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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Canadians are in a kerfuffle over the Trump administration's preliminary plan to allow Americans to import lower-cost prescription medications from Canada.
The plan was announced July 31 and is part of the administration's long-sought effort to drag down the US's skyrocketing drug prices. But it's a long way from being a reality. Even if the plan does pan out, it will likely be years before regulators review, approve, and scale up efforts to import drugs.
Still, Canadians are infuriated by the idea and already brainstorming ways to toss it down the garburator, according to a report by health-news outlet STAT. Many fear that American importation would exacerbate current drug shortages in Canada.
"You are coming as Americans to poach our drug supply, and I don't have any polite words for that," Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa told STAT. Prof. Attaran went on to refer to the plan as "deplorable" and "atrociously unethical." "Our drugs are not for you, period."
[...] On Monday, August 12, Canada's Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor was set to meet with pharmacists, patients, and industry officials to discuss a response to the US plan, according to STAT. Petitpas Taylor has pledged to "ensure there are no adverse effects to the supply or cost of prescription drugs in Canada."
In order to protect Canadians, some advocates and policy experts suggested that Canada could begin controlling the export of pharmaceuticals, pass new laws simply banning exporting drugs meant for Canadians, or impose new tariffs.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:01PM (25 children)
How surprising that there are drug shortages in a country with government determined prices. You can't make this up.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:16PM
I had no idea the problem was already so advanced: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canadian-pharmacists-association-drug-shortage-survey-1.4938557 [www.cbc.ca]
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:17PM (7 children)
The UK?
The Netherlands?
Australia?
None of these have shortages.
Are you saying the US has prices set by the government?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:28PM (5 children)
UK is having shortages: https://inews.co.uk/news/drugs-shortage-uk-brexit-list/ [inews.co.uk]
NL is having drug shortages: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/05/pharmacies-protest-about-aggressive-customers-and-drug-shortages/ [dutchnews.nl]
AU is having drug shortages: https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/medicine-shortages-in-australia-what-are-we-doing-about-them [nps.org.au]
You people live in a false reality!
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 13 2019, @01:10PM (4 children)
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/food-and-drug-administration-safety-and-innovation-act-fdasia/fact-sheet-drug-products-shortage-united-states [fda.gov]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278171/ [nih.gov]
https://www.drugs.com/drug-shortages/ [drugs.com]
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @01:15PM (3 children)
Your point is?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 13 2019, @11:10PM (2 children)
I guess the point is, you need someone spelling things out for you!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @11:54PM (1 child)
No, I think you have no point. The US healthcare system is already fucked up socialized medicine? We know that already.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:46AM
Ummmm .... obviously you DON'T know it: read the comments in this article.
You know, the ones saying "US GREAT, rest of world SUCKS!"
"How surprising that there are drug shortages in a country with government determined prices. You can't make this up."
https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879580#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879590#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879593#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] (in response to https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879591#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] )
"Why was this modded Troll? The United States does not have drug shortages. Why do they? Don't manufacturers make the amount that is ordered, like manufacturers do in the United States?"
https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879605#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
Enough for you?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:32PM
And yes, the US government also meddles in drug prices.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @01:08PM (15 children)
Why was this modded Troll? The United States does not have drug shortages. Why do they? Don't manufacturers make the amount that is ordered, like manufacturers do in the United States?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 13 2019, @01:12PM (14 children)
See comment above, and
https://www.drugs.com/drug-shortages/ [drugs.com]
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @02:23AM (10 children)
That URL is dishonest for what we are discussing. The purpose of the page that you listed is to alert doctors to alternative options that are still available. If you click into any one of those items, the Available Products provides information on how to continue treatment based on what is still available from different quantity sizes, pill sizes, manufacturers, or alternate treatment options. This is far different from "my treatment cannot continue because of supply shortages." This page actually makes it easier to continue treatment when a specific SKU becomes unavailable.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:00PM (9 children)
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/food-and-drug-administration-safety-and-innovation-act-fdasia/fact-sheet-drug-products-shortage-united-states [fda.gov]
"Shortages of drugs and biologics pose a significant public health threat, delaying, and in some cases even denying, critically needed care for patients. Preventing drug shortages remains a top priority for FDA."
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @10:54PM (8 children)
You just stated a fact without context. That is not how you compare things.
Now what is the rate of treatments *without substitutes* in the United States, and the rate of treatments without substitutes in Canada? Without this, we only have speculation.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 17 2019, @01:23AM (7 children)
"Why was this modded Troll? The United States does not have drug shortages. "
https://soylentnews.org/politics/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=879605#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
I showed you it DOES have shortages.
Not sure why you can't get this simple stuff!....oh, right. The American education system.
Sorry dude. I should have made it all more basic and SPELLED it out for you. Here we go:
YOU IS DUMB!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @01:25AM (6 children)
Without numbers for comparison, your words are meaningless. Did your education system not teach fractions?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 17 2019, @02:23AM (5 children)
You said America has NO shortages.
0% shortages.
I showed it was NOT 0%
Do any fractions you want.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:19AM (4 children)
I will translate colloquial speech into literal speech since you apparently need it:
There is no long lasting drug shortage crises worthy of nation wide news coverage in the United States because it is market based. Where there are shortages of specific stock (a specification of size of medication and quantity of medication), the FDA publishes alternatives so that people can resume treatment under different SKUs, types of medicines, or forms of treatment. Treatment mitigated in this fashion continues, so SKU shortages should not be conflated with failure to provide treatment. No one has made drug shortages in the US a political issue because it is very well managed when compared to the price controlled markets that socialists want us to move to.
People complain of verbosity if I always express this level of detail.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:39AM
"No one has made" is not literal enough. "No one of any significance has made" is.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 17 2019, @02:06PM (2 children)
Does the US have drug shortages?
You said NO.
The FDA says yes.
You said 0%
The FDA says NOT 0%
NOW you say "There is no long lasting drug shortage"
Sooooo, not 0%?
Thank you for confirmation: there ARE shortages in the US. That's all I was talking about.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @09:13PM (1 child)
You might want to look up what colloquial speech is. It will probably save you time in the future.
We are not lawyers.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday August 18 2019, @12:33AM
Nor debaters.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @03:03AM (2 children)
There is a difference between "My favorite brand A bread is out of stock, so now I buy brand B bread instead" and "There is no bread by any brand in stock."
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday August 14 2019, @05:06PM (1 child)
https://soylentnews.org/politics/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33086&page=1&cid=880096#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @12:40AM
I expect that the rate of drug shortages in the US is not 0.0%. But it does not seem to be high enough that we would be bothered by Canadians coming down into our country to get them. In fact, Canadians routinely visit the US for surgeries that they either cannot wait for due to an absurdly long waiting list or there is a superior treatment method offered in the US that is not available in Canada. No one in the US is complaining about Canadians making our waiting list times longer because our government is not creating artificial shortages.