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The great US system of private corporations prioritizing medicines for profit and setting prices strikes again

Craig234 said:
This one isn't about the problem of companies prioritizing profitable drugs, but is another example of the harm of our pricing system. IMO, democracy and government should play a larger role in this. The public interest comes before the billionaires.
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At least one billionaire is trying to change that...

Cuban’s company buys generic drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies and sells them to patients. The pitch is that cutting out the middlemen and having a transparent pricing model leads to lower costs for consumers.

“I could make a fortune from this,” Cuban says on the company’s website. “But I won’t. I’ve got enough money. I’d rather f**k up the drug industry in every way possible.”

...

CVS is seeing the writing on the wall. Over the summer, Blue Shield of California dropped CVS Caremark as its PBM in favor of Cuban’s Cost Plus, among others.
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Craig234 said:
This one isn't about the problem of companies prioritizing profitable drugs, but is another example of the harm of our pricing system. IMO, democracy and government should play a larger role in this. The public interest comes before the billionaires.

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What part of private business do you not understand? The government has always had the ability to manufacture its own drugs, it has chosen not to do so. Both parties are guilty of taking massive donations from Pharma and they allow it to determine their votes.
 
Orphan drugs, or drugs with very small markets will have very few manufacturers willing to make them
Unless the government is willing to actually make them themselves, they are lucky someone is willing to make them, and should be allowed to charge whatever the market allows
 
gdgyva said:
Orphan drugs, or drugs with very small markets will have very few manufacturers willing to make them
Unless the government is willing to actually make them themselves, they are lucky someone is willing to make them, and should be allowed to charge whatever the market allows
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How does the market disallow a price in this instance? Via prospective buyers opting to die of lead poisoning?
 
Greenbeard said:
How does the market disallow a price in this instance? Via prospective buyers opting to die of lead poisoning?
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If the government isnt going to make this....then be glad it is available at any price

Maybe you want to go into the drug business and sell 5000 units a year.....and determine if it is viable for your company to continue or not

A cure for lead poisoning.....which happens ?? many times a year worldwide since lead based paints were outlawed how many years ago?

Again....be glad someone is making it at any price
 
gdgyva said:
If the government isnt going to make this....then be glad it is available at any price
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But to be clear, you’re not suggesting there’s any market here or check on prices, as your earlier post seemed to suggest?
 
Greenbeard said:
But to be clear, you’re not suggesting there’s any market here or check on prices, as your earlier post seemed to suggest?
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what?
i have no idea what the hell you are asking
 
gdgyva said:
Again....be glad someone is making it at any price
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No.

Price gouging is shit, no thanks. They have a market and educated populace and roads and clean air and water and military protection them and a justice system upholding their patents and keeping the safe, and government taking care of their sick parents.
They can ****ing be expected to price their products within some reasonable spectrum. Yes, people can decide those limits, we can decide everything, and we already do.

I suppose you're all for an ER doctor who stops life saving treatment and tells you look, you should be happy at me saving your life at any price...so we looked you up and you can afford $800,000 for me treating you.
Do you agree or not? Your choice. You should be glad I'm helping at *any price*. Yes, you'll probably die if I don't treat you, sucks, but markets are markets!!
 
Mach said:
No.

Price gouging is shit, no thanks. They have a market and educated populace and roads and clean air and water and military protection them and a justice system upholding their patents and keeping the safe, and government taking care of their sick parents.
They can ****ing be expected to price their products within some reasonable spectrum. Yes, people can decide those limits, we can decide everything, and we already do.

I suppose you're all for an ER doctor who stops life saving treatment and tells you look, you should be happy at me saving your life at any price...so we looked you up and you can afford $800,000 for me treating you.
Do you agree or not? Your choice. You should be glad I'm helping at *any price*. Yes, you'll probably die if I don't treat you, sucks, but markets are markets!!
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lets compare apples to kumquats shall we

one is a orphan drug and whether or not companies should develop them, and then how much they should be able to charge

the other is a doctor practicing medicine....

the drug company has no need to manufacture the drug....they do so to MAKE MONEY
if they cant, then they shouldnt manufacture it....the government can take over that duty

It is what so many of you on the left want anyway....socialized medicine

Now i dont have an issue if the government takes over some of this stuff...

But you are complaining because a company is making a drug that no one else wants to make, and complaining about how much they are charging for it
 
gdgyva said:
the drug company has no need to manufacture the drug....they do so to MAKE MONEY
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No one is asking them to make "no money", just not price gouging.

