Pharma, healthcare’s 8-ton gorilla, comes under increasing scrutiny

[KamaAina]

http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/blog/entry/pharma-healthcares-8-ton-gorilla-comes-under-increasing-scrutiny/

For all the heavy weights in the healthcare industry, that industry that now gobbles about one fifth of the U.S. economy, none has more weight to throw around than the pharmaceutical giants.

Big drug companies make the most profit, mark up their prices the most, have the most clout in Congress and with other elected officials, and generally get whatever they want....

It’s hard to shed too many tears for the drug companies. In 2013 alone, the 25 wealthiest giants racked up more than $100 billion. Johnson and Johnson set the pace with more than 13.8 billion in profit, according to data from Thomson ONE Banker.

That buys a lot of clout. Especially in the U.S. where the drug lobbyists have for years killed off proposals to allow Medicare, for example, to negotiate discount drug prices the way countries with national health systems do.

[daredtowork]

1. We can't reform health care

if we're also relying on it as a productivity fountain for 1/5 of our economy. That sets employment, entrepreneurship, and enrichment in direct opposition to affordable health care.