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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
We all know House Speaker Michael Madigan is vastly unpopular in Illinois. His record-long tenure, the sorry state of Illinois’ finances and the fact that Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars to make sure voters connected him to all our troubles certainly contributed.
But according to a poll taken in December, pharmaceutical companies are even more unpopular than Madigan.
The poll of 635 likely voters taken by Blue Sun Campaigns found 57 percent of Illinoisans say they have an unfavorable opinion of Madigan, while 65 percent have an unfavorable opinion of pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical companies are even more unpopular in Illinois than President Donald Trump, whose unfavorable rating here was 62 percent in December.
Imagine that.
This should be no surprise since we’ve all read stories about skyrocketing prescription drug prices. There have been high-profile exposés like the ones about Martin “Pharma Bro” Shkreli, who jacked up the price of a vital drug for some HIV/AIDS patients by 5,000 percent.
And who could miss the many stories about diabetics who have cut back or stopped taking insulin altogether because prices have more than doubled since 2012?
The poll found almost a third of Illinoisans (32 percent) said they or a family member had “struggled to afford prescription drugs” in the past year. And another 27 percent said they or a family member hadn’t filled a prescription in the past year because the price was too high.
So, it’s probably no surprise that
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* Related…
* Drug industry takes heat in legislative hearing over spiraling prices
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:19 am
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I am waiting for a pharma CEO, when questioned about his high drug prices, to respond “because I can raise the price to anything I want. “
Comment by Huh? Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:34 am
I am fortunate to have good insurance. But, even when you use your insurance your pharmacy (at least mine does) includes a line that says your insurance save you $X. It’s insane to see some of those numbers. My wife takes one medicine that costs over $2,000. I have a couple that cost $500 and $900 respectively. If you didn’t have insurance there is no way you could afford those prices. Something needs to be done when it comes to drug prices. The drug companies should no longer be able to get away with charging such outrageous prices for medicine people need. This is yet another example of why healthcare should not be a profit driven industry. It’s disgusting.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:41 am
–But if the federal government can’t get anything accomplished, the state may very well step in sometime down the road.–
More like the federal government hasn’t wanted to get anything accomplished. Big Pharma has had a bipartisan hammerlock on Congress for decades, similar to that of Exelon/Edison in the GA.
Link to a good primer on why prescription drug costs for individuals in the United States are so much higher than in other Western countries.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/oct/paying-prescription-drugs-around-world-why-us-outlier
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:41 am
===But according to a poll taken in December, pharmaceutical companies are even more unpopular than Madigan.===
Perspective?
Sure, a good chunk of folks “know” of Madigan. K. Got it, negative too, I hear ya.
How many folks;
Don’t know what medications they or a love one take.
Think “we aren’t being gouged for our medicine, we are getting a deal, even our insurance is reasonable.”
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:49 am
===because I can raise the price to anything I want===
To my knowledge. while not in those exact words, that is exactly what Martin “Pharma Bro” Shkreli implied by his behavior in jacking up the price of a vital drug for some HIV/AIDS patients by 5,000 percent.
Also look up Mylan’s EpiPen Pricing Scandal. IMO the behavior of Mylan CEO Heather Bresch was disgusting.
https://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/mylans-epipen-pricing-scandal/
http://money.com/money/4502891/epipen-pricing-scandal-big-pharma-politics/
Comment by Big Jer Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 9:50 am
Lately the increasing price of insulin has been in the news. One of the things we saw when Mom was in LTC was the Sliding Scale Insulin (SSI) use for her Type 2 diabetes. I still think this contributed to her decline and subsequent death. SSI is not recommended, but it can lead to billable charges to Medicare/Medicaid. That might be more lucrative than really focusing on a patient’s true needs.
https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/nursing-home-care-and-diabetes#8
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/diabetes-in-longtermcare-and-skilled-nursing-facilities-the-ada-position-statement
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5317234/
Comment by Anon221 Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 10:09 am
And if you are asking yourself “how bad can pharma prices be”? For certain prescriptions the State of Utah public employee health insurance provider will pay for a flight to San Diego and transportation to an approve pharmacy in Tijuana so that the patient can pick up the prescription out of country.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/10/28/fight-high-drug-prices/
Comment by OutHereInTheMiddle Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 10:11 am
And then there’s the opioid crisis.
Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 10:32 am
When did Rauner go into Pharma?
Comment by Lt Guv Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 10:42 am
I guess there is a more bitter pill than MJM
Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 10:45 am
Insulin prices have sky rocked since 2012, Diabetics do not have a choice, take the drug or die. Scientists like Dr. Saulk donated the Polio vaccine to the world to eradicate a disease that was destroying millions across the globe. I do not expect drugs to be free, but this practice of escalating prices beyond the average Americans financial means is immoral. Not in a nation without universal healthcare.
Comment by Uncle Ernie Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 11:17 am
Lt Guv - That would be 2002:
http://republicannewswatch.com/wp/?p=13713
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 11:31 am
The single most important factor in high drug prices is the system of patent monopolies granted by the feds in exchange for pharma companies doing R&D.
Ultimately, we could eliminate the monopolies by having the fed gov finance more drug development itself, or by paying the companies up front. Meanwhile, here is news about a recent bill that, if passed, might help curb some of the excesses: https://tinyurl.com/yaqmcfjp
Dean Baker and CEPR are really good sources for anyone looking for antidotes to these faulty public policies.
Comment by yinn Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 12:23 pm
==by having the fed gov finance more drug development itself,==
That’s exactly right. Unfortunately you have the “I’ve got mine so the rest of you can go fly a kite” crowd. You’ve got to overcome the “healthcare isn’t a right” people.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 1:00 pm
To anyone interested in this topic — and we all oughtta be — I highly recommend the New York Review of Books article by Daniel J. Kevles, “Why Is Medicine So Expensive?”
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 1:19 pm
https://other98.com/taxpayers-fund-pharma-research-development/
Something to remember is that taxpayers, not Big Pharma, fund the research behind many new drugs.
…one of the biggest lies told about Big Pharma: that the current system of patents and price-gouging is just an unfortunate necessity to cover the cost of all their brave and noble R&D work.
Comment by Enviro Monday, Mar 4, 19 @ 2:23 pm
Uncle Earnie hit it spot on. Ive had type 1 diabetes since i was a toddler… Thank God I have good insurance and only pay the copay but like everyone see the full cost.
Without my insurance I’d have gone bankrupt or died years ago.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Mar 5, 19 @ 5:58 am
I cannot get or take new migraine meds because they are new and insurance will not cover them due to their high cost. I don’t blame the insurance co, as it is a crazy price. But I have a migraine every day- not all are really bad.I have learned to work and function through most of them
Comment by pnut Tuesday, Mar 5, 19 @ 10:54 am