Thursday, October 18, 2007
Ken Arnold's Plan for Prescription Drugs
What follows is Republican Party candidate for the 8th congressional district nomination to face Congresswoman Melissa Bean:
BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM:
Ethical drugs have been the boon of the 20th century in healthcare treatment and will prove to be even more so in the 21st century. Many health ailments that were formerly treated by hospital stays and even medical procedures are now treated via outpatient regimens of drug treatment. This includes treatments within cancer, psychological ailments, and even heart conditions.
Within healthcare plans, this movement to drug treatments has many times been a cost savings when compared to the former treatments such as medical procedures and hospitalizations. However: The drug costs themselves have escalated over the years many times that of the general inflation rate found in the United States. Moreover, because of governmental price controls in other countries, U.S. manufacturers (who make up a majority of such manufacturers worldwide) have sold there drugs oversees at 40, 50, 60% or more lower than they have marketed them in the United States.
With the historical inflation in drug costs, the increasing practice of drug regimens within healthcare, and our aging population; one can directly see the high costs for prescription drugs as a quickly escalating problem for our Nation. Already, there are segments of our population that are choosing to half their prescription dosages because they simply cannot afford the costs. And some are even foregoing such treatments altogether -- fully well knowing that they are medically “taking their chances”. It is, indeed, becoming a fearful place in America with this problem…
ONE SOLUTION:
There are several initiatives that candidate Ken Arnold will immediately be proposing upon entry into Congress within the prescription drug area. But perhaps the most unique one is a solution which directly breaks the “hypocrisy between Nations” when it comes to the price of drugs. Ken Arnold would END the one-sided and unfair pricing differentials between all of the world’s countries. Not only will that finally help American consumers (who still supply sizable tax dollars for the R & D to develop such drugs for the world), but it will emphasize that we are all equal as human beings and deserve to be treated equally when it comes to such potential life and death situations.
Candidate Ken Arnold would upon entry into Congress propose “The Prescription Equality Act (PEA)”. This act that would simply specify the following:
“No U.S. Ethical Pharmaceutical Company shall sell to any foreign wholesaler / distributor any drug at a price LESS than that offered to any comparable U.S. wholesaler / distributor”.
ADVANTAGES:
Initiating such law would end the unfair and discrepant treatment American consumers receive in the Prescription Drug area versus others in the world. It would effectively raise the price to foreign distributors and LOWER the price to U.S. distributors of the same drug. And because the demand for drugs is relatively unaffected by the cost (i.e. “inelastic demand”), and are protected by patents, the U.S. drug manufacturers will receive approximately the same aggregate revenue they received before. It will only change who is paying what in the overall equation…
Thus, there would be no need for ridiculous “re-importation” from Canada because - like purchasing stereo systems today - the price of such drug would be approximately the same here as overseas. Additionally, the research and regulatory approval costs to take a drug to market would no longer be substantially born by the American consumer. ALL cusumers – worldwide - that use such product would be treated equally. From a human as well as national policy, this is as it should be when talking about potentially life and death issues…
The above initiative is not price controls. We are not specifying how much the Abbotts and Mercks of the world charge per dosage. That is up to them. We are merely saying that a U.S. distributor shall be placed at no worse position than that of a foreign distributor.
Moreover, we are not denying a drug to any world customer, nor asking them to pay MORE than we do – we’re merely asking them to pay no LESS than we do. And in those areas of the world where charity is in order with such drugs (i.e. aids drugs to certain African nations), drug manufacturers can continue their programs that they currently have developed in offering subsidies or special prices in those specific drugs requiring such. Nothing changes in these programs – programs in geographic areas that only supply a small fraction of today’s drug revenues.
After materially lowering drug costs to American consumers, the U.S. Congress can THEN review the remaining problems that would still exist with much smaller segments of our population. THEN Congress can address such targeted need with a targeted Medicare Prescription Drug program rather than the current blanket one where the Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffets’ of the world are to receive taxpayer-provided benefits as much as those truly still in need.
