Clintons Ruined Vaccine Industry

rushlimbaugh.com ^ | October 14, 2004 | Rush Limbaugh

[Fayre Verona]

Do you remember something called the Clinton Government Vaccine Buying Program?

It was sold to us as a way to get prices down and get more children vaccinated and, of course, to keep the evil drug companies from making a profit. The Wall Street Journal says today, "Companies that decided to run these regulatory traps also know that they'll be doing so for very little reward. Before her big health care reform crashed and burned in '94, Hillary Rodham Rodham managed to get Congress to pass a government vaccine buying program for children. Her sales pitch was free vaccines for all kids and higher immunization rates. If we would give this stuff away, she said, more children would be immunized."

[Fayre Verona]

Do you remember something called the Clinton Government Vaccine Buying Program?

It was sold to us as a way to get prices down and get more children vaccinated and, of course, to keep the evil drug companies from making a profit. The Wall Street Journal says today, "Companies that decided to run these regulatory traps also know that they'll be doing so for very little reward. Before her big health care reform crashed and burned in '94, Hillary Rodham Rodham managed to get Congress to pass a government vaccine buying program for children. Her sales pitch was free vaccines for all kids and higher immunization rates. If we would give this stuff away, she said, more children would be immunized." . . . Thus, as a result of Hillary's plan, the government now purchases about 60% of all pediatric vaccines, forcing huge discounts and imposing price caps. The manufacturers were told, ''You can only make so much profit, and you're gonna make this amount, and we're gonna give it away.''

What all this did was screw up the whole private sector mechanism of manufacturing and distributing vaccines. In 2001, the private sector cost of immunizing children with the 20 recommended doses of vaccines was $600 per child. The government price was just $400 per child, with the vaccine makers swallowing the difference. What has this achieved? Vaccination rates for two-year-olds have stagnated at about 74% for the past several years while adult rates are significantly lower, and with the profit margin squeeze to practically zero, some manufacturers have simply said, "We're not making the stuff anymore. It doesn't make sense. We've got this government program that tells us the maximum we can charge, regardless what it costs to make, we're going to be threatened with lawsuits the first time somebody gets sick for whatever vaccine. Screw it!" Read the full story here.

[George from New England]

Can this be another October surprise

Kerry probably voted YES for this. Was he in the Senate back then?

[Sidebar Moderator]

Please use the original headline/title when posting articles to assist in preventing duplicate postings.

Thanks.

[rolling_stone]

Kerry probably voted YES for this. Was he in the Senate back then?

He was probably a Senator then, but likely not present in the Senate for the vote..

[sheikdetailfeather]

I just saw the local evening news here in Central Florida with long lines of senior citizens waiting for flu shots. (WFTV) One man waiting in line said "With THIS government, there is no backup plan." President Bush is getting the blame for this.

[gunnedah]

I am a Senior citizen and on Medicare. For the life of me I do not understand the older folks in this country. Someone has convinced our group that we are entitled to everything.
The damn AARP is nothing more than a group of Socialist that demand everything and I see they are going to have one big shindig in Vegas and I will bet all kind of freebies are given to the hierarchy for throwing it out there.
By the way most on here I think realize that only 12% of the money spent on Social Security goes to people at the poverty level. I am willing to tighten my own belt if Congress would do the same but they keep pushing their big pay raises across the board undetected and not even voting on them , they are automatic.
I am sincerely alarmed at government waste and handouts and I am concerned for those I am going to leave behind. I am asking all seniors to get their heads out from their behinds and step up to the plate and quit expecting so much unless you really are poverty stricken. It is almost ridiculous.

[Outland]

One part of Rush's piece had me thinking....

"...some manufacturers have simply said, 'We're not making the stuff anymore. It doesn't make sense. We've got this government program that tells us the maximum we can charge, regardless what it costs to make, we're going to be threatened with lawsuits the first time somebody gets sick for whatever vaccine. Screw it!' And that's why American companies are out of the business and why we have to import vaccines from Great Britain..."

If the left grabs more control in years to come, the truth behind this will be obscured (as the left are so good at) and it could lead to forcing more socialism down our throats. A socialist government would take control (as in state-owned) of the drug companies to force them to produce the vaccines and other drugs alledging that this would improve availability and cut another avenue of outsourcing. Of course, in reality, it would still lead to rationing anyway. We all know how much the left hates the drug companies already.

[Doctor Don]

You are an enlightened senior citizen!!!! The trial lawyers are to blame for the crisis in the biological drug industry ie immunizations!

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[Rebelbase]

Same thing happened here in NC. An Eckerds in a small town advertised flu shots to be given today, starting at 2:00pm. The line was down the sidewalk by 8:00am with some folks driving close to 100 miles to get a shot.

