HealthCare Notes

5/18/19

AOC's PERFECT Response To A Republican Defending Big Pharma

'Spoiler: Because Australia Has Universal Healthcare': Watch Ocasio-Cortez Ask Pharma CEO Why HIV Drug Costs $8 Overseas But $1,780 in the US

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/16/spoiler-because-australia-has-universal-healthcare-watch-ocasio-cortez-ask-pharma?fbclid=IwAR1JLwsjE6n0T_wHIqvySNxEHWktk9AdV4tIcg0jjYOcBXKNn0UHf-SKedw
"During a House hearing on Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked the CEO of one of America's largest pharmaceutical companies a simple but crucial question: Why does a life-saving HIV drug that costs $8 a month in Australia have a $2,000 price tag in the U.S.? Gilead chief executive Daniel O'Day declined to comment on the low price of Truvada for PrEP in Australia, but said the reason the cost is close to $2,000—"the current list price is $1,780," he said—in the United States is because the drug has "patent protection." As the Washington Post reported in March, the development of Truvada as a treatment for HIV was "almost fully funded by U.S. taxpayers." The U.S. government patented the treatment in 2015, according to the Post, but has "opted not to file an infringement suit to enforce" the patent even as Gilead—which argues the government patent is invalid—rakes in billions of dollars in profits from Truvada. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted these facts during the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Thursday."

WATCH As Congressman Bawls In Emotional Defense Of Corporate Profits

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/05/watch-congressman-bawls-emotional-defense?fbclid=IwAR1QQ37_T1eyKkfYhORg5GhlclvrhpDQ0sr6sDU0ltIDrt1hNVtrmCtvp68
"When Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) questioned the obscene amount of money a giant pharmaceutical company was making yesterday in a congressional hearing it all proved just too much for Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to stand. He lit into a fiery and emotional defense of price-gouging the American public, the likes of which not often seen except in dystopian novels."

5/13/19

Over 40 states are suing generic drug companies for alleged conspiracy to hike prices

https://thinkprogress.org/states-are-suing-generic-drug-manufacturers-for-alleged-conspiracy-to-inflate-prices-9ecb18dbffc8/?fbclid=IwAR3gtKx-bcZmfthQRA9ER1jsZG6KsMJNPO7MKyA1xxsLMHGdvoap47oEgKI
"According to the lawsuit filed in Connecticut on Friday by 43 states and Puerto Rico, evidence shows these drug manufacturers embarked upon “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.” Investigators allege that the companies worked together to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for over 100 different types of generic drugs — including diabetes, cancer, and arthritis treatments. The lawsuit implicates 20 firms and names 15 individual senior executives that oversee sales, marketing, and pricing. According to investigators, the drugs named in the suit account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States — a country which already has some of the highest drug prices in the world, especially compared to those where the government regulates or negotiates prices of new drugs."

5/5/19

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Refuses to Sell Out Veteran Health Care | NowThis

Fox News Dumbfounded by Simple Aspect of Bernie's Medicare For All Plan

Bernie Schools Fox News on Medicare For All

'Siding With Big Pharma at Expense of the American People,' Republicans Warn CEOs Not to Cooperate With Drug Price Probe

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/09/siding-big-pharma-expense-american-people-republicans-warn-ceos-not-cooperate-drug?fbclid=IwAR1uZVgoOaXeLXse_TF2To3rdpMHksLCp_3HcHrkhCW8Q3f98pwOnEpE1Qw
"As Democrats on the House Oversight Committee attempt to investigate soaring drug prices in the U.S., Republicans are warning the CEOs of some of America's largest pharmaceutical companies against cooperating with the probe."

Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows warn Big Pharma execs not to cooperate with drug-price probe

https://www.salon.com/2019/04/10/jim-jordan-mark-meadows-warn-big-pharma-execs-not-to-cooperate-with-drug-price-probe/?fbclid=IwAR1kFbDUXpA6LWWv_NvQZr3EV5jn5jrwtLMdQUHgNq0Xz0z-NblcVJkttjU
"Two prominent Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus warned pharmaceutical companies not to cooperate with a House probe into their drug pricing."

Republicans Beg Drug Company CEOs To NOT Cooperate With Investigations

GOP Reps Suck Up To Big Pharma, Warn CEOs Not To Cooperate With Investigation

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/04/gop-telling-drug-companies-not-cooperate?fbclid=IwAR0yY76GT_Ci3Pl3zQoX0z65ahmJKC0xKWcrmBnZETa8vO9BwUvwvoBNmjE
"Republicans Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan from the House Oversight Committee sent letters to CEOs to drug companies encouraging them to not cooperate with any investigations being conducted by the Democratic led committee. They warned them that any information they provided "could be leaked to the public" and stated that this could affect stock prices. The letters alleged that the Democrats may be trying to "collect the information in order to bring down the industry’s stock prices." Wow. That is quite the threat. So what is this investigation about? The House Oversight Committee is looking into how the industry sets prescription drug prices. That is it. No industry secrets."

Republicans To Big Pharma: DON'T Comply With Congress

Woman Destroys Chuck Grassley At Town Hall