Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (3600)	1/4/2008 1:21:37 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

Its possible that the single payer system might not push any large reduction in drug prices. If so it shouldn't have a major negative effect on drug research, but I believe you are looking for a reduction in cost here (and even if you are not there would be political pressure in any single payer system to reduce the cost of drugs) Reducing the expected return on investment almost always puts downward pressure on the investment. If it doesn't actually decrease it from the initial level, it would only be because some other factor is working to increase the investment, and you still will get less investment that you would have without the lower expected rate of return. What factors do you see that would give a very strong upward push on investment in drug research? Without such a strong upward push from some other factor there is little doubt that a major reduction in drug prices would reduce drug research spending by the pharmaceutical companies.