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The Spectacle Blog
In 1993 and 1994 the pharmaceutical industry fought against nationalized health care. This time Big Pharma cut itself a deal—offering a bit of a discount in return for a big increase in insurance coverage and thus the number of pills expected to be sold. As a result, the pharmaceutical industry has become one of the strongest proponents of “reform.”
And Big Pharma’s financial reward is likely to be large.
Critics have complained that a drug industry got a sweetheart deal when it struck a bargain with the White House and Senate Finance Committee over health care reform.
There’s new reason to think those critics were right.
It comes from an October forecast by IMS Health, a respected global research and consulting firm. The report, which IMS distributed to clients and which a source provided, projects that the drug industry will see average annual growth of 3.5 percent between 2008 and 2013.
Back in March, IMS had projected no growth at all during that same five-year stretch. In fact, it projected the drug business would actually contract slightly—with negative annual growth of 0.01 percent.
What changed? A major factor, according to IMS, was the emerging details of health care reform.
It is yet another example of how the greatest enemies of capitalism tend to be the capitalists.
Only time will tell, however, whether proponents of government control will live up to the deal. Or whether they will turn on the industry as a convenient source of financial savings when spending skyrockets, as it will. If that happens, the rest of us should wave cheerfully as Big Pharma finds itself transported to the political guillotine.
View all comments (13) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Doug Bandow
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/11/11/big-pharmas-good-deal-at-ameri
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Spicy Joker| 11.11.09 @ 3:45PM
Unfortunately, the Repubics will never stand up to the socialist drug companies.
Pingback| 11.11.09 @ 3:51PM
Ask Your Doctor If This Sweetheart Deal Is Right For You « Around The Sphere links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
ken (Old Texican)| 11.11.09 @ 5:59PM
Spicy et al.
Let us all watch and see how brave YOU are when the whole communist government comes down on your hiney.
Or go wash your drawers so mama doesn't have to.
Heh!
Pingback| 11.11.09 @ 6:55PM
How To Deal With Panic Attacks. | valuetips links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
cindy, CA| 11.11.09 @ 8:39PM
I agree it is a very short sighted deal for Pharma. Already congress is talking cuts for cancer patients and cancer care is all about the drugs and they are the most expensive drugs. Also there is language that the top 10% prescribers will be penalized through reimbursement by medicare, so it will be the doctors who ration drugs. Like politicians, CEO's are only watching thier own backs and not that of the company or the people.
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I Wish To Start A Small Business-internet Advertising;i Have A Very Good Ideea And I links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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Anyone Know Any Good Affiliate Tracking Php ? | Vocabulation links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 11.12.09 @ 12:17AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Big Pharma's Good Deal links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Roy| 11.12.09 @ 6:24AM
Yeah, I think under pretty much any costcutting scheme drug companies are going to lose out. And they should to some extent. Right now doctors just mindlessly prescribe the most recent drug, regardless of cost; that needs to stop one way or the other; a government takeover of healthcare may slow this process but can't stop it.
Verna Guzenda | 12.1.09 @ 9:36AM
The Big Pharmas - Part 8 - It's Time To Take a Pill
In this series we’ve looked at the big pharmaceutical companies (”Big Pharmas”), how they bring new drugs to market, their competitors and the many challenges that they face. We’ve also looked at their triumphs and their corporate behavior.
There’s no doubt that the Big Pharmas are worried about being able to continue increasing their, already astronomical, profits. Imminent patent expiration, pressure from states and governments to negotiate lower prices and competition from the legal and illegal generic drug manufacturers are all forcing a gradual slowdown in the rates at which their profits are increasing. However, as we’ve seen in the previous article in this series, we aren’t getting value for our money as consumers of their products.
In this, the final article in the series, we’ll look at some of the many reforms that have been suggested to rein in the Big Pharmas and get them back to being the responsible corporations that many of them once [...]