Big Pharma Pockets $711 Billion in Profits by Robbing Seniors, Taxpayers
Huffington Post
by Ethan Rome
04/08/2013
Here’s an outrage that must be changed: Big Pharma has been systematically price-gouging the Medicare program for seniors and people with disabilities – and raking in billions in excessive profits. The 11 largest global drug companies made an astonishing $711 billion in profits over the 10 years ending in 2012, and they got a turbo-charged boost when the Medicare Part D prescription drug program started in 2006, according to an analysis of corporate filings by Health Care for America Now [HCAN].
The drug companies hold the power to charge America’s consumers whatever they want. Worse, Medicare – the nation’s largest purchaser of drugs — is prohibited by law from seeking better prices. The result of this shortsighted policy is dramatic. In 2006, the first year of Medicare’s prescription drug program, the combined profits of the largest drug companies soared 34 percent to $76.3 billion. And unlike other industries, such as Big Oil, drug companies get something even better than a tax subsidy – they get a government program…
The drug companies, of course, say they have no choice and need to charge outrageous prices to pay for research that enables them to innovate and develop new drugs that save our lives. But that’s not true. Half of the scientifically innovative drugs approved in the U.S. from 1998 to 2007 resulted from research at universities and biotech firms, not big drug companies. And despite their rhetoric, drug companies spend 19 times more on marketing than on research and development…
$137 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Eliminating price-gouging on that scale would go a long way toward addressing the fiscal challenges that are constantly under discussion in Washington – without harming seniors and middle-class families. This proposal has been supported by President Obama and is in the House Democrats’ budget plan. It is reportedly in the president’s 2014 budget plan as well…
With all the noise about the costs of “entitlements” a change in policy that could save billions and benefit patients is not even on the radar. Allowing the government to negotiate the price of drugs (the V.A. does) for Medicare/Medicaid patients and quelling the use of atypical anti-psychotics and other drugs prescribed off-label that are causing more problems than they solve (IF they solve anything) would lower the costs of public medicine by lowering the costs of the drugs and the effects of the drugs.
I highly encourage everyone, when seeing an article about Type II diabetes and diet, to take the time to educate about the relationship between metabolic syndromes and atypical anti-psychotics.
And this study showing that discontinuing most medicines improves the global health of the elderly by 88%:
http://doctorskeptic.blogspot.com/2012/11/stop-medication-train-elderly-want-to.html
Wiley,
Thank you for the link.
“If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This especially includes your health care.” – Andrew Saul, Ph.D. –
http://www.doctoryourself.com
Duane
I think a large percentage of the baby-boom generation will reject most of these drugs.
Duane
Disgusting. This is what our state religion of “the free market solves everything” has come to.
Managed care means YOU the patient does the managing.
Quite simply…Corptopia owns our government…they own the vast majority of both major political parties…very few get elected without them…they own the majority of press….they own the majority of the courts…So if anyone is still under the impression that we have a government of, for, and by the people…it’s time to wake up and smell reality…
Tyranny is a long calculated process, seldom an overnight phenomena….
I always get the generic version if available, but for most of the expensive meds this option is not available.
@Wiley – I totally agree, in most cases Diabetes Type 2 does not need medication but re-education in lifestyle so the patient can change diet and exercise habits. Even elderly can do some forms of exercise.