drug companies, so if the government cuts what is paid, that will hurt us some because there will be less profit, but do you want to make you retirement income by gouging other Americans, as well as yourself?)
I remember a few years ago when the price of generic Doxycycline went up from $20 a month to $260. In a week. Is that because it got more expensive to produce? No, it’s because there had been several generic drug companies making it, but when some stopped, the sole remaining maker took advantage of us by raising the prices.
If the drugs are only 1/3 the price in Canada, that’s because that is the nationwide price negotiated by the Canadian government. It’s not being sold for less than the cost of making it or less than a healthy profit margin. If our legislators on both sides of the aisle refuse to do the same for us because they have been purchased by Big Pharma, they are giving a giant middle finger to all voters. They are saying, “We don’t care if you are paying $1300 a month for this medication that costs $100 to make. You don’t really matter to us. Our job is to keep drug companies happy.”
As for hospitals and pharmacies, remember that they mark up the price of drugs they sell. A 20% markup on a drug costing us $100 a month makes them $20 profit, while if it costs $10 a month, they make only $2. So of course they want the cost high, whether or not they admit it. Their profits are more important to them than your pockets.
Remember, this proposal came from President Trump a couple years ago, and President Biden is simply carrying on the good fight that couldn’t be won in a year. We should ALL get on board and pressure Congress to put WE THE PEOPLE above the drug companies.
Like most pharmacies, Medicare has a “formulary” of drugs approved because they work well and don’t cost much. They urge that these be prescribed and prefer that doctors not prescribe drugs that cost much more but don’t work any better. For example, my blood pressure is normal because I take two generic drugs that together cost about $5 a month. If I insisted on taking the latest blood pressure med advertised on TV that costs $500 a month (maybe with a big co-payment I have to pay), maybe my doctor will prescribe it after telling me it’s a waste of money for me, but my blood pressure will still be normal. So yes, maybe Medicare will point you toward cheaper drugs that work just as well. That saves you money and saves all of us money as we pay for the cost of health insurance. So don’t be swayed by the arguments of drug companies. They only care for your money, not for you.
