Posted on 06/10/2025 6:45:04 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
pharmacy benefit managers keep a big chunk for themselves — on average, $0.42 of every $1 spent on brand-name drugs in the commercial market, by one estimate .... “Shark Tank” entrepreneur Mark Cuban launched the Cost Plus Drug Company in 2022 to bypass these middlemen....The company tacks on 15 percent for overhead and a $5 filling fee.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
France doesn’t have price controls.
France sets a maximum price insurers can be expected to pay.
Drug companies can either accept the price and sell to insurers or sell direct to French consumers.
agree...
I don’t know about anyone else, but when I want objective news, or a conservative viewpoint, the Hill is who I turn to.
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/breast-cancer/
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/migraines/
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/hiv/
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/cancer/
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/anti-bacterial/
https://www.costplusdrugs.com/medications/categories/dementia/
I do too. It doesn’t interfere with their ability to make a profit. It is not the responsibility of the US to subsidized the world, which is what has been happening.
In a pure libertarian world, the current situation is exactly how it happens.
Some people may find the information useful, so I posted it.
from my Free Republic page:
**FEDERAL***
EMTALA
EMTALA care provision responsibility would be limited to one episode per patient in any 365 day period excluding paid-up previous visits, with a limit waiver to be at least $200 in cash or its equivalent.
EMTALA care uniformly billed at no more than 300% of Medicare amounts, including interest and late and other charges, could be collected in the manner of federal student loan debt.
PPACA SUBSIDY CAPS
PPACA subsidies would be limited to no more than 90% of policy cost instead of the 98% now. It is absurd that Mr. Recipient Democrat might pay $14/month for the same type policy that Mrs. Healthy Republican might pay $700/month for.
REFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS
To cut back on fraud, refundable tax credits for individuals would not be refunded except for PPACA premium and federal student loan payment.
DRUG APPROVAL
Drugs approved by the European Union/Health Canada would be deemed eligible for import, sale and use in the USA six/eighteen months after such approval unless Congress acts otherwise.
NEW DRUG PLANS
Federal PPACA exchanges would offer Interstate Class Drug Plans,
exempt from state control, that to be fully federally subsidy eligible must cover at least:
1. 80% of all recombinant drugs by key active entity
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
2. 80% of all FDA breakthrough drugs by key active entity
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
3. 80% of all drugs covered by a key active entity patent
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
4. 90% of all WHO “essential” drugs
Any percentage shortfalls would result in twice the percentage reduction in the federal subsidy amount and must have the word ‘Substandard’ in the drug plan name to be at all federal subsidy eligible.
This system would allow for genuine negotiation between drug plans and drug companies. Drug plans would have an incentive to try to buy drugs from drug companies and drug companies would have an incentive to make deals to make sales.
All drugs would be supplied at on an all-the doctors prescribe basis. The co-pays would be roughly equal to mere manufacturing cost.
The baseline federal drug subsidy would be the average policy holder age (as of the beginning of the policy period) divided by 3 taken as a percent of PPACA baseline subsidy amount for the PPACA household.
EXAMPLE A: For a PPACA household with a 34-year-old, a 36-year-old, and a two-year-old, the baseline federal drug subsidy would be 8% ((34+36+2)/(3*3))% of the PPACA household’s baseline subsidy amount.
EXAMPLE B: For a single PPACA policy of age 60, the baseline federal drug subsidy would be 20% (60/3)% of the PPACA household’s baseline subsidy amount.
A&B Medical Service Plans
A&B Medical Service Plans would have the same medical service coverage as Medicare Parts A & B. They would not have built-in drug coverage that Medicare Part B currently has. They would be PPACA subsidy eligible up to the PPACA baseline subsidy amount for the PPACA household less the household’s federal drug subsidy.
A&B Medical Service Plan coverage providers would have to continue to offer PPACA coverage plans unless the provider’s PPACA plan(s) would have less than 10,000 subscribers in total.
A&B Medical Service Plans would have to keep their funds in federally regulated financial institutions.
***STATE***
AFFORDABLE DENTISTRY
Two-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for:
1. basic dentistry: dental imaging, oral examination, extractions, cavity filling and crowns
2. implants
3. dentures
4. root canals
One-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for independent dental imaging, oral examination and dental hygiene for those persons with over $40000 in paid dental hygiene earned income.
ENHANCED HOSPITAL SERVICE COMPETITION
To reduce hospital costs, state law would be changed to allow:
1. large hospital complexes and systems to be split up
2. competitive hospitals to be built adjacent to existent hospitals
(if a building purchase request is refused)
3. independent surgical, imaging, lab and nursing care facilities to coordinate
to state law requirements to effectively function as hospitals
We certainly use a different form of government here. We take taxpayer money and work with companies to develop many different drugs via universities, grants, and other forms of aid. Then private companies outsource that production, and then charge higher amounts in the US. Nice little game they have.
The Hill tends to get information out quickly.
“the French version of medicare for all”
Standard Medicare works quite well regarding doctors and hospitals given my experience twenty-nine and fifteen years ago with my mother and aunt.
The only reason drug prices are so high is monopoly power granted by government patents.
The answer to problems created by government is not more government.
Shorten their patents to 5 years. No renewals.
Standard Medicare for all ages will come at a price, its currently unaffordable as is.
Is that 5 years after Final FDA approval or just 5 years from when the patent application is made?
The latter will kill any new drug discovery. I suspect that former is about what we have right now.
If pharma wants capitalism, fine by me. End the socialist prohibition on Americans importing cheap drugs from foreign countries.... and end their socialist business practice of having the government force different drugs on America like the Covid vaccine.
To pharma, positioning American consumers for a solid ass-rape while coddling foreign countries is “capitalism”. Got it...
Try 20 years plus 5 more for FDA approval
I don’t know about anyone else, but when I want objective news, or a conservative viewpoint, the Hill is who I turn to.
🥸Heh heh!
Me too.....
Trump isn’t instituting socialistic price controls - or the Hill would be praising him...it’s his wanting the socialist countries to pay their fair share of the cost so we don’t subsidize them by paying 50 time what they pay for the same crap...
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