An equally simple belief, though... no child, 150 years from now, should die from a disease that would have been curable, if only the research needed to develop the treatment had not been rendered completely unprofitable by the decisions we are making today.
Wow! I never realized that insurance companies did biomedical research. How silly of me.
Now it totally makes sense that we have had no medical breakthroughs in the past 40+ years that Medicare has been taking money out of the mouths of the poor, poor insurance companies.
I've always wanted to ask, when pharmaceuticals say that it takes a million or ten million or a hundred million dollars to bring a drug to market, are they talking about only research costs, or are they talking about research costs plus the costs of pharmaceutical reps taking their company Cadillac’s and using them to drive doctors to the golf courses for free lunches and rounds of golf, or are they talking about the endless "Ask your doctor if Ciallis (tm) is right for you" TV ads or the endless ads in magazines, etc etc?
It's funny how the children of today dying because their parents either can't afford health insurance, or (because their employer won't offer it) can only get crappy insurance that either drops them at the first sign of illness or stops paying after a week of hospitalization matter so much less than future child.
(In a Pepe Le Pew voice) Ze Freench flew zhot comes in the flavour of love, my leetle Ellipzeez.
It is widely believed that the United States has eclipsed Europe in pharmaceutical research productivity. Some leading analysts claim that although fewer drugs have been discovered worldwide over the past decade, most are therapeutically important. Yet a comprehensive data set of all new chemical entities approved between 1982 and 2003 shows that the United States never overtook Europe in research productivity, and that Europe in fact is pulling ahead of U.S. productivity. Other large studies show that most new drugs add few if any clinical benefits over previously discovered drugs. I discuss ways in which Congress, employers, and insurers can increase the value of drugs and revitalize the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Fact is we never caught up to those socialists in Europe and - probably because they base decisions on science a little more than the average American - they are pulling out further ahead now... I am truly shocked to find out that what the right wing teabaggers/birthers/deathers have been screeching about is the exact opposite of reality. Not really surprised, either, are you?
And yes... I know it is not really all because of science... It is just one of many disasters in America, right now, that have collided to kill good research. _____________________________
No one should die or go broke as a result of statists refusing to think about why health care costs are so high. (That includes both sides of the aisle, by the way).
An equally simple belief, though... no child, 150 years from now, should die from a disease that would have been curable, if only the research needed to develop the treatment had not been rendered completely unprofitable by the decisions we are making today.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never realized that insurance companies did biomedical research. How silly of me.
ReplyDeleteNow it totally makes sense that we have had no medical breakthroughs in the past 40+ years that Medicare has been taking money out of the mouths of the poor, poor insurance companies.
Thanks for clearing that up!
Hey, how many of you have gotten your French-produced flu shot this year?
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to ask, when pharmaceuticals say that it takes a million or ten million or a hundred million dollars to bring a drug to market, are they talking about only research costs, or are they talking about research costs plus the costs of pharmaceutical reps taking their company Cadillac’s and using them to drive doctors to the golf courses for free lunches and rounds of golf, or are they talking about the endless "Ask your doctor if Ciallis (tm) is right for you" TV ads or the endless ads in magazines, etc etc?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how the children of today dying because their parents either can't afford health insurance, or (because their employer won't offer it) can only get crappy insurance that either drops them at the first sign of illness or stops paying after a week of hospitalization matter so much less than future child.
(In a Pepe Le Pew voice) Ze Freench flew zhot comes in the flavour of love, my leetle Ellipzeez.
(ok, that last bit was a leetle weird)
__________________________
ReplyDeleteAnother GOP Healthcare Myth Busted
by Connecticut Man1
Tue Sep 1st, 2009 at 10:03:31 AM EST
"Socialism stifles creativity! Profit and the free market are why we are number one in drug research."
You've heard it OR some variation of it from faux patriots waving faded flags, right?
Turns out it never was true and never will be unless we get our sciences back on track...
It is widely believed that the United States has eclipsed Europe in pharmaceutical research productivity. Some leading analysts claim that although fewer drugs have been discovered worldwide over the past decade, most are therapeutically important. Yet a comprehensive data set of all new chemical entities approved between 1982 and 2003 shows that the United States never overtook Europe in research productivity, and that Europe in fact is pulling ahead of U.S. productivity. Other large studies show that most new drugs add few if any clinical benefits over previously discovered drugs. I discuss ways in which Congress, employers, and insurers can increase the value of drugs and revitalize the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Fact is we never caught up to those socialists in Europe and - probably because they base decisions on science a little more than the average American - they are pulling out further ahead now... I am truly shocked to find out that what the right wing teabaggers/birthers/deathers have been screeching about is the exact opposite of reality. Not really surprised, either, are you?
And yes... I know it is not really all because of science... It is just one of many disasters in America, right now, that have collided to kill good research.
_____________________________
No one should die or go broke as a result of statists refusing to think about why health care costs are so high. (That includes both sides of the aisle, by the way).
ReplyDeleteVery thoughtfull post on belief .It should be very much helpfull.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
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