100 million Americans are living with some form of medical debt. Of those 100 million, 12% of them are living with $10,000 or more. During my show today, we heard from a Fox Cities resident who is in debt for over $200,000 because of cancer treatments, and both he and his wife are in their 60’s.
Needless to say, this system is absolutely broken.
Now before anyone even says, “But Ben, you silly goose, this is how business works. You can’t tell companies how much money they’re allowed to make. What are you? Stu-“, let me cut you off right there.
There have been virtually ZERO medications that have been developed between 2010 and today without the use of American tax payer dollars. Every one of these companies is engaging in socialism when it comes to the cost of research and development, and then cold-blooded capitalists when it comes to charging you and I.
However, when we say that WE, the American tax payer who funds their operation, want to see a drop in pricing that reflects every single other industrialized nation, well it is actually us that are the welfare-queen socialists.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had just about as much as I can take! Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about:
Januvia: France $200, U.S $6,900
Stelara: UK $16,000, U.S $79,000
Eliquis: France $650, U.S $7,100
I’m not telling anybody how to live, but please believe me when I say it’s ok to expect more out of life than to be fleeced by a handful of billionaires that intend to rake you over the coals while holding life saving medication over your head. I know, I know it’s a bold stance, but I mean it.
While I’m a firm believer that this has been an issue for far too long, as I always say, it’s better late than never. The Inflation Reduction Act has helped to reduce the prices of 10 drugs for people over 65 in the year 2026 (not an exaggeration), but needless to say, this doesn’t go nearly far enough.
(For the record, it would’ve gone farther except except, Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin, and every single Republican voted against the bill that would’ve reduced ALL drug prices).
Today, the Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) will be meeting with the CEO’s of 3 different pharmaceutical companies, with the intention of getting to the bottom of some of these pricing issues.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is one of the Senators that will be partaking in hearing today, and she joined me on the show for a preview of what we can expect to hear.
To listen to the entire conversation, click the player at the top of the article.
[Spreaker: Outside the Box, www.ineteconomics.org, www.cnbc.com, www.azcentral.com, www.businessinsider.com]
