I say absolutely not. Thoughts?

Ninerfan1 Wrote:I say absolutely not. Thoughts?

Not no, but hell no.

Can somebody please lay out the facts of this debate because I am completly ignorant on the subject. All I heard is that the gvt. might be able to negotiate lower prices on rx drugs for American consumers. Why is this a bad thing?

dwr0109 Wrote:Can somebody please lay out the facts of this debate because I am completly ignorant on the subject. All I heard is that the gvt. might be able to negotiate lower prices on rx drugs for American consumers. Why is this a bad thing?

Yeah, they do such a good job on negotiating low prices for fighter planes and hammers.

After the government takes over pricing drugs, they can start pricing gasoline, food, housing, cable TV, auto parts, donuts, hamburgers - heck, everything. Worked in Russia for many years. Doing well in Cuba. Prices in Cuba are very low.

dwr0109 Wrote:Can somebody please lay out the facts of this debate because I am completly ignorant on the subject. All I heard is that the gvt. might be able to negotiate lower prices on rx drugs for American consumers. Why is this a bad thing?

It's not for all Americans, just Americans on Medicare. The problem is that it's the first step towards government controlled healthcare.

When government gets involved they're not looking to negotiate the price as much as set the price. And naturally they're going to want a price that is lower than any private plan. The problem is that the government has no leverage from which to negotiate. So unless they control the industry, they have no position from which to negotiate the price.

The medicare drug plan has done very well for seniors and 75% say they are happy.

The market sets the price today and that is how it should be. This is an ideological/political issue for democrats. It's not a practical one.

No, I don't like the idea of the federal government getting into setting prices for a particular market. Even if it's priced rediculously. I think they deserve to investigate pricing gouges for the drugs they buy for their programs like those that work for the federal government.