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More Drugmakers Hike U.S. Prices as New Year Begins

posted by martyb on Thursday January 02 2020, @11:43AM   
from the prepare-for-sharply-worded-letters dept.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Cascade:

More drugmakers hike U.S. prices as new year begins:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N), Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O), and Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) hiked U.S. list prices on more than 50 drugs on Wednesday, bringing total New Year’s Day drug price increases to more than 250, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that drugmakers including Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.L) and Sanofi SA (SASY.PA) were planning to increase prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1.

Nearly all of the price increases are below 10% and the median price increase is around 5%, according to 3 Axis.

More early year price increases could still be announced.

Soaring U.S. prescription drug prices are expected to again be a central issue in the presidential election. President Donald Trump, who made bringing them down a core pledge of his 2016 campaign, is running for re-election in 2020.

[...] The United States, which leaves drug pricing to market competition, has higher prices than in other countries where governments directly or indirectly control the costs, making it the world’s most lucrative market for manufacturers.

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Original Submission

• Re:Time to regulate the market Re:Time to regulate the market (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 03 2020, @02:35AM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 03 2020, @02:35AM (#938920)

  > Why aren't governments doing bulk deals for entire states?
  > Why can't state governments?

  Because a bunch of bought and payed for congress critters (in this instance, a little over half of them) and president Baby Bush passed a law that outlawed the government being able to negotiate drug prices, as a huge giveaway to the pharma corps in exchange for bribes ^H^H^H^H^H campaign contributions.

  "Lobbyists" is too polite and soft a word to describe this blatant corruption. It is like, "post traumatic stress disorder." Which replaced, "Shell Shock!" PTSD is a mealy-mouthed bullshit phrase to hide the reality of the brutality of war-- but, much more polite, and much less likely to evoke a response in the person hearing the phrase. Just like, "Lobbyists" is less likely to evoke a response than the more honest, "Corrupt mother fuckers accepting bribes!"

  Parent

• Re:Time to regulate the market (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 03 2020, @03:10AM

  by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday January 03 2020, @03:10AM (#938926) Journal

  I agree with most of what you said except for PTSD. The term was invented in the 80s because it was realized that the same problems that people with shell shock were experiencing was also being experienced by civilians, including children. Anything that generates feelings of intense fear and horror, such as witnessing a murder or other violent crime, including rape or other sexual assault, a horrific accident with dismembered bodies, etc., can cause the same feelings of helplessness, fear, horror, flashbacks, nightmares, lucid dreams, severe depression and severe anxiety. No two people react the same way, and telling someone to "toughen up" just increases their problems dealing with PTSD - they already feel like they should be strong enough to handle it since some others can, so it just makes them feel guilty of malingering.

  It can have lifelong consequences. Life changing consequences. Including suicide as a way to put an end to the suffering.

  --
  SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.

  Parent