Up until now, our government has been forbidden by law to negotiate drug prices. Have you ever heard anything crazier that that? We have begun a very minor effort to negotiate drug prices in this country. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services announced the first 10 drugs covered under Medicare selected for negotiation. This process will begin in 2023 and 2024 and negotiated prices will not become effective until 2026! Patients on Medicare on these drugs paid $3.4 billion out of their own pockets in 2022 for these ten medications and we are all on the hook as taxpayers for the balance. This single issue has a huge impact on the federal budget and the solvency of Medicare long term. Every one of you is affected.
The US government has been forbidden by law from negotiating drug prices for patients on Medicare since 2003. This legal prohibition was part of the law that provided coverage for medication expenses for people on Medicare. We can negotiate prices for the Veterans Administration and Medicaid. Prescription drug prices are secretly negotiated between drug manufacturers and insurance companies. None of us know how that good ole boy system works out. But we do know this! Insurance companies make money based on a percentage of spending. They make more when healthcare costs more. It is that simple. That is why American drug costs are so high.
That is the reason that Americans spend over twice as much on prescription drugs compared with other developed countries. These other countries negotiate prescription drugs prices for the benefit of their citizens. In Great Britain, the insurer or government spending per person is one third of the cost in the United States and out-of-pocket expenses are less than one tenth of what they are here. These facts do not adversely impact the healthcare patients in these other countries receive— they live longer!
The Veterans Administration can negotiate drug prices and they spend less than half as much for the same drugs as Medicare. This is an incredibly important issue. The law does not directly impact drug costs for younger patients who are not on Medicare, but the Medicare system does serve as a model for the way health insurance companies charge for products and services. The Medicare system spent 216 million dollars on drugs in 2021. If we simply negotiated prices that spending would fall to $108 billion dollars and that would go a long way toward making Medicare more sustainable. Every other country negotiates drug prices. Every large company in this country negotiates the price of the products they use. Starbucks negotiates the price of coffee. General Motors negotiates the price of steel.
Our failure to negotiate drug prices is the best example that I know of that the swamp exists. You are right to worry about it. You are losing ground because our government doesn't serve you. It serves the interests of large drug companies that make massive political contributions. I will never vote for another politician who does not support drug price negotiations. Politics is ultimately about money and power. That would be voting against my own interests as an American and a Medicare beneficiary.
Here is a report on how our politicians voted on this issue. Those voting against it claimed that negotiating drug prices would stifle innovation and delay cures, but that argument has no merit. There are many companies developing new drugs in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Japan, and Great Britain. They are developing new drugs all the time and those drugs cost twice as much here as they do in the countries where they are made. You are being taking advantage of and those who pass laws at the federal level are a big part of the problem. Don’t buy the smooth talk. Pay attention to what they do. Learn about it. It is your only protection!
The drug companies get it! They are pushing back hard against this modest effort. Their profits enable them to hire an army of lawyers and lobbyists. “Big drug companies and their allies are fighting furiously to stop Medicare from negotiating drug prices so they can keep charging Americans the highest prices in the world. Allowing these distractions to derail implementation of the law would not be in the public’s interest, especially for older adults who have waited far too long for affordable drug prices. Medicare drug price negotiation represents a historic opportunity to access lifesaving drugs for millions of Americans at a time when they need them the most,”
We don’t just spend twice as much on drugs. We spend twice as much on all healthcare. We have known for two decades that one of the most threatening areas of the swamp to ordinary Americans is our healthcare system. The National Academy of Medicine advises the US government on healthcare policy. Here is what they had to say in 2001. “The American health care delivery system is in need of fundamental change. Many patients, doctors, nurses, and health care leaders are concerned that the care delivered is not, essentially, the care we should receive. The frustration levels of both patients and clinicians have probably never been higher. Yet the problems remain. Health care today harms too frequently and routinely fails to deliver its potential benefits.
Americans should be able to count on receiving care that meets their needs and is based on the best scientific knowledge. Yet there is strong evidence that this frequently is not the case. Crucial reports from disciplined review bodies document the scale and gravity of the problems Quality problems are everywhere, affecting many patients. Between the health care we have and the care we could have lies not just a gap, but a chasm.” That is because we have not changed our system to address chronic illness more effectively and our laws and regulations favor healthcare industry providers and institutions’ interests over your individual interest.
The United States government spends almost $2 trillion on healthcare. That is nearly one third of the total federal budget. Just imagine the impact on the federal deficit if we cut that in half! Imagine the impact of cutting your out-of-pocket costs in half. Democracy depends on facts, evidence, reason, and the truth. It depends on you. Learn about these issues. Don’t let politicians dodge them. Better health at lower cost is not going to just happen. You need to help make it happen. This site is all about a longer healthier life at lower cost. I work to translate these complex medical issues so that laymen can understand them. I hope that you will support my work.
The American legacy system of the “late-stage-sickness-seeking-profiteering-kabuki-dance-theatrics” sponsored by the Medical Industrial Complex has gaslighted the public and plunder our economy. It is broken beyond repair. Time to dismantle it completely and build a new system of early detection, monitoring, and primary lifestyle optimization, OMT only if necessary to save ourselves. No one in the government will care or do anything about this cabal, since they are integral part of the corrupt system.
We, the people, must do everything ourselves to save ourselves.
The healthcare system is completely dominated by super sophisticated drug pushing. In general the pattern is to evolve drugs for symptom suppression, which then, with the increase in the chronic illnesses they are covering up, are eventually released to over the counter status. The whole concept of "blockbuster drugs," is exactly based on this pattern. First, our nutrition and lifestyles promote the development of chronic illnesses, which are then first suppressed by drugs, and create the market for blockbuster drugs. This creates the junkies who eventually end up being bankrupted by the healthcare costs for full blown chronic diseases, which tend to manifest in their later years and in retirement, when they can least afford it. Then they are left for dead after they can't pay anymore. Dealers of illegal drugs follow the exact same pattern. A pill for every ill.