How much would heath care costs be reduced if we were to deregulate pharmaceuticals?

[BuyingThyme]

In other words, if we, the government, were to realize that drug patents no longer serve our country, how much money would be saved? Would it be enough to solve the health care crisis?

That is, what if we allow all domestic producers to produce whatever drugs they want without having to pay royalties to the people who invented them? What if we were to make the people the priority?

Maybe the Pukes have a point on deregulation after all.

[ejpoeta]

1. how about if we just negotiated with the drug companies instead of letting them

screw us. like, say, medicare.... who currently cannot negotiate prices thanks to the republicans and their shenanigans. I don't think you are meaning deregulation, though....

[BuyingThyme]

3. Yes, deregulation.

Why all the regulations on who can produce what? Why not have a free market?

[Oregone]

2. Do you mean revise patent laws instead of "deregulate"

If you are looking to "deregulate", I'm not even sure that'd be on the laundry list of deregulations the big pharma would put in Baucus' desk


From what I understand, it *could* help. A lot of "R&D" money is invested in making knock offs of existing products that are patentable.

[BuyingThyme]

4. We can allow them to gouge on exports, but it seems that

the patent regulations are not serving the American people in the current climate.

Call me a free trader.

[johnaries]

5. Yes, because deregulation works so well. The current

recession proves that. :sarcasm:

[BuyingThyme]

11. I think you're missing the point of my post.

The point is that when Pukes talk of "deregulation," they're always talking about deregulation that benefits corporations. They pretend to be in favor of free markets -- the free-er the better from the corporate perspective. But that's not really the case. They only support deregulation when it permits them to take advantage of the people.

[johnaries]

23. And I think you miss the point of deregulation and "Free Trade"

which is to benefit corporations at the expense of the average person.

I suppost Capitalism, but only as a regulated caveat vendor market.

As far as the patent regulations for pharmaceutical companies are concerned, the current regulations are there to benefit people. The patents are there to encourage Reseach and Development of new beneficial drugs. The time limits are to ensure that after the developers have recouped their expenses and a profit incentive then the drugs can be made by "generic" companies and become more affordable. Without the patents, companies have no funding for the research and no incentive to perform it.

Yes, Americans are charged more than other countries for the same drugs. They only thing that would change that is more regulation, not less.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have more publicly-funded research, but that's another issue.

[Mz Pip]

6. I also wonder how much

would be saved if the drugs companies didn't advertize drugs that can't be bought over the counter. When I learned the drug companies spent more on advertizing than on research I lost all sypampathy might have had for them.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. and also the companies that produce medical equipment

charging someone $100 for support stockings is ridiculous

[BuyingThyme]

9. Deregulate.

[county worker]

8. I haven't seen any deregulation that hasn't cost me more money.

You deregulate them and the form larger corps to block any competition.

The idea that deregulation allows for more competition is a myth. The regulations are to protect the consumer, remove them and we get taken to the cleaners.

Rule of thumb, if the repukes like it, it won't be good for you.

[phantom power]

10. If we stripped patent protection for drugs, I think two things would happen...

1) Drug companies might not attempt to design some drugs, if they decided they didn't want to risk competitors. So there would be less drug development.

2) Drug development that did happen would happen under trade secret. So, there would be no competition. That's the flip side of patents: eventually, it guarantees that the public does have access to new inventions.

OK, and here's a third thing: industrial espionage would increase. I presume it happens even now, but if companies start holding designs in trade secret, the motivation to steal the designs is even higher.

[BuyingThyme]

12. Well, now that the regulations are destroying our country,

maybe we should get rid of them and then make adjustments as necessary.

[phantom power]

13. What I'd like to see is some medical advances developed by govt...

Target a list of desired drugs, and have them developed via public funding. Put the drugs, or treatments, or medical device designs, etc, under public domain.

Of course, I'm not holding my breath, since America seems to still be in thrall to the "govt-is-the-problem" mentality.

[BuyingThyme]

14. I think our government-sponsored universities do that,

but I don't know who gets the money.

[Hannah Bell]

22. gov't funds *still* pay for most basic drug research. then the corps get to

develop the results.

[ashling]

15. That's not a deregulation issue, it is a patent issue

:shrug:

We need to regulate the drug companies more

[BuyingThyme]

16. Why do we look at patent regulations as something other than regulations?

[ashling]

25. Basic hierarchy of laws - regulations are made and enforced by

government agencies - Administrative law

Patents are an individual right that is protected by positive law

If you are saying that we shoud change the patent laws, that is one thing, but should not be confused with regulations. Of course, if you change the patent laws, it will have a lot of unintended consequences.
:shrug:

[kestrel91316]

17. Um, I WANT prescription drugs regulated. We don't need to go back to the days of

untested snake oil being hawked on the street corners and people dying of overt poisoning.

[BuyingThyme]

18. I'm not talking about removing FDA oversight and like that.

I'm talking about removing all those silly restrictions which make it impossible for anybody who wants to get into the drug business to do so.

[Ozymanithrax]

19. Patents and deregulation are not the same thing.

Prices by the Pharmaceuticals are not regulated. They are allowed ot charge whatever the market can bear. They set their price point to ensure a sufficient profit for their investors and let those who can not afford the medicine die after a short miserable life.

[BuyingThyme]

20. I've been regulated right out of the pharmaceuticals market.

[Ozymanithrax]

21. Medicine made in the same factory are sold for very different prices...

in Canada, Mexico, and the US. It is not unusual to see medications cost 5 times as much here as elsewhere. Price regulation would be a good thing.

[johnaries]

24. How so? Perhaps your back-story would help explain your position.