Created and submitted by: Ken Arnold, Candidate
8th Congressional District of Illinois
Email: Ken@Arnoldforyou.com
www.ArnoldforCongress.com
THE PRESCRIPTION EQUALITY ACT (PEA)
BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM:
Ethical drugs have been the boon of the 20th century in healthcare treatment and will prove to be even more so in the 21st century. Many health ailments that were formerly treated by hospital stays and even medical procedures are now treated via outpatient regimens of drug treatment. This includes treatments within cancer, psychological ailments, and even heart conditions.
Within healthcare plans, this movement to drug treatments has many times been a cost savings when compared to the former treatments such as medical procedures and hospitalizations. However: The drug costs themselves have escalated over the years many times that of the general inflation rate found in the United States. Moreover, because of governmental price controls in other countries, U.S. manufacturers (who make up a majority of such manufacturers worldwide) have sold there drugs oversees at 40, 50, 60% or more lower than they have marketed them in the United States.
With the historical inflation in drug costs, the increasing practice of drug regimens within healthcare, and our aging population; one can directly see the high costs for prescription drugs as a quickly escalating problem for our Nation. Already, there are segments of our population that are choosing to half their prescription dosages because they simply cannot afford the costs. And some are even foregoing such treatments altogether -- fully well knowing that they are medically “taking their chances”. It is, indeed, becoming a fearful place in America with this problem…
ONE SOLUTION:
There are several initiatives that candidate Ken Arnold will immediately be proposing upon entry into Congress within the prescription drug area. But perhaps the most unique one is a solution which directly breaks the “hypocrisy between Nations” when it comes to the price of drugs. Ken Arnold would END the one-sided and unfair pricing differentials between all of the world’s countries. Not only will that finally help American consumers (who still supply sizable tax dollars for the R & D to develop such drugs for the world), but it will emphasize that we are all equal as human beings and deserve to be treated equally when it comes to such potential life and death situations.
Candidate Ken Arnold would upon entry into Congress propose “The Prescription Equality Act (PEA)”. This act that would simply specify the following:
“No U.S. Ethical Pharmaceutical Company shall sell to any foreign wholesaler / distributor any drug at a price LESS than that offered to any comparable U.S. wholesaler / distributor”.
ADVANTAGES:
Initiating such law would end the unfair and discrepant treatment American consumers receive in the Prescription Drug area versus others in the world. It would effectively raise the price to foreign distributors and LOWER the price to U.S. distributors of the same drug. And because the demand for drugs is relatively unaffected by the cost (i.e. “inelastic demand”), and are protected by patents, the U.S. drug manufacturers will receive approximately the same aggregate revenue they received before. It will only change who is paying what in the overall equation…
Thus, there would be no need for ridiculous “re-importation” from Canada because - like purchasing stereo systems today - the price of such drug would be approximately the same here as overseas. Additionally, the research and regulatory approval costs to take a drug to market would no longer be substantially born by the American consumer. ALL cusumers – worldwide - that use such product would be treated equally. From a human as well as national policy, this is as it should be when talking about potentially life and death issues…
The above initiative is not price controls. We are not specifying how much the Abbotts and Mercks of the world charge per dosage. That is up to them. We are merely saying that a U.S. distributor shall be placed at no worse position than that of a foreign distributor.
Moreover, we are not denying a drug to any world customer, nor asking them to pay MORE than we do – we’re merely asking them to pay no LESS than we do. And in those areas of the world where charity is in order with such drugs (i.e. aids drugs to certain African nations), drug manufacturers can continue their programs that they currently have developed in offering subsidies or special prices in those specific drugs requiring such. Nothing changes in these programs – programs in geographic areas that only supply a small fraction of today’s drug revenues.
After materially lowering drug costs to American consumers, the U.S. Congress can THEN review the remaining problems that would still exist with much smaller segments of our population. THEN Congress can address such targeted need with a targeted Medicare Prescription Drug program rather than the current blanket one where the Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffets’ of the world are to receive taxpayer-provided benefits as much as those truly still in need.
Created and submitted by: Ken Arnold, Candidate
8th Congressional District of Illinois
Email: Ken@Arnoldforyou.com
www.ArnoldforCongress.com
Labels: 8th Congressional District, Ken Arnold, Melissa Bean
# posted by Cal Skinner : 12:31 PM
