SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:40PM (2 children)
For the good of American people, let's hope what the Big Pharma can do will be very little.
It still amaze me how far the governance system** of US could go with impunity in betraying their "for the people" mission.
** all the 3 branches together, not only the government
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13 2019, @03:17PM (1 child)
A significant percentage of prescription drugs get a price hike every year. Big Pharma will just increase the costs more than they had originally planned.
Congress has passed laws preventing Medicare (the largest insurance & healthcare provider in the US) from negotiating lower drug prices (at the behest of Big Pharma, naturally). Every other country with government supplied healthcare negotiates more favorable pricing.
We have not seen the extent of what Big Pharma can do because they never get pushback on their current anti-consumer practices.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday August 13 2019, @10:00PM
Well, a fool's hope then.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford