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tdubz
Registered: 02/26/12
Posts: 5,586
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Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs
#24013401 - 01/15/17 11:03 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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https://motherboard.vice.com/read/congress-just-missed-an-opportunity-to-give-americans-access-to-cheaper-drugs
Senator Bernie Sanders quoted President-elect Donald Trump on the floor of Congress Wednesday night. The Democratic senator from Vermont admitted Trump is “a guy I don’t quote very often,” but the President-elect’s comments from earlier that day actually aligned nicely with an amendment Sanders was co-sponsoring.
“[Trump] said that ‘pharma gets away with murder.’ That’s what Trump said. He’s right,” Sanders said. “The pharmaceutical industry makes more and more money and the American people pay higher and higher prices. The time has come for us to stand up to the drug companies. Let’s do it tonight.”
Sanders’ amendment to the budget bill would have made it legal to import prescription drugs from other countries, like Canada, where they’re much cheaper than in the US. It was voted down, including by several Democratic senators, raising the eyebrows of some of their supporters. This was as the senate debated a provision in the budget bill that would set up the groundwork for repealing the Affordable Care Act—a provision that did pass, leaving many Americans more anxious than ever about healthcare accessibility.
Read More: Repealing Obamacare Will Seriously Disrupt How Doctors Work
It makes sense, then, that many Americans would think that importing cheaper drugs sounds like a great idea, now more than ever. But there’s more to the story: two other amendments were proposed that also addressed drug prices Wednesday night, one of which got full Democratic support. That’s because importing drugs is a complicated issue, and there are concerns with using it as a lever to lower drug prices in the US.
In other countries, the government sets a price cap or negotiates lower prices with drug manufacturers, which is why the same medication can sometimes be half or a third of the price in countries like Canada and Denmark. In the US, pharmaceutical companies are free to set their own prices, and patent laws mean there’s often a long period where a company has a monopoly over a certain drug, allowing them to set sky-high prices. Importing drugs from other countries is currently illegal. Maine once tried to legalize it, but a federal judge overturned the law.
Allowing pharmacists and patients with a prescription to buy drugs back at half the price from Canada is touted as a way to force US companies to roll back their prices to stay competitive. But there’s a concern that wholesalers, such as websites that already sell Canadian drugs to US consumers under the table, might not be subject to the same quality and safety checks that a licensed pharmacy would be.
“If you were to go to Canada and buy a drug that would be sold to a Canadian patient, you’d be just fine,” said Peter Rice, a pharmacist and a professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “But the regulations allowing drugs to be imported to Canada and then sold to somebody in another country doesn’t necessarily [impose] the same quality controls.”
This is one of the biggest concerns with using imported drugs as a way to try to force US drug companies to lower prices. Democratic Senator Bob Casey said on Twitter that that’s why he couldn’t support Sanders’ amendment.
Instead, Casey and the rest of the Democratic senate voted in favor of a different amendment—one that would more broadly prioritize lowering drug prices—but it was blocked by Republican senators.
Another common concern is that any attempt to lower drug prices in the US would do such damage to pharmaceutical companies’ bottom lines that they would no longer be able to afford the financial investment required to bring new drugs to market. But Rice, and many others, argue that there are ways to ensure that doesn’t happen, such as relaxing regulations on experimental drug trials to help manufacturers get to market sooner. It just might not be as simple as opening up a pill pipeline from Canada.
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Dark_Star
train driver pervading a desktop
Registered: 08/20/04
Posts: 31,859
Loc: Uranus
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: tdubz]
#24014109 - 01/16/17 09:22 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Of course. Our government is snug & warm in the pockets of big pharma. This is also why they are gonna wind up banning kratom.
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster
Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Dark_Star]
#24015479 - 01/16/17 06:21 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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These sorts of things kind of piss me off.
-------------------- Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..." *Mark 15:34 Gam zeh ya’avor...
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Konyap
Registered: 06/30/07
Posts: 33,945
Loc: Planet Piss
Last seen: 4 years, 4 months
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Amanita86]
#24015914 - 01/16/17 09:02 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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12 democrats who get money from big pharma voted against this
canada makes drugs and buys cheaper drugs from new zeland bed of liars
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Konyap
Registered: 06/30/07
Posts: 33,945
Loc: Planet Piss
Last seen: 4 years, 4 months
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Konyap]
#24015928 - 01/16/17 09:08 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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also what fucking drugs does big pharma have anyway?
I haven't heard of any drugs coming out of big pharma that do jack shit
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CookieCrumbs
Fucked off to the pub
Registered: 12/10/11
Posts: 14,166
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Konyap]
#24015940 - 01/16/17 09:12 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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That last paragraph Yes they need their multibillion dollar profits to make new drugs that they can patent and monopolize on and then, despite all the clinical trials, find out 20 years later when their patent is finally up, that it causes cancer, cardiac, and kidney failure.
-------------------- Free time is the only time
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides
Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: CookieCrumbs]
#24016342 - 01/17/17 12:27 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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The pharmie outlets pump a lotta bucks Washington's way, so they'll be robbing the sick for s while.
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LuSiD enthusiast
Stranger
Registered: 03/14/13
Posts: 4,325
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Dark_Star]
#24017605 - 01/17/17 02:41 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Dark_Star said: Of course. Our government is snug & warm in the pockets of big pharma. This is also why they are gonna wind up banning kratom.
DON'T FUCKING SAY THIS!!!
The dea realized they made an honest mistake and decided that it would be more trou-
Who am i kidding?
You're right.
-------------------- I'm addicted to coke, weed, booze, ludes and speed. Not LSD, you can't get addicted to LSD, it was built by scientists. I ain't got no demons that gonna get woke. In erowid we trust. Just take your damn pills and don't ask any questions, you'll be fine.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant
Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 17,596
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: LuSiD enthusiast]
#24027751 - 01/21/17 09:55 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Prices would have to be competitive, in a free and open market, or noone could afford to buy it.
Last I heard, the Trump administration was in favor of single payer (as by the state.)
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Prem. Kissoff
Slow learner
Registered: 11/09/16
Posts: 259
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: durian_2008]
#24030114 - 01/22/17 10:20 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Rat shit democrats! CORY BOOKER, thats the fuks name!
That POS starts talking real fast when asked why Canadian drugs with the same safety standards or better than ours are too dangerous.
New Jersey representatives are some of the most heinous scum and should be punished accordingly.
Edited by Prem. Kissoff (01/22/17 10:20 AM)
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LuSiD enthusiast
Stranger
Registered: 03/14/13
Posts: 4,325
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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Re: Congress Just Missed an Opportunity to Give Americans Access to Cheaper Drugs [Re: Prem. Kissoff]
#24032456 - 01/23/17 03:35 AM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Prem. Kissoff said: Rat shit democrats! CORY BOOKER, thats the fuks name!
That POS starts talking real fast when asked why Canadian drugs with the same safety standards or better than ours are too dangerous.
New Jersey representatives are some of the most heinous scum and should be punished accordingly.
Idk about new jersey, but my home state has several records for dirtiest politicians. I can't imagine them being that much worse. (Illinois)
-------------------- I'm addicted to coke, weed, booze, ludes and speed. Not LSD, you can't get addicted to LSD, it was built by scientists. I ain't got no demons that gonna get woke. In erowid we trust. Just take your damn pills and don't ask any questions, you'll be fine.
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