There was only enough for 400 vaccinations and the pharmacy had to call the police when they ran of vaccine as the people in line started geting unruly.

[crazyhorse691]

Socialized medicine is not and will never be a good thing. It always ignores the realities of medicine and of life.

[JSteff]

"We all know how much the left hates the drug companies already."

It is not just the drug companies but anyone with deep enough pockets to fight the government or that has deep enough pockets that the individual voter can not fathom how the company made the money. The average person (ie voter) does not see the billions of $$ needed to design and develop drugs.

No idea at all and would not even take the time to read an article or story about it to find out why so it will happen again. Stupidity will be the end of our Republic .

[JSteff]

"Socialized medicine is not and will never be a good thing. It always ignores the realities of medicine and of life."

But the idiots keep saying "look at Canada, look at Britain"

Fools. Everything is "elective" surgery or treatment and so does not get done unless it is acute and near life threatening.

[Pagey]

bttt

[WestSylvanian]

I wish Bush had explained the problem better in last night's debate. He could have made the point that this is a clear example of what happens when government price controls are applied to drugs. Shortages and rationing result. And this is what Kerry proposes for drugs prescribed for Medicare recipients. He attacked Bush for opposing Medical bulk purchases of drugs to force lower prices. His proposal would be a disaster. Bush is going to be blamed as incompetent when all he has been doing for four years is trying to clean up the messes Clinton left behind. It's disgusting.

[I still care]

The St. Petersburg Slimes (Times)ran an article last week intimating "outsourcing" of vaccine production to other countries was the problem. That's liberal code for Bush's fault.

[sheikdetailfeather]

I thought I heard on AM radio here today that some seniors were getting black market flu shots in parking lots from someone in parked trucks and they were warned this is not safe.

[greyfox]

As a Candian I must tell you that our "health care" system was great at one time. In my case I cannot complain about the system, however there are a lot of misconceptions about
Canadian health care and one of them is that health care is free It is not free. It is paid for by heavy taxation.

Our health care system is in trouble at the present time because we offer health care to people who have never paid
much into the system but line up for it's benefits.

Let me relate an anecdotal incident, Some few years ago my wife and I were in Troronto Canada, on the main street, as
most of you know Toronto is the New York of Canada. My wife
overheard a man with a foriegn accent tell his female partner, perhaps his wife, Canada is a wonderful place they give you free health care".

Now Liberal Democrats may think this is a wonderful thing, and it is but the fiancial component of the system suggests that as you provide more and more health care to more and more people, something has to give. Either you raise taxes to support the system or you provide watered down health
care delivery in the form of longer lines in emergency rooms. Longer waiting time for Doctor visits and longer waiting times for life threatening procedures like bypass surgery.

Our "Liberal" Politicians have decided, some time ago, to
micro manage health care by capping incomes of health care providers, namely Doctors. The system has becom onerous and
unacceptable to medical practitioners.The system has deteriorated to the point that top rated specialists are leaving Canada for the States creating a
shortage of Doctors, these shortages contribute to the long
waiting periods in emergency rooms and other medical proceedures. Ifyou are in reasonbly good health and require minimal medical attention the system still works. If you require "critical" emergency treatment you will get it, our system has not totally colapsed but it is fraying considerably around the edges and headed for disaster if some drastic measure are not soon implemented.

Universal health care is only bad when it's badly administered, and ours is badly administered.

[JSteff]

First; Geez, I hope you did not take from the 14th of October to address my post. :-) What is odd is you tell how terrible Canadian health care is bu make the following statement.

"Universal health care is only bad when it's badly administered, and ours is badly administered."

Everywhere Universal health care exists it must be badly administered... because it does not work anywhere. Costing too much means it does not work. Canada can can not afford anything beyond it's health care.

And your admission "It is paid for by heavy taxation" speaks exactly to that. The rest of your post speaks to my position entirely. Long lines in emergency rooms, specialist leaving, long waits for life threatening procedures like bypass surgery, etc.

My question to that then is; do you think that government members go through the same problems? You know they don't. So it really is a health care system mainly for the elite.
Government should NOT be trusted with people lives.

And so we come back to my post:

""Socialized medicine is not and will never be a good thing. It always ignores the realities of medicine and of life."

But the idiots keep saying "look at Canada, look at Britain"

Fools. Everything is "elective" surgery or treatment and so does not get done unless it is acute and near life threatening." (But even you refute that last sentence.. because even when it is critical you need to wait!)

Universal Health Care DOES NOT WORK ANYWHERE! Case closed.

[greyfox]

It makes perfect sense for Democratss to expect drug Maufacturers to make a vaccine and give it away, Isn't that what business is all about, losing money?.