“One of Donald Trump’s few universally welcomed campaign promises was to do something about the prices of pharmaceutical drugs. Most Americans recognize that prices are too high, and are bothered by the rise of pharmaceutical price gouging…..
The key power is found in the “import relief” law — an important yet unused provision of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 that empowers the Food and Drug Administration to allow drug imports whenever they are deemed safe and capable of saving Americans money. The savings in the price-gouging cases would be significant. Daraprim, the antiparasitic drug whose price was raised by Mr. Shkreli to nearly $750 per pill, sells for a little more than $2 overseas. The cancer drug Cosmegen is priced at $1,400 or more per injection here, as opposed to about $20 to $30 overseas.
The remedy is simple: The government can create a means for pharmacies to get supplies from trusted nations overseas at much lower prices.” – Tim Wu
Karl Denninger – In other words Trump has the ability to administratively put a stop to the drug-price rape.
But let me point out that while this article is informative and points out a means by which Trump can irrespective of Congressional interference put a stop to the scam in one area of the medical system it ignores — intentionally — a much-larger and more-powerful hammer that every President has had available to them for the last 30 years and yet has refused to use.
Mike Adams – It’s no secret that various industries increase customer pricing so the company can make a profit. That’s Economics 101. However, when prices surge so exorbitantly that the average person can barely afford an item while the company walks all the way to the bank, that’s Greed 101. Sadly, absurdly elevated prices permeate the marketplace, draining the wallets and energy of people in droves, and it particularly impacts those in need of life-saving medications.
Mike Adams – The total greed of Big Pharma is on parade this week as a company called Turing Pharmaceuticals took ownership of a lifesaving medication that treats parasitic infections like malaria. The pill — mostly purchased by AIDS and cancer patients — used to cost $1 each. But now, thanks to Turing Pharmaceuticals and its profiteering CEO Martin Shkreli, each pill will cost you $750.