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[User 250141]

Following the dust-up in the past couple of weeks over the price of EpiPen being jacked up through the roof by its manufacturer...

Hillary Clinton now has a plan to respond to price hikes in prescription drugs

Today Hillary Clinton is announcing a new plan to protect Americans from unjustified price hikes of long-available prescription drugs with limited competition, like EpiPens and pyrimethamine, the drug for a disease related to AIDS that Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of by more than 5,000%. After speaking out against excessive prices for prescription drugs throughout the campaign and, last week, calling for Mylan to lower its EpiPen price, Clinton believes that Mylan’s recent actions have not gone far enough to remedy their outrageous price increase. So today, Clinton is proposing a new set of strong tools that will let the government take effective action in such cases where public health is put at risk by an unjustified, outlier price increase for a treatment long available on the market with limited competition.

She’ll start by convening representatives of Federal agencies charged with ensuring health and safety, as well as fair competition, to create a dedicated group charged with protecting consumers from outlier price increases.

Clinton’s plan would make new enforcement tools available including:

• Making alternatives available and increasing competition: Directly intervening to make treatments available, and supporting alternative manufacturers that enter the market and increase competition, to bring down prices and spur innovation in new treatments.
• Emergency importation of safe treatments: Broadening access to safe, high-quality alternatives through emergency importation from developed countries with strong safety standards.
• Penalties for unjustified price increase to hold drug companies accountable and fund expanded access: Holding drug makers accountable for unjustified price increases with new penalties, such as fines – and using the funds or savings to expand access and competition.

Thanks, Hillary...?

 

[dave is ok]

Don't count on it. She took more money from pharmaceutical companies than every Republican candidate combined.

 

[Maxim726X]

Yes, thanks Hillary.

As someone who works in healthcare, this could be quite big. Particularly, using medications approved for use in other developed countries... Could make a humongous difference.

Don't count on it. She took more money from pharmaceutical companies than every Republican candidate combined.

... Actually, that's more of a reason to count on it. She would be increasing access and opportunities for other drugs to enter the market. So, good one?

 

[Bronx-Man]

Shkreli wept.

 

[Hilbert]

Don't count on it. She took more money from pharmaceutical companies than every Republican candidate combined.

From the companies or people that worked for the companies?

 

[RPGCrazied]

Good. No drug needs to be this much, specially on a life saving one.

 

[dave is ok]

From the companies or people that worked for the companies?

People who worked at the companies but 54 percent of the donors were listed as executive, director, manager or lawyer.

 

[royalan]

Penalties for unjustified price increase to hold drug companies accountable and fund expanded access: Holding drug makers accountable for unjustified price increases with new penalties, such as fines – and using the funds or savings to expand access and competition.

Yes.

It's a shame that in a presidential race that at one point had more than 30 candidates, only Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders regularly sounded the alarm on the outrageous cost of prescription meds and price gouging. This is a big one for everyone who thinks both parties are the same. This will make consistent care so much more affordable for a lot of people I know.

 

[CCS]

People who worked at the companies but 54 percent of the donors were listed as executive, director, manager or lawyer.

Today in shocking news: people who earn more money donate more.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Don't count on it. She took more money from pharmaceutical companies than every Republican candidate combined.

Health care is Hillary's baby. Anything related to this subject I'm going to take her word for it.

 

[dave is ok]

Today in shocking news: people who earn more money donate more.

I've seen enough of these arguments to know that "Yeah, she's bought and paid for because some secretaries and cafeteria workers donated to her" was coming next.

It's nice of you to have a snarky response for both outcomes though.

... Actually, that's more of a reason to count on it. She would be increasing access and opportunities for other drugs to enter the market. So, good one?

Yeah, I'm sure these companies being told what they're allowed to charge for a product (and in the process cutting their profit margins to shreds) - would be great news to them.

 

[royalan]

Don't count on it. She took more money from pharmaceutical companies than every Republican candidate combined.

 

[Monocle]

She can't keep getting away with it!

 

[gcubed]

I've seen enough of these arguments to know that "Yeah, she's bought and paid for because some secretaries and cafeteria workers donated to her" was coming next.

It's nice of you to have a snarky response for both outcomes though.

I mean I guess the best way to respond to a tired and vapid comment is with more tired and vapid comments

 

[CCS]

I've seen enough of these arguments to know that "Yeah, she's bought and paid for because some secretaries and cafeteria workers donated to her" was coming next.

It's nice of you to have a snarky response for both outcomes though.

It's nice of you to make a misleading post about donations which doesn't actually address the substance of the thread

 

[bangbang i'm a timpani]

most of this won't work without including the actual manufacturers. importation won't ever happen. the gov't funds a small portion of actual r+d funding. dtc may come down thats fine.

