Landlords renting to the local labor force got a scare over Labor Day weekend; it wasn’t even Halloween. A Valley Voices columnist imagined the specter of rent controls — here — in the Eagle Valley.
Yet that piece of fiction was irrelevant to the stated topic: the consequences of Medicare bargaining for lower prescription drug prices. (Put aside the opinion writer’s misuse of the term “price fixing” — a felony under U.S. anti-trust laws, usually prosecuted against corporations.)
The author’s apologia for Big Pharma also omitted any mention of the many billions, reported to exceed research and development costs, poured into incessant direct-to-consumer ads promoting drugs with made-up, scrabble-rack names. Using feel-good videos and catchy soundtracks, the ads divert attention from the required narration about serious side effects. Multibillions for ads, when it should be your doctor that, with study, recommends a particular drug for you, or not.
The new law letting Medicare (indirectly, you) negotiate drug prices is Economics 101. What never made sense was the old law; it prohibited the consumer (Medicare) from bargaining with the seller (Big Pharma).
Negotiating drug prices is not “price fixing.” It’s basic economics. Consider the lower prices you paid if you’ve used GoodRx or one of its competitors.
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Wayne Hogan
Avon
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