If we really want to lower drug cost, we need to take a better look at why it's so high here, and lower elsewhere. Part of the reason is, it's higher because we can afford to pay, at least we think we can. We have a President who refused to permit Medicare to negotiate lower prices for volume purchases. We have Pharma's who say new drugs cost billions to bring to market and have their data go unchallenged though small biotech's with less than $100 million in the bank consistently bring drugs through trials. In short, Congress and the White House are in bed with Big Pharma.
I'm certainly not against all that Big Pharma's saying, the price of bringing drugs through trials should be brought down dramatically by changing the way the FDA works, and drugs are approved. Products that benefit terminal patients shouldn't ever be approvable, they should be approved, and if the FDA has questions, the questions should be answered by data from all who take the drug.
The biggest change ought to be legislation that prevents drug companies or doctors hiding adverse effects by payoffs that have confidentiallity clauses. If negative effects cannot be hidden they'll never grow to the levels seen with drugs like Fen-Fen where a company's short term profit is put ahead of long term growth. A common database where all can read the experience of people taking the drug, or using a Dr. should allow people to see for themselves if they wish to use a drug, or a Dr. and at least know the problems some have experienced. The companies or Drs. should be able to to respond to what's said, I know people who'd complain about anything in hope of getting freebee's in return, and you'd be surprised how often they're successful.
Drugs should not only be easier and cheaper to approve, they ought to get extended protection rather then quicker generic coverage, however in exchange for this, drugmakers ought to agree to lower prices dramatically. It shouldn't be cheaper to buy drugs from Canada, Mexico, etc which are made by the same companies to the same standards as here. I know this wouldn't be well received by the industry, and perhaps prices should be higher in other places, but healthcare in America is not the best in the world, yet by far we pay the most for it.
Enough for now, I've probably pissed of a lot of people who disagree, it won't happen, but I feel better writing about it.
Gary |
