'...Americans have paid more for prescription drugs than any major economy. '

[Joinfortmill]

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-29-2023?utm_source=substack&utm_medium
Letters from an American: Heather Cox Richardson

This is the difference between Democrats and Republicans. (my words)

'...Those days are ending,” President Joe Biden declared today...The government announced the first ten drugs whose prices it will negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for about 65 million Medicare recipients...when Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society program, it covered drugs administered in a health care setting but excluded those a patient took at home. In 2003, after almost 40 years of medical innovation had significantly changed our management of chronic illnesses, Congress included those drugs under a separate Medicare plan—Part D—or as part of managed-care plans, but to get Republicans behind the bill, Congress explicitly prohibited the government from negotiating the prices of medications.

House of Representatives, concluded that “[d]rug companies have raised prices relentlessly for decades while manipulating the patent system and other laws to delay competition from lower-priced generics. These companies have specifically targeted the U.S. market for higher prices, even while cutting prices in other countries...Republicans sided with the drug company executives who insisted that high prices were necessary to create an incentive for drug companies to innovate, as their investment in research and development depends on the revenue they expect from new drugs.

The ten drugs listed in today’s announcement are among those with the highest total spending in Medicare Part D, and today the Department of Health and Human Services released a report that 9 million seniors paid a total of $3.4 billion for these drugs in 2022...The new negotiated prices are scheduled to go into effect in 2026. Pharmaceutical companies are suing to stop the law, claiming it is unconstitutional...The only reason why Medicare has not been negotiating drug prices is because Pharma got a sweetheart deal decades ago to basically prohibit negotiations,”'

[area51]

1. And we'll continue to pay outrageous prices

unless our govt. gets serious about healthcare.

[niyad]

2. A small start. . well over two years before first relief.

[Firestorm49]

3. We allow pharma advertising on public media. It's relentless and aggravating. Ask your Dr. about?

One reason that our prices could be so exorbitant is the continuous barrage of costly media advertising that we are paying for. Other countries don’t allow pharma ads and their cost to buy the very same medicine is much less than what we pay. (Duh)

I could just as easily get any and all pertinent information from my Dr. during my yearly visit or sooner if the situation called for it. After all, as they point out, “ask your Dr.”

[FakeNoose]

4. Why can't Medicare start its own pharmaceutical supply company?

It could buy supplies from Canada and other countries at much lower prices, and provide lower cost medicines to Americans. I believe California and other states have started doing that with insulin.

[Emile]

5. One word answer, REPUBLICANS.

[Silent Type]

7. First, the investment would be huge. Second, first time there is a shortage or bad outcomes, people

will turn on the government supplier. Third, many blockbuster drugs aren't even made in this country.

Something has to be done, but I don't expect much anytime soon.

Sad thing is, even if we get the prices down to say the level in UK or Germany, these meds will still be quite expensive.

[Autumn]

6. Baby steps. Then when Republicans take over it's huge strides back.

Something has to give. This country can not continue like this.

[appalachiablue]

9. +1 K/R

[calimary]

10. Just means we have to keep voting for DEMOCRATS.

And getting as many people we know as possible - to vote for DEMOCRATS.

Priority ONE:
Keep Republicans OUT of power. Everywhere.

[Autumn]

11. Yeah, we already do that. Guess what? Republicans keep voting for REPUBLICANS.

They can't be kept out of power, we have two parties. So what's the solution there? Other than keep voting? Again, that's what we do every election.

[calimary]

12. Well, nothing good will happen if we just give up.

[Autumn]

13. You know that we vote every election. The solution isn't voting. The solution is to force

our governments to take care of the people and not privately owned corporations.

[calimary]

14. Yes. And GOOD!

But there are still WAY too many people who don’t vote. And we have to get them involved to increase our numbers. These elections are still WAY too close. In some cases, a difference of only several thousand votes.

[Autumn]

16. I can't inspire someone to vote for a person. The politician has to inspire them and get their vote.

[republianmushroom]

8. Just a little corporate and political greed.

Business as usual.

[dalton99a]

15. Kick