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Featured High Drug Prices Are Killing Americans

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by Crabtownboy, Sep 1, 2015.

  1. Crabtownboy

    Crabtownboy Well-Known Member
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    All across the country, Americans are finding that the prices of the prescription drugs they need are soaring. Tragically, doctors tell us that many of their patients can no longer afford their medicine. As a result, some get sicker. Others die.

    A new Kaiser Health poll shows that most Americans think prescription drug costs in this country are unreasonable, and that drug companies put profits before people. Want to know something? They're right.

    Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world -- by far. Drug costs increased 12.6 percent last year, more than double the rise in overall medical costs. (Inflation in this country was 0.8 percent that year.)

    Even before that, we spent nearly 40 percent more per person on prescriptions in 2013 than they did in Canada, the next most expensive industrialized country. Prescription drugs cost nearly five times more per person in this country than they did in Denmark that year.

    This is not a partisan issue. Most Americans -- Republicans, Democrats, and independents -- want Congress to do something about drug prices. 86 percent of those polled, including 82 percent of Republicans, think drug companies should be required to release information to the public on how they set their prices. Large majorities support other solutions to the drug cost problem as well.

    The Kaiser poll also showed that Republican voters care more about drug prices than they do about repealing Obamacare. They should. Republicans in Congress have tried to repeal that law so many times that it's an embarrassment. It's also a distraction from the very real health care problems our country faces. Millions of Americans still can't see a doctor when they need one. Another poll showed that nearly one in five Americans didn't fill a prescription because of cost.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernie-sanders/high-drug-prices-are-kill_b_8059526.html
     
  2. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    I agree. We need to get government out of healthcare so that drug prices will come down to an affordable level.
     
  3. Crabtownboy

    Crabtownboy Well-Known Member
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    The problem here in the States is the government in not involved in drug prices. Because the government is involved in Europe the drugs cost much less. Drug costs here will only go up because the government is not involved. It is called unregulated Capitalism and companies can charge whatever they want.

    Indeed all healthcare costs are much lower in Europe because the governments there are involved. I have known of people who went to a European country for health care, paid a lot less and received excellent care.

    However, because of lobbyists the drug industry was successful in blocking any Medicare payments anywhere outside the country. Of course this costs the tax payer much more, but rewards the big drug companies.
     
  4. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    Actually, the government has numerous programs that drive up the cost of drugs.

    "Less" relative to what, exactly?

    And if "less" is good, then wouldn't less-er be better?

    Actually, unregulated capitalism causes prices to go down because it promotes competition.

    Again, "lower" relative to what? And if "lower" is good, then why isn't more lower better?

    The good thing about the internet is that you can say you "know" all sorts of things. But in real life, the opposite is true. Europeans who have the money come here because they get better treatment and don't have to wait months to get potentially life saving treatment.

    How does it reward the drug companies?

    Second, why are we paying Medicare payments for people outside the country?

    Third, if lobbyists are bad, why not abolish the regulations that make lobbyists necessary?
     
  5. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    Sorry, it is not possible to involve government and have it be cheaper. If you think the drug industry is unregulated you need to do better research.
     
  6. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    You would think so but it doesn't work that way with many prescription drugs. What happens is a company develops a breakthrough drug, gets an airtight patent on it, gets FDA approval than charges an arm and a leg for it.



    Sent from my Motorola Droid Turbo with Tapatalk Pro.
     
  7. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, I can understand why you would want that to be true, but that's not how capitalism works.
     
  8. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Precisely. Classic capitalism does not apply to drugs. Look up the unsubsidized price of Xeralto, or Advair, or Eliquis, or any number of the new drugs.

    Sent from my Motorola Droid Turbo with Tapatalk Pro.
     
  9. church mouse guy

    church mouse guy Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, haven't they heard of FDR?

    If you want good medical care, go to Cuba!
     
  10. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    Yes. It's expensive. That's why capitalists came up with an identical, less expensive alternative called Rivaroxaban.

    Once again, capitalism comes through, making an expensive drug available to people who could not otherwise afford it.
     
  11. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Once again you are in error. Rivaroxaban is the FDA registered name for this particular anticoagulant. Xaralto is the trademarked name. There is NO generic equivalent.

    http://www.drugs.com/availability/generic-xarelto.html

    Does every brand-name drug have a generic drug?

    No. New drugs are developed under patent protection, and most drug patents are protected for 17 years giving the drug company the sole right to sell the brand-name drug during that time. Only when the patent expires can other drug companies apply to the FDA for approval to start selling the generic version of the drug.

    http://www.drugs.com/generic_drugs.html
     
    #11 InTheLight, Sep 1, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 1, 2015
  12. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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  13. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    I understand why you would want that to be true, but that isn't the way it works.
     
  14. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Continually saying that will not make it true.

    Drugs are patented. If the manufacturer decides not to license out the patent a generic version can only be produced after the patent expires in 17 years.

    If this is not the way it works please tell us how it works.

    Been inside a pharmacy lately? Typically there is a huge wall mounted chart showing when each drug's patent expires.
     
  15. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Yes, that's because they are generics, like Coumadin, which is a brand name for Warfarin. But if you need to take Warfarin you need to have blood tests every two weeks to monitor the effectiveness and to possibly adjust the dosage. Also there are foods that are forbidden to be eaten when taking Warfarin because they negate the action of the drug. Xaralto and Equilis have become popular because they don't have these restrictions.

    Besides Warfarin please list the other generic anti-coagulants that are dirt cheap.

    Sorry, but no, lawsuits alone do not keep the prices high. Yes, lawsuits are a factor but not the main factor. The main factor is the proprietary nature of the drug. It has many advantages over other anti-coagulants which makes the drug in demand. For example, one needs to take only one pill per day. There are no dietary restrictions. No need for constant monitoring of blood chemistry. No dosage adjustments. Less likelihood of intercranial bleeding.
     
    #15 InTheLight, Sep 1, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 1, 2015
  16. blessedwife318

    blessedwife318 Well-Known Member
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    Your argument for why we need government involved in pharmaceutical is to point out how high drug prices are thanks to two different government agencies, the patent office and the FDA?

    I have long said drug prices are out of control but the government is part of the problem, and Obamcare just made it worse, so you'll forgive if I'm sceptical of government solving a problem it helped to create.
     
  17. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    That is what government does. It regulates until it raises costs of products and services and then regulates again to force the manufacturers and businesses to just eat those costs as often as it can.
     
  18. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Please point out where I argued for government involvement in the pharmaceutical industry. I was merely stating facts. Drug prices are high because patenting them gives manufacturers a 17 year monopoly.

    At no point did I suggest a government solution to high drug prices. However, I will say this - - I could support a shorter patent duration for drugs. A drug patent length of 10 years instead of 17 years would mean generics would get to market much faster. Unfortunately, this would likely mean that manufacturers would set prices even higher than they are now since they would only have 10 years to recoup R&D costs before the generics hit the market.
     
    #18 InTheLight, Sep 1, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 1, 2015
  19. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthew...-new-drugs-is-shaping-the-future-of-medicine/
     
  20. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    So , if someone wants the convenience of a new drug that is no more effective than an alternate drug, they need to pay the difference without complaint.

    It's up to them.
     
    #20 carpro, Sep 2, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 2, 2015
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