Bingo!
This legislation is merely a squabble between thieves (Big Pharma vs Big Government) over how to split the loot obtained from ripping off patients with monopoly-priced medicines.
Pharmaceutical companies spend much more on lobbying and marketing expenses (and outright bribery to legislators) than they ever spend on research and development of products. It gives them a better return on their investment.
I have no sympathy for them or the Governments they rent. Enforcement of existing 100-year-old laws would put most of the executives and regulators in jail.
Let's do that. After the first few cases, watch medical prices drop by 80% for the same stuff we get now. And we will get better quality stuff later. That is what genuine free markets do, as opposed to the pretenses we have today.
“Let’s do that. After the first few cases, watch medical prices drop by 80% for the same stuff we get now. “
We need to begin enforcing anti-trust law in every industry and break up the oligopolies of today with the laws used to bust the 19th century trusts. Capitalism thrives when there are many competitors, not a few. When there are many competitors:
1) prices decline as aggressive competition forces efficiencies
2) innovation flourishes. Company innovate to develop an edge other than price versus their competition.
3) consumers have more choice
4) often more people are employed. If there are 50 companies in an industry versus only 2-3 big corporations, more people are employed. After all what is the first thing that happens in a corporate merger? Downsizing of payroll.
5) capital investment flows to innovation.
6) smaller companies can’t afford to pay $20 million per year to CEO’s (like Pfizer) so the market forces more equitable distribution of wealth.
7) Regular employee wages rise. More companies means more opportunities for talented employees in an industry.
In the medical field break up big pharma, big insurance, big hospital chains, big equipment manufacturers. Consumers, employees, and the economy will benefit from restoring market capitalism.