Fred Rice, who once represented Hampton in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, recommended New Hampshire lower the cigarette tax, in hopes of luring Massachusetts smokers across the state line to buy their cigarettes in New Hampshire.
A doctor in the audience raised his hand, "Uh, Mr. Rice," the doctor said, "I thought one reason we tax cigarettes severely is to encourage people to stop smoking, or at least to cut down. You are talking about using a lower tax to encourage consumption."
"To encourage spending in New Hampshire," Mr. Rice replied, face open and suggesting he could not understand what the problem might be. "It IS a legal product.."
"So, what you are proposing, " the doctor persisted, "Is exporting our cancer to Massachusetts."
"I hardly think that's fair," sputtered Rice.
Facing a Senate Committee, Martin Shkreli a 20 something owner of a drug company faced Elizabeth Warren, across the hearing floor. She asked about his raising the price of anti anti parasitic drug from $3.50 to $75, overnight.
"Well," Shkreli responded, "It was perfectly legal."
"Uh, Mr. Shkreli," Warren replied, "In case you have not noticed, you are in the chambers of the United States Senate. We get to say what is legal."
But both Fred Rice and his soul mate, Martin Shkreli were correct about one thing, and that is in the American system, our big pharma, our entire system which includes insurance companies, work place human resources departments, and a whole variety of middle men and brokers, including pharmacy benefit managers (PBM's) function to make sure our system is not about your health, or any patient's health, but about making profits for investors.
In today's NYT, Danielle Ofri writes about insulin prices which have risen from $25 a bottle to $300 a bottle. Well, of course, that's not the price people with insurance pay. That price is paid only by those unfortunates who had no insurance or only minimal insurance.
She notes there are only three companies who make insulin in the world. Actually, it's worse than that. There are only two companies who make the basic insulins but there are several others which make the "new" insulins, which are actually less effective but do have the virtue of being WAY more expensive and profitable.
We have come a long way from Banting and Best, who struggled for two years to bring insulin into the world and who sold their patents for $1, so insulin could be mass produced quickly and save lives world wide. We are eons since Alexandre Yersin, the man who identified the causative organism of The Black Plague, and who devised the first effective therapy for Bubonic plague, would say, "I could never practice medicine because I could never bring myself to say to a man, 'Your money or your life.'"
Neither Shkreli nor Fred Rice nor any of the faceless CEO's at the big pharma companies have any such qualms.
Even President Trump has mentioned drug prices, but of course, he cannot follow through or even remember what he said yesterday, except for "The Wall."
Until we take profit out of medical care, we will not see any change here.
A doctor in the audience raised his hand, "Uh, Mr. Rice," the doctor said, "I thought one reason we tax cigarettes severely is to encourage people to stop smoking, or at least to cut down. You are talking about using a lower tax to encourage consumption."
"To encourage spending in New Hampshire," Mr. Rice replied, face open and suggesting he could not understand what the problem might be. "It IS a legal product.."
"So, what you are proposing, " the doctor persisted, "Is exporting our cancer to Massachusetts."
"I hardly think that's fair," sputtered Rice.
Facing a Senate Committee, Martin Shkreli a 20 something owner of a drug company faced Elizabeth Warren, across the hearing floor. She asked about his raising the price of anti anti parasitic drug from $3.50 to $75, overnight.
"Well," Shkreli responded, "It was perfectly legal."
"Uh, Mr. Shkreli," Warren replied, "In case you have not noticed, you are in the chambers of the United States Senate. We get to say what is legal."
But both Fred Rice and his soul mate, Martin Shkreli were correct about one thing, and that is in the American system, our big pharma, our entire system which includes insurance companies, work place human resources departments, and a whole variety of middle men and brokers, including pharmacy benefit managers (PBM's) function to make sure our system is not about your health, or any patient's health, but about making profits for investors.
In today's NYT, Danielle Ofri writes about insulin prices which have risen from $25 a bottle to $300 a bottle. Well, of course, that's not the price people with insurance pay. That price is paid only by those unfortunates who had no insurance or only minimal insurance.
She notes there are only three companies who make insulin in the world. Actually, it's worse than that. There are only two companies who make the basic insulins but there are several others which make the "new" insulins, which are actually less effective but do have the virtue of being WAY more expensive and profitable.
We have come a long way from Banting and Best, who struggled for two years to bring insulin into the world and who sold their patents for $1, so insulin could be mass produced quickly and save lives world wide. We are eons since Alexandre Yersin, the man who identified the causative organism of The Black Plague, and who devised the first effective therapy for Bubonic plague, would say, "I could never practice medicine because I could never bring myself to say to a man, 'Your money or your life.'"
Neither Shkreli nor Fred Rice nor any of the faceless CEO's at the big pharma companies have any such qualms.
Even President Trump has mentioned drug prices, but of course, he cannot follow through or even remember what he said yesterday, except for "The Wall."
Until we take profit out of medical care, we will not see any change here.
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