Reverse Voxsplaining: Drugs Vs. Chairs

Slate Star Codex ^ | August 29, 2016 | Scott Alexander

[OddLane]

EpiPens, useful medical devices which reverse potentially fatal allergic reactions, have recently quadrupled in price, putting pressure on allergy sufferers and those who care for them. Vox writes that this “tells us a lot about what’s wrong with American health care” – namely that we don’t regulate it enough:

The story of Mylan’s giant EpiPen price increase is, more fundamentally, a story about America’s unique drug pricing policies. We are the only developed nation that lets drugmakers set their own prices, maximizing profits the same way sellers of chairs, mugs, shoes, or any other manufactured goods would.

Let me ask Vox a question: when was the last time that America’s chair industry hiked the price of chairs 400% and suddenly nobody in the country could afford to sit down? When was the last time that the mug industry decided to charge $300 per cup, and everyone had to drink coffee straight from the pot or face bankruptcy? When was the last time greedy shoe executives forced most Americans to go barefoot? And why do you think that is?

The problem with the pharmaceutical industry isn’t that they’re unregulated just like chairs and mugs. The problem with the pharmaceutical industry is that they’re part of a highly-regulated cronyist system that works completely differently from chairs and mugs...

[Louis Foxwell]

Over regulation caused the problem. The government shut down all competition leaving sweetheart deals available to deserving bureaucrats and elected officials.

[DesertRhino]

Also, no regulation was needed to stop this crony crap epipen game. Just a little sunshine and public scorn and shaming.

1st amendment worked as advertised.

[stocksthatgoup]

What a deluded argument