Bernie Sanders questions drug price spike

[magical thyme]

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is calling on a drug company to justify a dramatic spike in the price of a 62-year-old drug that was reported Sunday.

...Sanders in a letter to Turing Pharmaceuticals demanded an explanation for why the price of a drug used to treat dangerous parasitical infections leapt from $13.50 per tablet to $750 after the company acquired the drug from a competitor.

“The enormous, overnight price increase for Daraprim is just the latest in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications,” wrote Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings, who are investigating sudden jumps in the costs of older, generic medicines.

Sanders was the first presidential candidate to propose a plan to combat high prescription drug costs, which recent polls have found to be Americans’ top health care priority, outranking Obamacare even among Republicans and independents.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/bernie-sanders-drug-prices-213904#ixzz3mTW0LQea

[Capt. Obvious]

1. Lamest Bond villain ever

[think]

2. Turing has made itself the poster child for drug price controls & reform. /nt

[TubbersUK]

4. Yes, he was just too blatant with this one

There must be many in the US Pharma industry spitting feathers at the moment.

I hope it leads to a real crackdown on them.

[think]

8. I hope public outrage grows & Sanders and Cummings' drug bill gets enough notice and support

to make the GOP look like the heartless corporate shills they are for not passing it.

[Skwmom]

3. I watched the interview with the guy who bought the company. It was odd to say the least.

The whole thing seems so manufactured.

But hey, now Clinton can act like she's taking on the corporate big interests.

[KoKo]

5. Oops...delete--double post on edit.

Last edited Tue Sep 22, 2015, 10:30 AM - Edit history (1)

[magical thyme]

7. I'm starting to tweet back to the authors to correct the record. :-)

also starting to hit the comments section of the e-news wherever I can.

Fight fire with fire. Call them out here, of course, but also on their twitters and comments sections.

[KoKo]

6. Yes it does: "Hillary Tweet Causes Biotech Stocks to Tumble"

on the day she supposedly unveils her own health care plan. And both MSNBC & CNN have the same "Hillary Tweet" headline?

The outrage is the former Hedge Fund Manager who pulled this and thought he could get away with it who should be getting all the attention,and not Hillary's Tweet having any influence on BioTech stocks tumbling.

[Skwmom]

9. The manner of the person who bought the company just seemed off.

It was weird.

[Wankle Ronnie]

10. And the plan that Clinton unveiled is very pathetic

$250 cap? Insurance Co: PASS IT ON! Premiums increase.

Win-win for the Insurance CO.

Bernie's got it right - time to cut the middleman, and set up health care for every American, regardless of income.