As Trump Prepares Plan to Lower Drug Prices, Big Pharma Girds for a Fight

[DonViejo]

Source: The New York Times




By ROBERT PEAR MAY 6, 2018

WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union address in January and again in New Hampshire in March, President Trump made a bold promise: “You’ll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially in the not-too-distant future,” he said, “and it’s going to be beautiful.” Not if the pharmaceutical companies can stop it.

Big Pharma is pouring money into a lobbying campaign to thwart any serious efforts to rein in prescription drug prices ahead of a presidential speech this month where Mr. Trump plans to lay out his drug pricing proposals.

“There is apprehension across the industry,” said Bruce Artim, who retired recently after 11 years as the director of federal affairs at Eli Lilly and Company. “Pharma folks are nervous.”

Drugmakers spent $171.5 million lobbying the federal government last year — more than insurance, electronics, oil and gas or any other industry, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent group that tracks money in politics.




Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/06/us/politics/trump-drug-prices-lobbying.html

[jmowreader]

1. It's not that I'm a huge fan of high pharma prices...

but isn't the government dictating pricing to private industry what communists do?

[LiberalArkie]

3. Pretty much what every civilized country does.

[Hortensis]

13. Most advanced nations use a combination of governing

systems these days, each for what works best, or at least better. Controlled capitalism for its energy. Government investment for what will or cannot be done by private industry.

Socialized medicine for its guaranteed access to care, lowered costs and quality control -- and for its morality and responsibility? Surely it's just plain wrong for all medical care available to most people to be for-profit so that business can exploit illness and suffering for whatever the market will bear? Everyone should be able to opt out of that.

We don't want the Republicans to have any victories they can point to in this election year, but it seems almost wicked to hope he fails. I just learned a bottle of pills that've been in production for close to 50 years now supposedly costs close to $1000, instead of $15 or so. Only one company is manufacturing it because profits on such an old medication are too low to use facilities for and yada yada.

And then there's the medical specialty group that actually prescribed this instead of an alternative because, presumably, insurance would pay for it. And because they have a contract with a pharmaceuticals company and ALL their prescriptions are sent directly by computer to that company, no copy given to the patient, just assurance that prices are the lowest to be found anywhere, including that $1000. My first experience with this highly questionable setup, and I've contacted the supplier and told them I'll be forwarding my prescriptions elsewhere.

[Bengus81]

23. Your local gov through a rate board determines electric and natl gas prices.....

So yeah they dictate to them but it keeps you from having a 1000.00 per month electric bill on a 1500 sq foot home in August or a 1000.00 natural gas bill in January.

I'm all IN for certain price controls that are out of consumers hands,or on things you cannot do without and there is no real competition to keep those prices lower. I've said for YEARS that the Internet and it's pricing should be regulated. It's no longer some "toy" as it was back in the mid-90's.

The way those asses at COX (cable monopoly in our city) price ours it could easily be out of reach for those on a fixed income in the next five years.

[pecosbob]

2. Somebody cue the "blowjob' disipinary hearing scene from Animal House now please

[bucolic_frolic]

4. This is robbing innovation and the future for lower prices now

R & D will get smacked way before shareholders, executives. And if you want to attract top talent with innovative potential, you have to pay for it. Incentive is the way capitalism works. This is another of Trump's ideas that focus on the short term and not long term overall benefit to society.

[Ligyron]

5. Yeah, but fear not.

Trump isn't going to do any such of a thing.

He'll blow it off just like his "draining the swamp" promise or his huge infrastructure initiative.

[hatrack]

12. He'll whine about how the evil Democrats wouldn't let him fulfill his promise

.

[susanna]

18. Exactly this, hatrack. Exactly.

This guy can be read like a book.

He'll get away with saying "I tried," his fans will love him more than ever, while his opponents knew his promise about this was a total pile of bovine excrement from the get-go.

[hatrack]

21. 'Cuz the Democrats' unbreakable lock on power in the House & Senate . .

The swamp was just too deep, because Obama, Teh Gays, Hitlery, Monica Lewinsky, Jade Helm Chemtrails Deep State Witch Hunt No Collusion.

[SergeStorms]

7. But why are we.....

the only people who have to pay for it? Other countries sell the very same prescription drugs for 1/2 price or less. I can't believe the prices of some of these fairly simple drugs (blood pressure drugs, for instance), and they just keep going up, and up, and up. Yet Americans are the only people who are expected to pay for that R&D? That's pure bullshit as far as I'm concerned.

I know it's not your fault, so excuse me if it sounds like I'm jumping on you for it.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. I don't know of any rationale for it

If only companies based in the US were doing it, I'd say well, we get the benefit of the employment and taxes, and we do have higher costs for living than many countries ... but it just doesn't wash. Maybe other countries won't tolerate such behavior, whereas here it's anything a lobbyist can fund through Congress?

[LiberalLovinLug]

17. many countries, like Canada, have a time limit on new drugs to sell the original

So they can reap their R&D investments back, and then some. It may be 5 years, I'm not sure.

Then generic knock offs are allowed to compete. And they are about half as much.

The problem with the US is that there is no stopping them. They can continue to charge maximum pricing, with no generic competition, so they can continue making obscene profits on drugs that now cost them pennies to make.

[kacekwl]

15. Nonsense.

Watch the 60 minutes from this evening for just a small reason I say this.

[NCjack]

22. Pharma companies can adjust by cutting advertising budget. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

6. The story I heard:

Trump doesn't give two sh*ts about the price of drugs, whether high or low.

He's lowering the prices to give a leg up to a republican running for senator in NJ. His name is Bob Hugin. He's the CEO of Celgene Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hugin
http://www.celgene.com/

Hugin is running against Bob Menendez and hasn't gained any ground b/c all he has is "Menendez disgraced the Senate and NJ and should resign."

Trump personally selected Hugin to run for the Senate notwithstanding his void of experience in government at any level. All he knows is business. (Sound familiar?)

So anyway, Trump will lower the price of drugs, give the credit for the idea to Hugin, who's running in a very very blue state.

[LeftInTX]

8. It's all talk...nothing will happen...

[kacekwl]

16. Agreed . n/t

[raccoon]

10. This has to be too good to be true. nt

[Maxheader]

11. Getting the pharmy nazis

to lower drug prices? As good a chance of getting china to
reduce the trade imbalance by 2020..

[rurallib]

14. Greasing the skids for some big "campaign donations"

we all know he don't give fuck about this.
Another one of his "somethings going to happen" horseshit.

[dalton99a]

25. Bingo

[area51]

19. Some folks have brought up R&D

Here are a couple of links which mention the issue.

PNHP on drug research

and

Other98.com site on taxpayers funding research.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. Insurance companies, Veterans Administration, some big groups can negotiate with Pharma ...

... for lower prices. Medicare D cannot negotiate prices, so seniors pay higher (retail) prices. If those prices can be lowered, I'm all for it.

On the other hand, if lower drug prices are like Trump's lower taxes, I'm not interested. Somehow, lowering the price would cause the cost to go up. It's strange economics by Mnuchin and Mulvaney.

[dembotoz]

24. smoke and mirrors. push a bill with a nice sounding title that does nothing

his base will cheer and turn out to the polls in november.

and they will blamer obama care when their prescription bill continue to rise....