Donald Trump is lashing out at big pharma... saying the government just simply won't be paying that much for drugs anymore for Medicare, military and V.A. patients. He's demanding the right to negotiate prices, an ability previously denied due to government regulations.
The pharmaceutical companies have been quick to respond to criticism over their prices over the last decade or two by insisting that they need to recoup expenses for researching and developing better medications. Otherwise, they warn, there will be no incentive to keep advancing.
Anyone who has ever been involved in business knows that, in order to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace, you have to keep innovating. My point here is that even if prices are rolled back for medicines, pharmaceutical companies will continue to develop new and better products in order to stay in business. So, their argument holds no water.
Big pharma has protected its price-gouging territory by successfully lobbying Congress and the F.D.A. to keep foreign pharmaceuticals out of the country. "You can't trust medicines from other countries," they exclaim. Well, if medicines from other countries were defective, people would be getting sick or dying and we'd hear about it. Besides, I believe that American companies are actually selling their products to foreign countries at far less than what they are gouging us for.
They may say they're not to blame for raping our pocketbooks, but the evidence clearly shows that they are.
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