197 Comments
User's avatar
Tina's avatar

Drug commercials should be banned, just like cigarette ads.

Talk with your doctor instead of feeling like you really need this drug!

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Anti-Social Socialist's avatar

"Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism" sounds pretty great, tbh.

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Dshwa's avatar

Most research is paid for by our tax dollars thru NIH/CDC and by other country's tax dollars thru their equivalent agencies, so pharma is just blowing smoke up our asses on this.

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Hello_who_dis's avatar

Some of it is funded by the government. But those grants are really hard to get because (surprise) the funding keeps getting slashed.

Source: Work for a nonprofit that grants copious amount of money for medical research.

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Trux Mint In Box's avatar

Just to point out how deliberate the drug company pricing is in some cases, long term care centers generally get alerts on drugs over 500 dollars so that they can look for alternatives. So of course stuff like Eliquis and other drugs will be set at 495 dollars to hopefully go unnoticed.

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Bindersfulohostbodies's avatar

I’m glad for this progress. I’m okay with doing what’s necessary in order to help people who need it. And it’s great when Dems get a win. But, I’m guessing the drug companies are still going to take their pound of flesh anyways. When we fixed insulin costs so people wouldn’t die, suddenly the prices for many of my meds went up. I have pretty good health insurance too, because my hubby is a non-essential federal employee during the week, but insurance companies want their piece as well. So, the weight gets distributed to anywhere except corporate profits, as usual. There is a need to include additional provisions that account for that practice.

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el duderino's avatar

But if we make prescription drugs more affordable, then what incentive do people have to stay healthy? It's a moral hazard!!1!

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Liminal's avatar

Also, too, as I understand it most actual research is supported by NIMH and other government agencies.

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Hello_who_dis's avatar

It isn't.

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Bitter Scribe's avatar

Too bad I don't take any of these drugs.

Yet.

Now watch. The Republicans will drag this in front of some shitass federal judge in Pigfucker, Texas, and he'll rule it unconstitutional because Democrats shouldn't win elections or something.

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Anti-Social Socialist's avatar

Pigfucker, Texas is a perfectly lovely town so long as you ignore the sunset law and the complete lack of nonwhite faces (with exception for the maids, nannies, and construction workers.) Oh, and don't piss off the local militia, which the sheriff is too scared to keep in check. Oh, and don't drive through with a Biden sticker on your car unless you need a few extra bricks to complete a home project.

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RogationDays's avatar

It’s not a drug company…but my ex worked for Bell Labs in New Jersey when they were still actually doing really interesting research and development. He was still there when they completely tore it apart…at which point he went to another company. I also have a colleague whose father was one of the scientists there (we are about the same age) and he told me how bitter and angry the scientists were about what happened.

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Bitter Scribe's avatar

I covered mostly the food industry, but also other industries a little, as a business journalist. It was the same deal with many of the companies I dealt with. They outsourced R&D, shoved it backward onto their suppliers, or just plain bought their R&D by acquiring companies that made innovative products, instead of developing their own products.

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calliecallie, aka pollyanna's avatar

"I’m embarrassed to say I can call to mind the jingles for some of them."

This is why my "mute" button no longer has any letters on it.

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Bitter Scribe's avatar

I thought I was the only one that happened to.

(I hate my remote. It has three times more buttons than it needs, and they're all the size of pinheads. Which is who I think designed it.)

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Daniel O'Riordan's avatar

I like my Roku remote. The volume control and mute buttons are on the side rather than the top.

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calliecallie, aka pollyanna's avatar

My mom painted the buttons she used the most with different colors of nail polish so she could see them easily.

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RogationDays's avatar

I think the people I’m happiest for are those with diabetes. The drug companies were literally murdering people for money.

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John Norris's avatar

Either drastically slash drug cost for consumers (to say European levels) OR let us buy from licensed foreign pharmacies.

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Davis's avatar

Hey, I take Xaralto, but I was going to vote for Joe anyway.

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Tom Coward's avatar

Sort, “drying” should be “thing”

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Tom Coward's avatar

A few years ago, on a trip to England, my wife forgot to pack her COPD inhaler. We ended up buying her one there for the “full retail price” which was still much less than the copay for the exact same drying in the US.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

"According to CMS, these 10 medications together accounted for 20 percent of Medicare Part D spending, a whopping $50.5 billion, from June 1, 2022, through May 31 of this year."

I'd bet that Canada and France probably pay 1/10th the cost for those same drugs.

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scubaix's avatar

Right? 50B USD and nothing can be done without becoming a 20th century Stalinist dictatorship. It's such a bind.

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