May 30, 2018
(Okay, that’s not exactly what he said.) If you were worried that the pharmaceutical companies were not taking enough of your money, the Republicans have the answer for you. They pushed through the “Right to Try Act,” which will allow people with a terminal illness easier access to drugs that the Federal Drug Administration has not determined to be effective.
While Thiessen sees this as a great thing in his Washington Post column, the obvious problem is that with the incentive provided by government-granted patent monopolies, drug companies will be lying more than ever about the effectiveness of their drugs. As fans of capitalism know, corporations are there to make a profit.
If a drug company can tell a patient dying of cancer that their drug can save them, they can look to charge hundreds of thousands or even millions for the drug. If a person or their family can pick up the tab, or they can get an insurer or the government to pay the bill, they will. (Yes, they can be sued for lying. Good luck with that one.)
Yeah, so what if it actually is ineffective? Wasn’t it worth getting people’s hopes up for nothing and draining their life’s savings?
Yes, Mr. Thiessen is right. Thank the Republicans.
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