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The bill that could cure cancer and give big pharma untold power.

Joined
Jul 14, 2016
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Yesterday Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a speech on the floor of the senate that brought attention to problems with the previously unquestioned bipartisan bill known as the "21st Century Cures Act". The bill just today passed the House with bi-partisan support by a count of 344-77. The bill makes funding available to a litany of programs dedicated to solving to opioid crises. It also makes funding available to Joe Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" that you may recall from Obama's final state of the union address. So clearly the bill has untold upside however it is mirrored by its untold downside. The bill also cuts regulations that ensure drugs are created and disturbed marketed etc. responsibly and safely. So while it may help the opioid crises it may well start another crises. However this has been largely overlooked and the bill will likely pass without much of a problem. The White House has formally expressed support for the bill and only a select few people have anything negative to say about the bill.
Additionally the bill has actually become more pro big pharma than pro health. Originally the bill was going to make 8.74 billion dollars available over 5 years in mandatory spending. Aka spending that doesn't require yearly approval. That has since been cut to 4.8 billion over 8 years and it was changed to discretionary spending. So we get half the money for all the same regulation cuts AND congress has full power to just decide they don't want to pay anything and we'll just keep the regulation cuts.
This bill is dangerous. This bill could save lives. The devil is in the details

Your thoughts?
 
High likely hood that the bill will, in some way, profit big pharma.
 
Pharma 'needs to' make (alot) more money to pay the Drs. (alot) more money in kickbacks. This article covers just how much, that we know of.....so far.

Doctors Earn $3.5 Billion in Kickbacks from Pharmaceutical Companies


"The bill also cuts regulations that ensure drugs are created and distributed marketed etc. responsibly and safely..." Well, distributed and marketed anyway, as Opioids are distributed and marketed not so responsibly and safely.

Of course, the ACA is also 'helping' things along. :roll:

Welcome to DP.
 
The best solution would be for the manufacturing companies to come clean, act responsibly, and cease production of those harmful products. But that would require principled leaders in the industry.
 
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