 

[Red]

Current import rules: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ImportProgram/ucm173751.htm

 

[Sapiens]

Woman used to run Wal-Mart....I have little doubt who's side she favours...but I'm hoping she surprises me on this issue.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Having a system of automatic importation and helping support alternate manufacturers is the biggest deal here. Penalizing the companies isn't all that effective, but if you set up a system where importation gets short-circuited automatically if price increases are too much you'll finally start to crush pharma's ability to gouge the living daylights out of American patients.

 

[Xe4]

LOL I knew there'd be people bitching about Hillary taking money from teh wallsteeetz the moment I entered the thread.

Good plan, hopefully it'll pass when she becomes president.

Spoiler

lol, I can dream, right?

 

[ColdPizza]

Good. No drug needs to be this much, specially on a life saving one.

This needs to be balanced though. You can't expect a biotech or drug manufacturer to spend billions of dollars and not recoup their expenses. Without financial incentive there's no reason for a company to even attempt to create these drugs.

On the flip side, Mylan bought EpiPen, and Turing Pharma bought daraprim, so in those instances the price increases were unjust. So yes, I would support penalties on price hikes in these instances.

 

[Red]

Having a system of automatic importation and helping support alternate manufacturers is the biggest deal here. Penalizing the companies isn't all that effective, but if you set up a system where importation gets short-circuited automatically if price increases are too much you'll finally start to crush pharma's ability to gouge the living daylights out of American patients.

Vermont recently developed a plan to stop unjustifiable price increases.

I wonder if Clinton's plan is an extension of this.

 

[Roland_Gunner]

Woman used to run Wal-Mart....I have little doubt who's side she favours...but I'm hoping she surprises me on this issue.

Hillary Clinton was the only female member of the Wal Mart board for several years. That's miles away from 'running' it.

 

[benjipwns]

"That's not a plan, that's a goal."

 

[Pastry]

Woman used to run Wal-Mart....I have little doubt who's side she favours...but I'm hoping she surprises me on this issue.

That's not how being on the board works lol. Besides she championed good causes while on the board.

 

[Alrus]

This needs to be balanced though. You can't expect a biotech or drug manufacturer to spend billions of dollars and not recoup their expenses. Without financial incentive there's no reason for a company to even attempt to create these drugs.

On the flip side, Mylan bought EpiPen, and Turing Pharma bought daraprim, so in those instances the price increases were unjust. So yes, I would support penalties on price hikes in these instances.

Yeah I don't think she's talking about cutting edge medecine, those are expected to be expensive because they cost a fortune to research and manufacture and price usually greatly goes down after a few/some years.

This is targeting predatory price hike of old and widely used drugs who already made a shitton of money for the pharmaceutic industry and where there's no justification for such increase.

 

[Maxim726X]

most of this won't work without including the actual manufacturers. importation won't ever happen. the gov't funds a small portion of actual r+d funding. dtc may come down thats fine.

Doesn't really apply to what I'm reading here.

She wants to write a law that allows drugs which are approved in developed countries (I'm assuming mostly the EU), to be allowed for use here. One of the major bottlenecks of cost in this country is FDA approval of medications, which is notoriously slow and strangely exclusionary.

Allowing more competition in pharmaceuticals in this country could make a huge difference in cost. Of course, we'd actually have to see how/if this is implemented before claiming this a great plan.

Yeah, I'm sure these companies being told what they're allowed to charge for a product (and in the process cutting their profit margins to shreds) - would be great news to them.

Wait, which is it? Is she a corporate slave who's only in it for the profit of her masters? Or isn't she?

And quite the leap of logic. Nowhere does this plan mention price fixing. You're really reaching here.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

This needs to be balanced though. You can't expect a biotech or drug manufacturer to spend billions of dollars and not recoup their expenses. Without financial incentive there's no reason for a company to even attempt to create these drugs.

The financial incentive is usually recouped when the drug is initially introduced to market (when the exclusivity patents are still in place), not a price hike 30 years after the fact.

I doubt you'll see many manufacturers lose their shit over the ability to provide alternatives to medicines their rivals have previously monopolized.

 

[Slayven]

It was Clinton's email server that marked Ben Ghazi's medicare application as spam, he never got the life saving medicine he needed

 

[LegendofJoe]

Being able to legally import insulin from overseas would be a godsend for me.

I've actually looked into illegally importing it via friends that live abroad, but I don't feel comfortable asking them to take that risk.

 

[inner-G]

LOL I knew there'd be people bitching about Hillary taking money from teh wallsteeetz the moment I entered the thread.

Good plan, hopefully it'll pass when she becomes president.

Spoiler

lol, I can dream, right?

No, she'll become president and we'll just keep giving her crap.

I'm going to vote for her, but that doesn't mean I like her. She's just the lesser of two evils to me.

Some of the things could be good changes, but I don't trust her on healthcare or the economy because I think she's less than objective because of her donors.

 

[Bronx-Man]

It was Clinton's email server that marked Ben Ghazi's medicare application as spam, he never got the life saving medicine he needed

 

[SyNapSe]

That's not how being on the board works lol. Besides she championed good causes while on the board.

.. and Wal-Mart uses their size to force suppliers to lower prices as far as possible. That comment doesn't make sense in any context I can think of.

