Where Does the Pharmaceutical Industry Come Down Between Morality and Profits?

News&Views
The Armchair Curmudgeon
April 1, 2007



If you believe there is no human cost to collusive behavior,
check your next pharmaceutical bill…



If you are a Medicare recipient, you probably spend a good part of the month cursing the pharmaceutical companies for eating up much of your social security pension..

And you may posit the fundamental question, “Why me?”

Well, don’t feel bad.
. You’re not the only one paying high costs for pharmaceutical products. In fact, you’ve got a lot of company and they’re called American retirees who are getting clobbered with things like high prices for drugs and an arbitrary killer called the doughnut that can wipe out your savings…

In the past, both democrats and republicans claimed they were seeking solutions
For those who are paying too much for high drug prices.

Their solution? The republican congress got together and produced a bill—a pro-industry bill that was literally hundreds of pages written by guess who? You’ve got it, the pharmaceutical lobbyists.

Then Congress was given virtually no time to read the bill or act on it.

While the voting should have been opened only fifteen minutes, it turned out that enough votes did not come through to pass the bill with all of its distasteful provisions until around 4:00 AM—an outrageous misuse of Congressional voting and pressure…

And when all was said and done, a bill came out that gave the pharmaceutical industry reason to applaud. And, incidentally, made the Pharmaceutical Industry billions of dollars more a year.

Why?

Because as part of the bill, Congress and Medicare was prohibited from negotiation for better drug prices.
Right now, the pharmaceutical industry has virtual carte blanche in setting prices with no investigations by the FDA which is loaded with pharmaceutical execs who just can’t wait to get back to bilking the public.

At least fifteen leading proponents of the bill were rewarded by the pharmaceutical industry and hired as lobbyista…The leading proponent of the bill really cashed in two months after the bill was approved with a two million dollar contract from the industry. Most shocking, he doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior or actions.

Cynical actions by congress people who are sworn to support the interests of the American people; instead in collusive behavior with industry that are supposed to control and monitor…

A sad day for American justice when the people who are supposed to control business instead choose to lie down in bed with the most manipulative. Not exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind two hundred and some years ago.

Think about that the next time you pay twice what Veterans pay for the same drug. Somebody has to pay for the lobbyists and the perks!

Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com