Posted on 03/31/2017 11:15:09 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
How serious is President Trump about drug prices? Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings tells me that Trump has called him three times to follow up on their conversation at the White House earlier this month. And Trump's not just talking about letting Medicare negotiate drug prices, Cummings says. It's even worse for Republicans — because Trump is also talking about importing cheaper drugs from other countries.
Why it matters: Trump has said many times he wants to do something about drug prices, and has terrified both the pharmaceutical industry and free-market Republicans with his talk of doing more price negotiations. They assume that means allowing the government, through Medicare, to directly negotiate prices. But if price negotiations are Enemy #1 of prescription drug policy for Republicans, Enemy #2 is allowing importation of drugs from abroad — which Trump also wants to do.
"We came in talking about Medicare, being able to negotiate. And he was saying he wants something even broader," Cummings said. "Then the other thing that we weren't even talking about, was...importation. And then he brought that up, and how ridiculous it was to go to Canada and buy something for $100 and come in the United States and buy it for $900. I think he just sees it as a principle, you know, the idea that, as he said, they're getting away with murder."
Bottom line: "He understands the policy, he gets it," Cummings said. (Democrats introduced a new bill yesterday with those policies and others.)
How did this whole discrepancy in drug prices manifest itself and why should we trust Elijah Cummings to suddenly come up with a brilliant solution?
President Donald Trump is going to free the slaves!!!
Cummings has been for this for years. The Uniparty opposed this. Now he sees a chance to have an actual legislative victory.
They are very good solutions.
Price gouging is the dirty secret the GOPe would like to sweep under the carpet.
>>>President Donald Trump is going to free the slaves!!!<<<
Liberal Slaves have no interest in being Freed.
Once you are completely free, the Gravy Train stops and you have to get off.
How is negotiating drug prices against Republicans or free market? Or importing cheaper drugs?
Yes, lets reimport drugs we sell to other countries with price controls, brilliant!
Fed.gov gives Big Pharma oligopolistic control over the US drug market. They are part of our ruling, statist, oligarchy. Don't believe me? Dig into the history and details of how Mylan took the price of their Epipen from $8 a dose, up to $600, and you will see how politics, lobbying, massive government money and debt, and crony-capitalist law combine to drive drug prices through the roof.
Perhaps. I just don’t trust Elijah or his fellow DemonicRATS to throw a broomstick through the spokes when the time comes.
Redemption is always possible!!!
How many time did Trump talk to Romney or Cristy.. And what came of it?
Sanctions on countries that clone the new drugs while they are on patent. Prices of new drugs are so high in this country because the American clientele has to pay the full fair for the R&D because other countries claim it is unfair that they have to pay high prices and threaten to copy the new drugs. The companies sell them at the generic price abroad because they can make up a little of the costs, it is a miniscule gain but not nothing, and they don’t “lose market share.” Without R&D being paid for during the patent period those new drugs would not be developed in the first place. In truth, as the USA is the only major country without socialized medicine in all its glory we are the target market for ALL drug development in all the pharma companies in the world. They have to get their costs repaid HERE because all the other governments have decreed that they cannot recover anywhere else. When we get Single Payer,, and we will, then pharmacological R&D will pretty much cease. Only the government will continue with it and the government will reduce then cease paying for it because those resources are “needed” for more lucrative uses, like vote buying welfare schemes. The populace doesn’t notice when drugs are not developed. They DO notice when an existing drug is too expensive. Single Payer will fix all that by eliminating development.
What do you think setting a legal monopoly is but pricing controls the other way? And frankly, the US govt can’t afford it and most companies are struggling with their employees. Capitalism only works with multiple buyers and multiple sellers. We don’t have that in the US for most products and services.
Mr. Trump should be learning where the other countries get their cheap drugs.
He will find out that more often than not it is from American Pharmaceutical companies.
Also, we need to revamp the “Use By”/”Expiration Date” criteria.
A drug is placed of the shelf at the local pharmacy and it sells for, let’s say $1 per pill. When it expires it is removed and sold overseas for about 5% of its original price. Keep in mind, it has been reduced in potency from 100% to 99%, because it is expired. Why can’t Americans buy these expired products for 5% or 10% of the original price? 99% potent is indistinguishable from 100%. Even 80% is probably good enough.
Didn’t the dems get pharma to support the ACA by agreeing not to negotiate drug prices or allow imports? Where was Cummings then?
And he should have been calling out both parties for a decade for allowing patent abuse/monopolies as long as the drug companies added “we may be able to help if you can’t afford this drug” to ads and then pay for the few poor people who ask for help while gauging everyone else.
There are good reasons that drugs are expensive - it’s expensive to research a new drug and many fail and profit on the successes pays for future research. For for a lot of reasons the US is often the first market and where early profits will come from to research new drugs. There are also lots of bad reasons that drugs are even more expensive - FDA requirements, law suites, ridiculous patent extensions plus doctors stopping generics from being used. And plenty of blame to go around, but also many possible areas from improvement if congress really wants to make things better.
Elijah Cummings; DNC’s IRS handler. It was his job to direct the IRS against dissents. Still might be, for all we know. Have not see where President Trump has ordered the IRS to stop using it’s powers for political purposes.
“Price gouging is the dirty secret the GOPe would like to sweep under the carpet.”
Amen. The GOP establishment represents big business such as the drug companies and insurance companies not free market conservatives, the tea party, or evangelicals who are really the blacks of the Republican party.
Trump isn’t perfect but he is better than the alternatives.
My husband died 3 months after being told he had liver cancer. One of his drugs cost $4000 a month. After his death we had to take the leftovers to the drug store so they could be destroyed properly. Wonder if they just resold them. Had not thought of that possibility. They were too dangerous to just be tossed in the toilet and flushed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.