Why is health care so expensive? Why do drugs cost so much?

[TayTay]

These are more things that are not talked about in the current debate. (And it's really starting to annoy the crap out me.)

Okay here is the http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/07/15/biologics_could_stay_exclusive_up_to_12_years/">reading assignment:

Biologics could stay exclusive up to 12 years

Senate proposal delays creation of generic drugs

By Nicole Gaouette and Catherine Larkin
Bloomberg News / July 15, 2009

WASHINGTON - Biotech companies such as Amgen Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. wouldn’t face competition for 12 years after a drug is sold, a Senate panel agreed. That’s almost twice the time sought by the White House.

The amendment was added Monday, by a 16-to-7 vote, to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee’s proposal to overhaul the US healthcare system. The panel expected to finish work on the measure yesterday. It will be merged with legislation being written by the Senate Finance committee.

Americans spend $60 billion a year on biologics to treat diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, at a cost of as much as $200,000 each. Current US laws, which provide for generic competition on chemical pills, don’t allow for cheaper copies of complex drugs made from living cells. The Obama administration backs letting generic biologics on the market after seven years of brand-name sales as a way to trim health costs.

In Europe, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Israel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG’s Sandoz division, and Hospira Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill., sell “biosimilar’’ copies of three biologic drugs. The term comes from the biotech industry’s claims that their manufacturing process can’t be replicated and that finished products have slight variances. Generic-drug makers call their copies biogenerics.

Exclusivity refers to years of sales that a brand-name product gets before a lower-cost generic or an improved product that relies on the brand-name data can be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It is separate from patent protection. Generic-drug makers would have to wait for both to run out before marketing their products.

How much does it cost the system to double the copyright time for a drug? Why is this going through? Who runs HELP and what industries are in their states? Is this really a positive for the US consumer right now?

This is a huge deal. It matters in terms of overall cost. Yet, I haven't heard a thing about copyright reform or biologics in the current debate. Have you? Given how Big Pharma markets these drugs, they would bankrupt a public option. Anyone care?

[sandnsea]

1. I read something like this a couple days ago

Something really brief, maybe in an email or something. I was rather disgusted at the change in patents too, and the lack of discussion on such an important issue. Do you know who, how this meandered through the system and if this is a sort of pay-off to phrma for their "cooperation".

I think the underlying cost issues will make a difference in the success of the public option. There is a lot of cost regulations in the bill, they're just mind numbing to get through. I can go through the benefits pretty quickly because the terminology is familiar. The rest gets a little tedious.

http://help.senate.gov/Maj_press/2009_07_15_b.pdf
http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf

http://obama-mamas.com/health-care.html

[ladym55]

2. Pharmaceutical companies always claim cost of R&D

And R&D IS very expensive. Many promising ideas don't go anywhere. That being said ...

One of the WORST things that happened was permitting pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to the consumer. Big Pharma has gone NUTS with advertising. THAT'S where much of their expense lies. They had good-sized advertising budgets going to doctors befor then, but now they sponsor nightly news casts, cable news, sporting events ... you name it. And they are still doing the special advertising and promotions for physicians.

Big Pharma's influence on the MSM is obvious. I've heard interviews with CNN's Candy Crowley and John King. Both poo-poohed a public health care option, with Candy Crowley claiming that most Americans were very happy with their health care and didn't want a change. Huh? Polls are showing that more than 70% of Americans want a public option.

[Inuca]

3. YES

These drug comercials drive me NUTS. When I hear "ask your doctor about X" my TV is in danger of being attacked. Maybe it's just me, but I think that the very idea of advertising powerful and often risky medicine the way you advertise toothpaste is simply insane. I would be curious what doctors think about it. On the other hand, without these comercials we would have never had the renewed hilarity of hearing about the 4 hours erection and learn the official name for it, so yeah, maybe there is something good in them after all.