Remember, healthcare/drugs like we're discussing are about health, often life or death. Price gouging on life saving is crap, and should be treated so.
This isn't the latest Christmas toy, or a limited production car, or a painting, this is health..life and death...big money too, $30K for a drug is no joke.

gdgyva said:
if they cant, then they shouldnt manufacture it....the government can take over that duty
It is what so many of you on the left want anyway....socialized medicine
Now i dont have an issue if the government takes over some of this stuff...
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Why bother with that when we can simply limit these idiots from price gouging? Much more efficient.
If you can't manufacture it without increasing the price 3000%, we'll get it from France, thanks. Financial ****s buy this shit up and try to make money, knowing there will be backlash and knowing it will be a limited affair...they will bank and then exit with a fat purse.
It's obscene.
gdgyva said:
But you are complaining because a company is making a drug that no one else wants to make, and complaining about how much they are charging for it
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I'm complaining because they are assholes who are price gouging for medicine.

France is making it for a fraction of the cost, **** them, let's work on FDA approval for low cost imports.
Can't have that though, U.S. pharma doesn't want outside competition, because competition = bad for capitalism right?
 
Mach said:
No one is asking them to make "no money", just not price gouging.

Remember, healthcare/drugs like we're discussing are about health, often life or death. Price gouging on life saving is crap, and should be treated so.
This isn't the latest Christmas toy, or a limited production car, or a painting, this is health..life and death...big money too, $30K for a drug is no joke.


Why bother with that when we can simply limit these idiots from price gouging? Much more efficient.
If you can't manufacture it without increasing the price 3000%, we'll get it from France, thanks. Financial ****s buy this shit up and try to make money, knowing there will be backlash and knowing it will be a limited affair...they will bank and then exit with a fat purse.
It's obscene.

I'm complaining because they are assholes who are price gouging for medicine.

France is making it for a fraction of the cost, **** them, let's work on FDA approval for low cost imports.
Can't have that though, U.S. pharma doesn't want outside competition, because competition = bad for capitalism right?
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Either i read the article wrong or you did
Only ONE company left manufacturing in world....and that is the company in France
Others have stopped production
And the drug is being imported as no one in America is producing
That is why the price jump....at lest that is how i read it....i could be wrong
 
gdgyva said:
what?
i have no idea what the hell you are asking
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I’m asking what you think “whatever the market allows” means in this situation. How does the market disallow a price here?
 
No...you were correct....they were importing, now a US manufacturer has taken over production
But again...my opinion is the same
Orphan drugs because so few people need them should be taken over by government unless you want price gouging
 
Greenbeard said:
I’m asking what you think “whatever the market allows” means in this situation. How does the market disallow a price here?
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your question makes NO SENSE to me
 
Integrityrespec said:
What part of private business do you not understand?
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If you have ever worked in a fast food restaurant and the prospect of not having any regular government health inspections there scares you, you understand....
 
Craig234 said:
This one isn't about the problem of companies prioritizing profitable drugs, but is another example of the harm of our pricing system. IMO, democracy and government should play a larger role in this. The public interest comes before the billionaires.

Click to expand...
Blame the politicians that take millions from the pharma companies and other big donors. Both sides are equally guilty. If Congress would pass meaningful legislation to control price gouging with the aim of allowing companies to make profits, to grow, and develop new medicines it could all be brought into line with something much more affordable. It may also mean the political parties would lose some big donors.
 
Integrityrespec said:
Blame the politicians that take millions from the pharma companies and other big donors. Both sides are equally guilty. If Congress would pass meaningful legislation to control price gouging with the aim of allowing companies to make profits, to grow, and develop new medicines it could all be brought into line with something much more affordable. It may also mean the political parties would lose some big donors.
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apnews.com

The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars

The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
This is likely in a country where 10 pct of the population own 70 pct of the country's wealth, and essentially control large corporations that dominate not only pharma but even food processing, energy, the media, and so on.
 
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-part-b-coinsurance-q1-2024.pdf
Reduced Coinsurance for Certain Part B Rebatable Drugs under the
Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program
President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act requires drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare when
prescription drug prices increase faster than the rate of inflation for certain drugs furnished to people with
Medicare. This new inflation rebate applies to Medicare Part B rebatable drugs, which are single source drugs and
biological products, including certain biosimilar biological products, beginning January 1, 2023.
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The federal government intends to invoice drug manufacturers for 2023 and 2024 Part B inflation rebates no later
than fall 2025. The rebates will be deposited into the Medicare Trust Fund. In addition, beginning April 1, 2023,
people with Medicare may see lower out-of-pocket costs for certain Part B drugs and biologicals with prices that
have increased faster than the rate of inflation. For these drugs and biologicals, the beneficiary coinsurance will be
20% of the inflation-adjusted payment amount, which will be less than what the beneficiary would pay in
coinsurance otherwise.
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