 

[shinra-bansho]

The thread is not on Wal-Mart.

And no one cares if you like her.

If no one wants to discuss the actual policy, then really I'm just going to lock this.

 

[theultimo]

Actual policy? Yup, lets talk about donors instead.


Seriously, this is a great plan and could foster competition needed to stave off people like Martin.

 

[RustyNails]

Shouldnt the CFPB already be tasked with this? Or do they deal only with financial gougers?

 

[Wafflecakes]

Woman used to run Wal-Mart....I have little doubt who's side she favours...but I'm hoping she surprises me on this issue.

Some days I wonder when people on the far left started being being as ignorant of how the world works as the far right.

 

[benjipwns]

Shouldnt the CFPB already be tasked with this? Or do they deal only with financial gougers?

Their jurisdiction is only the financial sector.

And they can't even figure that one out, it'd be hilarious seeing them turf war with the FDA.

 

[studyguy]

Is it just a patent on the epipen that stops mass production of a generic version? Or at least an offering from someone other than the company offering it now? It's just a controlled dose in an easy delivery system isn't it? Mylan seems to have an iron grip on it.

My girlfriend's cousin has a diabetic kid and seeing him get his dosage every so often and how carefully they have to monitor him is sort of a bummer. Diabetes is some real shit.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

If you had universal health care then those organizations would drive a hard bargain to keep prices low.
The downside to that is vast amounts of corruption though.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Is it just a patent on the epipen that stops mass production of a generic version? Or at least an offering from someone other than the company offering it now? It's just a controlled dose in an easy delivery system isn't it?

My girlfriend's cousin has a diabetic kid and seeing him get his dosage every so often and how carefully they have to monitor him is sort of a bummer. Diabetes is some real shit.

Nope. It is off patent.

Several alternatives have been offered to the FDA, but have been rejected. The primary alternative was taken off the market last year due to a recall.

 

[Link]

Hillary puts out detailed plans explaining her policies; everyone says she won't really do it and list a bunch of unrelated reasons why; media doesn't even bother talking about it.

Trump gives vague ideas about what he'll do while flip flopping on them several times a day depending on who he's talking to; everyone says the details don't matter and his advisors will work it all out; media spends the entire news cycle talking about it

I hate this election

Some days I wonder when people on the far left started being being as ignorant of how the world works as the far right.

Always the answer is always.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

Clinton lied, profits died.

 

[benjipwns]

Is it just a patent on the epipen that stops mass production of a generic version? Or at least an offering from someone other than the company offering it now? It's just a controlled dose in an easy delivery system isn't it? Mylan seems to have an iron grip on it.

My girlfriend's cousin has a diabetic kid and seeing him get his dosage every so often and how carefully they have to monitor him is sort of a bummer. Diabetes is some real shit.

In addition to the above, when a prescription is written for an EpiPen, it cannot be substituted for any alternative or generic.

 

[Raxus]

In addition to the above, when a prescription is written for an EpiPen, it cannot be substituted for any alternative or generic.

Dosing, drug/brand name have to be just right or the pharmacy will not fill the prescription. Found this out yesterday when a patient left to get a drug filled.

 

[JustenP88]

Access to care is vital but we can't ignore the exorbitant costs that even the fortunate insured have to pay. Glad she's speaking out on this.

 

[TheOctodad]

Maybe it's because I'm not in politics, but when people say, "XYZ donated money to their campaign so don't count on it." is that at all legitimate.

From what I understand people donate to essentially "buy" a listening ear. Many wealthy people donate maximums to both sides for this ability. That doesn't mean the candidate has to listen or even agree with them.

Why would any candidate reject a donation. It seems to me like you could easily say, "Thank you for your donation, I have heard you out, and I am moving a different direction." That happens in business and I'm sure politics as well.

Maybe I'm naive, but I can't imagine that someone donating funds automatically means that they will never go against their interest.

 

[LegendofJoe]

My favorite excuse from pharmaceutical executives about the cost of drugs is that most patients don't pay out of pocket so price increases don't affect them. Lmao, how dumb do they think people are? That kind of thing absolutely does effect people's wallets in the form of rising premiums and larger co-pays. It's why I pay twice as much for my insulin co-pay than I did a decade ago.

I wish I could drop kick them in the gut, spit in their faces, and tell them to get fucked.

 

[SenorArdilla]

In addition to the above, when a prescription is written for an EpiPen, it cannot be substituted for any alternative or generic.

Have any generic version for EpiPen been approved by the FDA?

 

[Clefargle]

No, she'll become president and we'll just keep giving her crap.

I'm going to vote for her, but that doesn't mean I like her. She's just the lesser of two evils to me.

Some of the things could be good changes, but I don't trust her on healthcare or the economy because I think she's less than objective because of her donors.

The lesser of two evils is the same thing as the greater of two goods, literally. Using that phrase is just you registering your distaste for her, which you did one sentence earlier. Dat redundancy.