Posted on 08/12/2016 4:37:17 PM PDT by Kaslin
If you paid any attention to the much-hyped Democratic National Convention (DNC), you likely absorbed a message that, for conservatives, should be as old hat as a worn-through “Make America Great Again” cap. That message can be summed up as follows: Republicans, in their desire to roll back Obamacare, are seeking to cast the uninsured into an abyss of high drug prices and callous pharmaceutical companies, who will laugh at their agony as Washington sits idly by. This can’t be allowed to succeed; therefore electing Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump is the only reasonable course for anyone who isn’t either obscenely wealthy or healthy.
It must be a sign of my cynicism that I wish the Left would at least show some intelligence before insulting ours. Because as it happens, while this anti-corporate, egalitarian message was being passed around at the DNC – and just as the convention was being hyped by the dishonest, hyper-partisan media -- one particular event went comparatively unnoticed that would’ve blown the entire absurd pretense wide open. That was a reception explicitly paid for by the drug company Astellas, where Democratic lawmakers of all stripes were being force fed the message that actually, drug prices aren’t too high at all, and pharma is really the victim here. Only the health and medicine news journal STAT even noticed it.
The oversight is notable for multiple reasons. The obvious one is, of course, that this one event’s mere existence categorically refutes the Democrats’ claim that they are the party that will hold corporate feet to the fire. In reality, as most conservatives know, that promise is selective at best, with Democrats mostly ignoring their favored cronies, while going on witch hunts against anyone who don’t pay the church of liberalism sufficient lip service. Given that the pharmaceutical industry has given more money to Hillary Clinton than to any other candidate on either side of the aisle, both in the primary and the general, it’s safe to say they are definitely a favored crony.But just as important is the fact that, of all years, 2016 is the last time a party ostensibly aimed at getting better healthcare for the little guy should be letting itself be wined and dined by pharma. Why? Because, as Jazz Shaw documents at Hot Air, Big Pharma’s cause celebre this year is trying to weaken the 340B drug discount program, which requires them to provide meds to hospitals serving vulnerable communities at a lower price. Such vulnerable communities include hospitals that serve people living below the poverty line, and children’s hospitals. Shaw notes – correctly – that pharma’s motivation for this is to get themselves out of eating the costs of cancer drugs. Why? Because, Shaw notes with characteristic dripping-yet-understated irony, “cancer drugs are really, really, really expensive.”
All this while they were whining to Democrats in Philadelphia that “Price controls, particularly this year in this highly politicized debate, are the greatest threat to our competitiveness.” And if by “competitiveness,” you mean “ability to make children and poor people go bankrupt paying for our stuff,” I suppose they’re right!
Fortunately, for those of us not bought and paid for to the tune of $3,888,202 – in other words, for those of us not named Hillary Clinton – sympathy for these sorts of crocodile tears is hard to come by. Would that Democrats were as inclined to tell the drug industry to get stuffed. However, failing that, at least now we know that liberals are so shameless about their hypocrisy that they’ll hammer injustice in the health care system, and bemoan corporate greed from the stage at their convention, all while excusing that very injustice over wine and cheese paid for by that greed a few doors over.
I’d go easy on this.
It is a very valid concern of Americans, and I think one which Donald Trump will address.
He is against Obamacare, but I believe he is for doing something about our previous mess.
And I completely agree, what we had before won’t work. Not Obamacare, but not what we had either.
What we had before worked a hell of a lot better than Obungacare. What we need is to get the government out of health care entirely, except for vouchers to buy private health insurance for retired military. Yes, that means no Medicaid or Medicare and getting rid of the VA. Unfortunately, too many “conservatives” have been bought off by the New Deal and Great Society, unconstitutional welfare programs for the “elderly” that will completely bankrupt us.
“... no Medicaid or Medicare ...”
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good luck with that
>
“... no Medicaid or Medicare ...”
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good luck with that
>
Yeah, there a whole cheer-leading squat right here on this site, along with their S.S. brethren, that will fight to the death...*YOUR* compulsion to pay for *THEIR* ‘promised benefits’ (IE. they ‘paid’...in taxes).
All while singing how *conservative* they vs. XYZ are.
The GOP plantation has their own voluntary slaves...
BS article since it assumes the reader buys into their Big Pharma anti-drug company dogma. No thanks.
I know you are right...but, it will happen naturally anyway because the contingent liabilities are so massive that the entire wealth of the US is insufficient to support them. SS is the same story. All of those programs will die a death of a thousand cuts. In the case of Medicare, benefits will be reduced, co-pays and deductibles increased, and means testing will dramatically increase over time. Before long Medicare will look like Obungacare - unaffordable premiums and deductibles that make it useless and more cuts in services.
Bkmk
Bkmk
Shouldn’t those programs be the purview of states and local governments?
Government has no business involving itself in healthcare, period.
We didn’t have a previous mess;we had the best medical system in the world with a few problems that could have been specifically addressed.
Tort reform and deregulation would have covered the majority of issues. Now, we have a serious mess—as was intended. The only way guaranteed to make a problem worse is to get the government involved.
Just because your poor you don’t have to sell out your principles or your country like the lying skank Hillary Clinton.
That woman is the most despicable excuse for a human being in public life,the fact that a major political party would let her carry their banner is a total disqualification for me.
The bitch showed how much class she has with her tax return,96% of their charity donation was to her own crime foundation. Left off the report,must have been an oversight,her underwear was not on the list.
I would love to have what I had before being forced on Medicare. Had a high deductible policy which was intended for use only if I had to be hospitalized and which I maintained for several years although I was Medicare eligible. Included no mental health and limited cancer treatment to $10,000. Plenty cheap and had for many years. Then they went out of business when Obamacare came into existence. Don’t need birth control, maternity, mental health or coverage for a host of other Obama mandated issues. Could not afford the mandated coverage available. Would change back in a NY minute if I could choose only the coverage I want.
Also, there is a sister who abused herself with alcohol and is now on dialysis. She does have SS, but the citizens of the State are paying for the dialysis and medications. She does have to pay some for the home care and rides she gets.
SSI is different than Social security, and I am sure he is getting good medical care, but I am sure you know he is not paying for it. The senior citizen however that are on ss and medicare paid into medicare when they were working and are still paying into it, or otherwise the ss checks would be larger.
He’s dreaming.
well they still have to go some to beat the time they booed God 3 times at their concention.
Big Pharma reminds me of the appeaser who feeds the crocodile hoping he will be eaten last.
For a long time, I paid my own doctor’s bills, drugs,
hospital bills; all of it. Then I went on Medicare; and
my doctor suddenly started charging Medicare out the wazoo;
but, of course, a lot of it is NOT ALLOWED by Medicare -
so they were actually better off letting me pay my own bills. I just try to stay out of the doctor’s office as
much as possible!
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